About Us
The African Elephant Coalition was formed initially by 23 African nations who were deeply concerned by the plight of African elephants, as their existence was increasingly threatened by challenges including both ivory trade in the short term and conflict over land use in the longer term. This Coalition, now numbering 30 countries, recognised that working together is more likely to bring about a collective solution to the shared threats facing elephants
The African Elephant Action plan was conceived by the African Elephant Coalition as an offer of partnership to the SADC region to work with the AEC on African elephant conservation. It is our hope that resources from the African Elephant Fund can be channeled to implement the strategies laid out in the African Elephant Action Plan.
Mission & Vision
We are in the front line to ensuring that we create a healthy and viable elephant population free of threats from international ivory trade ensuring elephants thrive.
Mission
The Coalition will strive to:
Protect a viable and healthy elephant population free of all threats including international ivory trade.
viable and healthy elephant population free of threats from international ivory trade.
Vision
Develop an Elephant Action Plan that will encompass national and regional elephant strategies that promote non-consumptive values and benefits of elephants, including through development of ecotourism and nature-compatible agriculture, for the benefit of local communities.
Goals
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Key Activities
The African Elephant Coalition is a consortium of 29 member countries interested in making sure that there is a
healthy and viable elephant population free of threats from
international ivory trade and with a vision and plan
that will encompass National and Regional strategies that promote non-consumptive use of elephants.
Human Elephant Conflict/Coexistence
The competing interests of elephants and people who bring agricultural crops and livestock waterpoints into forests and savannas have created increasing areas of conflict in the use of land; creative approaches of property protection, alternative cropping and wildlifecompatible livelihoods are promoting coexistence in shared landscapes.
Human Natural Resource Extraction
Illegal logging and harvesting trees for the charcoal trade is devastating Africa’s forests and savannahs.
Loss of Biodiversity
It is estimated that the overexploitation and degradation of the biodiversity ecosystems will result in the loss of 50% of Africa’s bird and mammal species, and 20-30% of lake productivity by the end of the century, as well as decline of wildlife and fisheries (UNEP-WCMC, 2016).
Saving Elephants From Extinction
To save elephants from extinction, the world needs to work together to prevent the illegal killing of elephants across their range; protect their natural habitat; monitor their population numbers, poaching rates, and threats to elephant habitat at key sites throughout Africa; stop ivory trafficking and stop the demand for ivory.
Tackling Illegal Ivory Trade
The global ivory trade and the African elephant poaching crisis have remained a key wildlife conservation issue for decades. The drivers and facilitators of illegal ivory trade are shifting and complex, and various strategies and policies need to be implemented as a result, the most prominent being a global ban on all ivory trade.
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