GRID-Arendal: 30 Years of Making a Difference

The Norwegian Ministry of Environment has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on continued cooperation and support to GRID-Arendal for the next 10 years. The MoU confirms GRID-Arendal’s status as a “Centre of Excellence on Polar and Cryosphere Issues,” and as a key partner for UNEP. Two reports prepared by GRID-Arendal for UNEP, Elephants in the Dust: The African Elephant Crisis and Stolen Apes: The Illicit Trade in Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Bonobos and Orangutans , were released in Bangkok, at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CITES Convention. The first report describes that that increasing poaching levels, as well as loss of habitat are threatening the survival of African elephant populations in Central Africa as well as previously secure populations in West, Southern and Eastern Africa. The second report describes the scale and scope of the illegal trade and highlights the growing links to sophisticated transboundary crime networks, which law enforcement networks are struggling to contain.

2013