LATF in collaboration with member states holds the African Elephant Law Enforcement Day Celebrations
The Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF) in collaboration with the Member states marked the African Elephant Law Enforcement Day on 20th July 2011 at the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Field Training School in Manyani, Tsavo West National Park, Kenya.
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This first ever special occasion held to appreciate the plight of the African elephant was presided over by His Excellency President of Kenya, Honourable Mwai Kibaki who was accompanied by the Ugandan Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, Rapporteur and representative of the President of the Lusaka Agreement Governing Council and other members of the Council as well as Wildlife Directors, Heads of National Bureaus to Lusaka Agreement. Other dignitaries in attendance included Kenyan Cabinet Ministers, Ambassadors and High Commissioners, Kenyan members of Parliament, representatives of UNEP, representatives of the United Nations University-Japan and ITC-University of Twente-Netherlands, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), conservation NGOs, the media fraternity, local government authorities as well as the public.
H.E. Mwai Kibaki joined the Lusaka Agreement Governing Council and the Task Force in sending a strong message to poachers and illegal wildlife traders in Africa and indeed the whole world to stop wildlife crime symbolized by the burning of 5 tonnes (4,967kg) comprising 335 elephant tusks and 41,553 hankos that was part of the contraband ivory seized in Singapore in June 2002 having originated in Southern Africa mainly Malawi (where it was exported from) Tanzania and Zambia and brought to Kenya in March 2004 by LATF for investigation purposes. This exercise was carried out to implement the decision of the Lusaka Agreement Governing Council made at its 9th session held in October 2008 in Kampala, Uganda and resolutions of a subsequent ministerial meeting held in May 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya that approved the mode of disposal for the contraband.
The Kenyan Head of State called upon the world to join African states to eliminate illegal elephant ivory trade and for enhanced cooperation as well as collective effort to save Africa’s precious wildlife heritage.Read more
Hon. Professor Kamuntu thanked all the guests for their participation as he called upon all African states that are not yet members to become Party to Lusaka Agreement to strengthen cooperation and synergies in fighting illegal wildlife trade and related crimes for the benefit of their economies, the environment and the people. Read more
The Kenyan Minister for Forestry and Wildlife Hon. Dr. Noah Wekesa underscored the importance of African States’ endeavour to strengthen wildlife law enforcement and in particular ensure that more stringent wildlife laws are in place to deter wildlife crime.
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Mr. Bonaventure Ebayi, the Director of the Lusaka Agreement Task Force heartily welcomed the guests and thanked them for their participation. He appealed to partners and the donor community to continue supporting the Lusaka Agreement Task Force as it strives to safeguard Africa’s much treasured wild fauna and flora against illegal exploitation. Read more
The Director of the Kenya Wildlife Service Dr. Julius Kipng’etich stated that the African elephant was under severe threat reiterating that its populations had indeed been decimated in some countries in West Africa. He therefore urged African states to redouble their efforts in the conservation of this keystone species. He lauded the Lusaka Agreement for the initiative to hold the celebrations as an avenue for creating more awareness and called for more support to similar initiatives in the future.
During the occasion, five enforcement officers from some of the Lusaka Agreement member states namely Mr. Lambert Fredric Bockandza Paco, Mr. Daniel Yiandere, the late Mr. Kassim Mtambo, Mr. Lulu Itipa and Moses Philemon Kapeshi from Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia respectively received the inaugural Awards, presented to them by the His Excellency Kenyan Head of State, as Wildlife Law Enforcement heroes for outstanding achievement in wildlife law enforcement and conservation of the African elephant.
On the 18th July 2011, as a prelude to the African Elephant Law Enforcement Day, the Lusaka Agreement Task Force hosted a cocktail party at the Laico Regency Hotel, Nairobi. This event that was presided over by the Kenyan Minister for Forestry and Wildlife Hon. Dr. Noah Wekesa (MP), Member representing the President of the Lusaka Agreement Governing Council brought together Ambassadors and foreign missions in Kenya , Prof. Govindan Parayil Vice Rector of the United Nations University-Japan as well as Dr. Paul Van Dijk and Mr. Remi Chandran of ITC-University of Twente-Netherlands, Conservation agencies and inter-governmental organizations for the launch of the African Elephant Law Enforcement Special Account (AELESA) and the Wildlife Enforcement Monitoring System (WEMS) for implementation in Africa. AELESA was established by LATF to support law enforcement activities geared towards curtailing illegal wildlife trade mainly on elephant ivory. WEMS is a software platform developed by the United Nations University- Japan to strengthen information and reporting processes as well as analysis capabilities pertaining to the monitoring of illegal wildlife trade at both the national and regional levels. It will be implemented in Africa through a tripartite partnership agreement between LATF, the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) in Japan, and the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.
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At the Nairobi event, LATF donated 23 assorted reference books to the KWS Field Training School, Manyani as a token of appreciation for their support in securing, under continuous surveillance for the last seven years, the contraband ivory received from Singapore and for playing an integral role as a leading wildlife law enforcement training institution in the region.
The Lusaka Agreement Governing Council and the Director of LATF wish to profoundly thank the Chief Guest His Excellency Hon. Mwai Kibaki for gracing the occasion and the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, Kenya Wildlife Service, partners, sponsors among others for their moral, technical and financial support that contributed significantly to the success of this important event in the history of the Lusaka Agreement.
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