2020: the End of the African Elephant?

5th August 2008

Another by product of the slowdown of the tourism industry in Africa is the huge increase in illegal poaching. One in 12 elephants are slaughtered for their tusks, a higher rate than the one which led to the international ban on selling ivory 19 years ago. With fewer than 470,000 of these incredible animals left, down from 1 million in the 1980s, the numbers are clearly decreasing rapidly. Elephants, who keep habitats open for other animals and are a major source of eco-tourism bring valuable money to poor economies in their local habitat. However, if the trends continue, the risk is that the only sighting we may have of these incredible animals is in fenced-in areas with enforcement to protect them...

Unfortunately, this is just further proof of the importance of well-managed, responsible tourism which provides money not only for the local inhabitants who rely heavily on this income, but also for the park rangers and army who are funded to protect and guard against poaching and who find themselves drastically under-funded.

At Exodus we understand responsible tourism is one of the largest and most important industries in the world, and that it can have a positive impact and provide real benefits in parts of the developing world where the income we provide can mean the difference between economic survival and poverty. However, it is obviously a two-way thing; for tourism to endure, the local wildlife and fauna needs also to survive. We are at least trying to keep our end of the bargain…