WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING IN CAMEROON (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env and Eco)

Context: Cameroon ranked seventh out of 29 African nations in terms of being a source or transit point for illegal wildlife trafficking (IWT) during the decade spanning from 2009 to 2019, according to a new report.

Key Points of Report

• The most frequently seized items included unprocessed elephant tusks, crafted ivory articles, pangolin scales, African Grey Parrots, and a variety of primate species.
• Elephant-related products made up a significant 40 percent of seized commodities, ranging from raw tusks to crafted ivory, meat, tails, and bones. 
• These elephant products were frequently bundled with other illicitly traded items. Some wildlife criminals even engaged in cyber-enabled IWT.
• The report also brought to light that a significant 24 percent of cases displayed substantial indications of influence peddling and corruption within the legal process

Illegal Wildlife Trade

• About: Illegal wildlife trade refers to the illegal activities involving the capture, collection, transport, and trade of wildlife and their products, including live animals, animal parts, and derivatives.
• In India, trade in over 1,800 species of wild animals, plants, and their derivatives, is prohibited under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

African Elephants

• The African elephant is the largest animal walking the Earth.
• African elephants were treated as a single species, listed as Vulnerable; this is the 1st time two species have been assessed separately for the IUCN Red List, following the emergence of new genetic evidence.
• Forest elephants occur in the tropical forests of Central Africa and in a range of habitats in West Africa. They rarely overlap with the range of the Savanna elephant.
• Savanna elephant prefers open country and is found in a variety of habitats in Sub-Saharan Africa including grasslands and deserts.