The Head of State, Paul Biya, has
ordered the destruction of 2,000 elephant tusks and more than 1,753 art objects
made of ivory seized from traffickers. The incineration exercise will take
place today April 18, 2016, at the entrance to the Yaounde Conference Centre.
The special guest at the ceremony will be the United States Ambassador to the
United Nations, Samantha Power. She arrived Cameroon yesterday April 17 for a two-day
visit that will take her to the North Region.
The operation is the first in a
series to continue, notes a statement from the Ministry of Forestry and
Wildlife. The move is in respect to of the Convention on Illegal Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, CITES, and the ratification of
various global and sub-regional agreements. Forestry and Wildlife Minister,
Ngole Philip Ngwese, stressed that; "We shall continue combating organised
poaching in concert with neighbouring countries and our partners." He
stated that by ordering that elephant tusks be burnt, the President of the
Republic seeks to ensure that efforts are not frustrated and that seized ivory
does not find its way to the black market.
In 2010, the elephant population
in Cameroon was estimated at 21,000 heads (National Strategy for Elephant
Management, 10-year duration). The rise of poaching, especially the mass
slaughter of 2012 in the Bouba Ndjida National Park in north Cameroon, reduced
the elephant population considerably. This notwithstanding, anti-poaching
efforts led to the seizure of a stock of 3,510.2 kg of raw ivory (2,000 tusks)
and 267.8 kg of ivory objects (1,753 pieces).