UK pledges support in protecting wildlife

The United Kingdom (UK) says it will continue working closely with the Malawi Government and other partners to get rid of ivory trade as the country keeps making progress in fighting the illegal trade.

The UK’s position comes at a time it is accepting project bids for the illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund and the Darwin Initiative aimed at tackling wildlife crime and promoting biodiversity.

In a statement made available to The Nation, British High Commissioner Holly Tett said wild elephant populations are confined to decreasing areas of land in Africa and Asia, and are increasingly threatened by poaching, with ivory exceeding the price of gold-habitat loss, human encroachment and conflict, and illegal capture for the tourism industry.

States Tett in the statement: “We, the UK in Malawi, will work with the government of Malawi and local partners to fight to safeguard the future of the elephant and other animals threatened by poaching. We encourage you to think how you may help safeguard these majestic animals and the habitat they need to survive.”

In the statement, Tett said there is also need for global and collective response by all stakeholders in fighting the malpractice as the problem is widespread.

The largest and among the most intelligent land animal on earth, African elephants are now listed as vulnerable and endangered. Since 2010, nearly 40 000 elephants a year have been killed—nearly 100 elephants every day.

Further, the statement says poaching of ivory continues, as does the illegal trafficking of ivory from other African countries through Malawi to a destination usually in Asia.

The tusks are carved into ornate sculptures and end up in nearly every country in the world, showing the truly global nature of the illegal wildlife trade. n