NOT PROUD TO BE AFRICAN………… Ivory-seeking poachers have killed 100,000 African elephants in just three years. During 2011 alone, roughly one of every twelve African elephants was killed by a poacher. In central Africa, the elephant population has declined by 64 percent in a decade. The demand for ivory, most notably in China and elsewhere in Asia has helped keep black market prices high in Africa. Anti-poaching officials throughout Africa struggle against the poachers. Such a large amount of money is being generated by poaching that whole villagers are kept afloat by illegal activities. Many rangers and anti-poaching officials face intimidation. They come from the same communities as poachers and sometimes worry about going home because they are accused of “selling out”, especially when neighbours have been killed by other rangers. “The first problem is the poverty, because someone can come here and show a bag of money … They say, ‘If you want this money, you should go to the bush,’” one resident said. In many parts of Africa where poaching is rapid, residents claim that there is no alternative. According to some of them, there is little agricultural land and even if they attempted farming for survival, sources of water such as rivers have dried up and they have to pay for water, further putting pressure on subsistence farming.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 17:13:54 +0000
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