At every meeting of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES, debate surrounding trade in elephant products tends to dominate discussions. The meeting in Doha from March 13-25 will be no different. This year's debate is particularly fraught because poaching has increased markedly and because it pits neighbouring countries Kenya, against trade, and Tanzania, pro-trade, against one another.

ElephantVoices is part of a group of like-minded NGOs and individuals working under the name of the Kenya Elephant Forum (KEF). The KEF is supporting the position of a group of African nations (elephant range states and Parties to CITES) known as the African Elephant Coalition and is endeavoring to provide lobbying documents to gather support accross the globe for the AEC proposal in its own strategic plan to save elephants.

During January 2010 the Kenya Elephant Forum produced five Fact Sheets to be used to help strengthen the African Elephant Coalition's case in the ongoing debate.

Below you will find the fact sheets as pdfs. Please feel free to pass them on to your colleagues, to your friends, to the media, to decision makers - cross-post and share! Help us spread the word! Share page on Facebook!

1. The African Elephant Coalition - background, history and action plan View/download (68.57 kB)
   Proposals to relax the African elephant’s protected status and to promote one-off sales of stockpiled ivory spell doom to the elephants within our lifetimes. Twenty-four African countries have come together to resist the proposals and harness information to shape policy to ensure the elephants’ future.


2. Elephant Poaching and the Ivory Trade View/download (69.04 kB)
   This fact sheet aims to brief policy-makers on the link between elephant poaching and the ivory trade. Proposals to relax the African elephant’s internationally protected status and to increase one-off sales of stockpiled ivory spell doom to Africa’s elephants within our lifetimes.
   


3. CITES and the Ivory Trade View/download (70.73 kB)
   This fact sheet summarizes the major milestones in governments’ attempts to secure the future of the African elephant, which today is under serious threat from poaching and the ivory trade.


4. Proposals on the African Elephant for CITES CoP15 View/download (78.57 kB)
   This fact sheet presents the proposed amendments relating to the African Elephant that have been presented for consideration to the 15th meeting of the Conference of Parties to CITES. 13-25 March 2010, Doha, Qatar. It provides views from the African Elephant Coalition on reasons for accepting or rejecting the proposals.


5. Elephants and Ecosystems View/download (71.73 kB)
   Elephants are important. They are large, long-lived, highly intelligent and complex animals. They are under threat from ivory poaching and habitat loss. They are an essential component of African savannah and forest ecosystems. Local extinctions could lead to catastrophic ecological changes. Losing them would be detrimental to Africa, Asia and the world.