Baraza

Dipesh Pabari, on 13 Mar 2008

Sheryl, just to point out - we don’t need a Communications Director to write press releases. Sam was in charge of media related to the Congo only. I have been putting out all the other stories. We have just put one out on the lion story and I hope it will be picked up. We have to be very measured about the press releases we put out in that we have maintain a good relationship with the media houses who receive literally hundreds of press releases everyday so we need to make sure our stories are really good in order for them to pick them up.
However, what I have learnt about online media is that we can be just as effective in bringing attention to a problem by making sure that there is much attention through other websites and bloggers. With a world overloaded by information, we need to carve out a space for wildlife conservation - one that stands out amongst all the rest - and that is difficult especially when it is Africa.

F. J. Pechir, on 13 Mar 2008

I will start to work on this problem about lions and other wildlife killings in Amboseli right away with the Kenya Wildlife Service, Ken Mwathe and me know some people there that may help us, again the ACWP and the LNCG will put international pressure on this matter. I will comment on this with Birdlife Kenya in a few minutes, and I hope that an official statement will be delivered to the KFS by tomorrow.

Theresa Siskind St Petersburg FL, on 13 Mar 2008

What do elephant dung and ivory have in common? Their DNA. Authorities now have the technology to track down the areas where these elephants are being slaughtered for their ivory. The elephant herds targeted by poachers, excrete high levels of stress hormones. In other words, their DNA can pin point on a map which areas are frequently being targeted by poachers. In one case where this technolgy was used, they were able to pinpoint where this was happening, a region mostly in Zambia. The Zambian government then sacked its director of wildlife and began slapping harsher penalties on convicted ivory traders. OK, so we know the technolgy is there, now on to law enforcement. In Botswana, where a quarter of Africa’s elephants live, their entire population is free from poaching under the AGGRESSIVE protection of this country’s army! How can we HELP? Contact all members of the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees on the interior and the environment. Tell them that Africa’s elephants are in seious danger of becoming extinct. Ask them to boost US support of ANTI-POACHING programs to a financial degree comparable to that which existed during the first five years of the international trade ban. Other ways to help: contact the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China and the Embassy of Japan and request that their countries launch a vigorous campaign educating their citizens on how their consumption of ivory is making criminals rich at the expense of the elephants.

Paula, on 13 Mar 2008

Actually the use of DNA for tracking illegal shipments of ivory was demonstrated in 2006 when a massive shipment that had been siezed in Singapore was traced back to the Zambia stockpile! As a result some heads rolled. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060817-ivory-dna.html

Paula, on 14 Mar 2008

Thanks Theresa, I know him! (from my elephant research and stop-ivory-trade days). This is a small world isn’t it?

Theresa Siskind St Petersburg FL, on 14 Mar 2008

Time for the Kenyan government to model Botswana’s methods of protecting elephants. Lets include our lions too, I can’t believe what is happening, it’s like war has been declared on both these species.