Improving the conservation of Asian elephants through strengthened monitoring of illegal killing of elephants and CITES implementation in South-east Asia

Photo: © IUCN

Location:  South-east Asia – Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam

Duration: June 2020 – May 2023

Project background:

The Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) programme measures the levels, trends and causes of elephant mortality at participating protected areas, thereby providing information to support international decision-making on elephant conservation. The MIKE Programme was established by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) by Resolution 10.10 adopted at the tenth Conference of the Parties in 1997.

There are 14 protected areas (referred to as MIKE Sites) participating in the MIKE programme in South-east Asia: two sites each in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

IUCN has been collaborating with CITES on the MIKE programme in Asia since 2017. Following the completion of an EU-funded project in 2021, which included a component focused on MIKE, IUCN has again partnered with CITES to support implementation of the MIKE programme. The current project focuses on South-east Asia and is funded by U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

To find out more about MIKE, please visit the CITES MIKE website.

Objectives of the project:

The project has three objectives:

1. To support participating range States on their MIKE reporting requirements to CITES.
2. To identify enforcement gaps at MIKE Sites and provide tailored support through training and similar interventions, to strengthen elephant protection in these sites.
3. To strengthen and provide support on national or sub-regional level issues affecting elephants, such as ivory stockpile management.

Expected outcomes:

The capacity of South-east Asian MIKE sites to monitor illegal killing of elephants and implement enhanced protection and enforcement measures is strengthened.

National and sub-regional actions to support MIKE sites and to implement key CITES commitments relating to the illegal killing of elephants and trade in elephant specimens are enhanced.

Donor: U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

Partner: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Secretariat

For more information about the project, contact:

Mr Alexander McWilliam, Senior Programme Officer, Species / Programme Coordinator 
Science and Strategy Group, IUCN Asia Regional Office
Bangkok, Thailand
Email: Alexander.McWilliam@iucn.org
Website: www.iucn.org/asia