The Rise of Environmental Crime: A Growing Threat to Natural Resources, Peace, Development and Security

Elephants The African elephant population was estimated to number 473,000 (definite and probable) elephants as of the end of 2013, down from about 1.3 million in 1972. 101-102 In the three years up to the end of 2012 an estimated 100,000 elephants were illegally poached in Africa, with annual esti- mates ranging from 30,000 103 to 40,000, 104 generating an average of 211 metric tonnes of illegal ivory per year. 105 The

African elephant is currently IUCN listed as vulnerable, 106 and CITES listed in Appendix I, except for populations in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, which are Appendix II. 107 The proportion of elephants illegally killed in Africa was peaking in 2011, but has declined slightly after 2013. Nonethe- less, poaching rates are higher than normal growth rates for elephants. Three quarters of poaching takes place in Central

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