IUCN advises African states how to manage wild elephant populations

WHAT’S HAPPENING: IUCN, through its African Elephant Specialist Group, is publishing a new report on how to control locally overabundant populations of African elephants. The report looks at the pros and cons of a range of options to manage elephants, including moving them to other natural habitats, increasing the area of land available to elephants, contraception and culling. 

WHY IT’S HAPPENING: Until now, there has been no comprehensive review available to African elephant-range states explaining the options for managing wild populations of elephants. This report looks at past examples of what has worked, what hasn’t, and provides a summary of the main technical considerations.

SPOKESPERSON: Holly Dublin, Chair of IUCN’s African Elephant Specialist Group and the Species Survival Commission, says: “Some of the most important decisions in wildlife management in Africa revolve around elephants, but a lot of the information is not readily accessible to conservation authorities. Much of it is scattered in diverse reports and scientific papers or as part of the body of unwritten expert knowledge.”

HOW IT’S HAPPENING: The report is being distributed to governments and conservation authorities in African elephant-range states.

MATERIALS FOR THE MEDIA: For a full copy of the report, Review of Options for Managing the Impacts of Locally Overabundant African Elephants, please visit https://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/afesg/tools/omiloaeen.html

MEDIA TEAM:

• Sarah Halls, IUCN Media Relations Officer, Tel: +41 22 999 0127; Mobile: +41 79 528 3486; Email: sarah.halls@iucn.org
• Brian Thomson, IUCN Programme Communications Manager, Tel: +41 22 999 0251; Mobile: +41 79 721 8326; Email: brian.thomson@iucn.org  

About IUCN

IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges by supporting scientific research; managing field projects all over the world; and bringing governments, NGOs, the UN, international conventions and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice.

IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network. IUCN is a democratic union with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations, and some 10,000 volunteer scientists in more than 150 countries. IUCN’s work is supported by 1,100 professional staff in 62 countries and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world. www.iucn.org  

About the Species Survival Commission

The Species Survival Commission (SSC) is the largest of IUCN’s six volunteer commissions with a global membership of 8,000 experts. SSC advises IUCN and its members on the wide range of technical and scientific aspects of species conservation and is dedicated to securing a future for biodiversity. SSC has significant input into the international agreements dealing with biodiversity conservation. www.iucn.org/species