VZCZCXRO7235
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #0396/01 1151621
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241621Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9056
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000396 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON SENV ML
SUBJECT: EFFORTS CONTINUE TO SAVE MALI'S ELEPHANTS 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  An estimated 550 to 700 elephants in Mali's 
Gourma region are threatened by drying climate, landscape 
degradation, and increasing human contact.  The Malian herd 
is the northernmost group of elephants in west Africa and the 
only surviving group in the Sahel.  International 
conservation groups Save the Elephants and WILD Foundation 
have partnered with the Malian government and local 
associations to collect information to help protect the herd 
by using collars to track migration patterns.  While Mali has 
the political will to protect the herd, conservation 
resources are lacking.  Successful conservation efforts hinge 
on educating successive generations of Malians on ways to 
co-exist with the Gourma elephants despite growing ecological 
challenges that threaten people and animals.  End Summary. 
 
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Current state of elephants in Mali and threats 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶2.  The Gourma elephant population in Mali is currently 
estimated at 550-700 animals, and is distinctive in Africa 
for three reasons:  it is the northernmost herd on the 
continent; it occupies an exceptionally harsh, arid 
environment; and it owes its existence to historic 
co-existence with the people of the region.  These elephants 
represent 12 percent of all West African elephants, and their 
numbers appear to have remained more or less stable since the 
1970s.  Their survival has hinged on the evolution of a 
nomadic strategy that includes a migration circuit of 600km - 
the longest annual migration of elephants ever recorded - to 
cope with the widely dispersed and variable nature of the 
Gourma's resources.  The elephants lived in relative harmony 
with the people in the Gourma until the 1990s, but the recent 
trends of reduced rainfall, along with the spread of 
agriculture, ranched livestock, settled human communities and 
water development programs, have changed the relationship 
between elephants, humans and the Sahelian ecosystem.  Humans 
and elephants are now competing more heavily for the same 
resources (land, crops and water), risking increased conflict. 
 
¶3.  Compared to other populations throughout Africa, the 
Gourma elephants are an old population meaning that more than 
half of the herd is composed of adult animals.  The herd has 
a fairly high fertility rate but also very high rates of 
mortality in newborns and young due to the harsh environment 
and long migration route.  The population is vulnerable to 
anything that obliges the elephants to search further for 
food or water, and in particular to prolonged stresses such 
as a drying climate and increased pressure from humans. 
 
¶4.  Studies in other parts of Africa indicate that an 
incremental expansion on human impact reaches a threshold, at 
which point elephants move away.  According to research by 
Save the Elephants and the WILD Foundation, however, the 
elephants may not have anywhere else to move in this area of 
Mali that could provide all their requirements.  Dr. Susan 
Canney, one of the chief researchers, also notes that "as the 
options for the elephants are reduced, there is the risk that 
sudden increases in conflict will occur.  Once this happens 
the scope for reducing it are limited, and solutions are much 
more difficult to implement." 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Save the Elephants - WILD Foundation Collaring Projects 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶5.  Save the Elephants and the WILD Foundation have partnered 
with other conservationists to track the elephants to see 
where and when they migrate.  In 2000, researchers attached 
GPS collars to nine elephants; they later recovered three 
working units.  The high-tech data confirmed that the 
elephants follow a vast, counterclockwise route dotted with 
temporary and permanent watering holes.  They linger at a 
lake on the northern edge of their range until the rains 
begin in June, then head south, eventually crossing briefly 
into northern Burkina Faso. 
 
¶6.  The goal of the ongoing tracking projects is to identify 
"choke points" - corridors the elephants must traverse to 
complete their migration. By documenting where the elephants 
roam, not just from water hole to water hole but in search of 
food and cover, people can avoid blocking their routes with 
permanent settlements (Note: the Gourma region has a series 
of east-west running impassable bluffs that channels the 
elephants through grasslands also suitable for grazing 
cattle.  End Note).  Although they spend a very small amount 
of time in these corridor areas, blocking any one of them 
could have disastrous consequences.  The team is 
collaborating with Google Earth which will enable the 
researchers to pinpoint the exact location of the collared 
elephants and make informed recommendations to the local 
communities. 
 
 
BAMAKO 00000396  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶7.  The most recent collaring expedition in March 2008 
illustrates the risk to both the elephants and the research 
team.  While the expedition was considered a success with 9 
of 10 planned collars successfully placed, one elephant was 
much older and weaker than the team had suspected and did not 
survive the stress of the anesthesia.  Unrelated to the 
collaring operation, another three baby elephants died while 
trapped in a mud-hole.  The team responded quickly to the 
plea for help from local authorities but were only able to 
save an adult female accompanying the babies.  During this 
rescue attempt, the adult became enraged and charged a crowd. 
 Bystanders were not injured thanks to a Malian official from 
the National Direction of the Conservation of Nature (DNCN) 
who diverted the elephant and fractured his thumb when he 
fell trying to get out of her way.  Finally, the Save the 
Elephant/WILD Foundation team safely avoided disaster when 
the engine on their spotting plane failed; the pilot was able 
to glide safely onto a donkey path. 
 
----------------------- 
WB Biodiversity Project 
----------------------- 
 
¶8.  The WILD Foundation, Save the Elephants and other 
organizations provided recommendations to the World Bank for 
the 6-year (2005-2011) USD 10 million project to protect 
Mali's natural resources.  The Gourma Biodiversity 
Conservation Project for Mali aims to stop and, in some 
cases, reverse biodiversity degradation trends in key 
conservation areas and other specific sites in the Gourma. 
This project relies on the local knowledge, leadership and 
commitment of the Gourma population.  On communal land, local 
initiatives favoring biodiversity by community members, 
community groups or local councils are being implemented. 
Support is being provided through information, training, 
financing and advice for local-level biodiversity 
initiatives.  Since 2006, the chiefs of 18 communes have 
undergone awareness training and over half of the 
conservation areas have been created. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Efforts Africa-wide: African Elephant Coalition 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶9.  In February, seventeen African countries signed a 
document for the establishment of a coalition to save the 
elephant.  It was also agreed that a global elephant action 
plan that will fight illegal killing and trade in ivory be 
implemented.  Mali hosted the meeting and was elected chair 
of the coalition.  The Malian Minister for Environment, Mr. 
Agatham Alhassan, supported the accord noting that "with 
limited human and financial resources, we face not only 
climate change challenges, but also cruel methods poachers 
use to slaughter elephants and devastate their habitats, 
which have been considered safe havens in the past." 
 
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Comment 
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¶10.  The key to the successful conservation of these 
elephants now lies in continuing to educate and inspire the 
people of Mali.  The current generation of Malians, some of 
whom still remember the lions, ostriches, giraffes and other 
wildlife that has long since left the Gourma, are willing to 
live together with the elephants.  Some officials in Gourma 
have asked for assistance to reduce or better control the 
small flow of Western tourists who, with inexperienced 
guides, may get too close and/or disturb the elephants (with 
some even chasing the reclusive elephants in 4x4s).  It is 
encouraging that community support for conservation efforts 
currently remains high. 
MCCULLEY