2015
was quite a whirlwind of a year for lions and other African wildlife.
With luck, sounds such as the lion’s roar will be heard for many years
to come. Photo courtesy of Massimiliano Sticca.With the closing of 2015 comes the end of a big chapter for
Africa and its spectacular wildlife. Looking back on the year, we
reflect on the big wins and big changes for wildlife conservation in
this huge, unique continent. Here are the top seven milestones for
African wildlife in 2015. By Deirdre Leowinata
The U.S. Government listed African Lions under the Endangered Species Act.
To cap a year that won the world over in a fervor of lion activism,
the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced in late December that it
would put the king of cats on the U.S. Endangered Species Act. This
means a few things, especially for hunting permits and conservation aid,
but the significance is that lions have a new and influential official guardian.
Cecil the Lion spurred policy changes and donations to wildlife conservation.
#CeciltheLion was by far the most famous animal of 2015, and is right
up there with Mickey Mouse on the list of animals that have become a
household name. The poaching of Cecil the Lion by Minnesota Dentist
Walter Palmer triggered a global outcry for lion conservation unlike any
the world has seen. And it worked. Not only did Cecil ignite a rush of
donations to big-cat conservation and other wildlife conservation groups
but it affected policy as well. New policies
in place or in the works include commitments to ban the import of lion
trophies by France and Britain, and banning the transport of animal
trophies by more than 40 airlines. Whether it affected the U.S. decision
to list lions on the ESA is unknown, but it probably didn’t hurt.
African nations pledged to restore 100 million hectares of forest by 2030.
In a massive United Nations initiative officially referred to as AFR100, more than a dozen of Africa’s 54 countries pledged
to restore their forests in a continent-wide effort to combat climate
change and protect ecosystems. These countries include hosts of some of
the continent’s most precious landscapes, including the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and Madagascar, both of which house the last
remaining populations of some of the world’s most unique species.
U.S. and Chinese governments joined forces to put a final ban on the ivory trade.
In September, the U.S. and Chinese governments announced an agreement to work together to almost completely ban
the import and export of ivory. If it plays out, the agreement is a
monumental decision for African elephants. China is the world’s top
ivory consumer, and stopping the trade could save 30,000 elephants a
year.
Pope Francis issued an encyclical on the environment, encouraging the entire Roman Catholic church to care for our planet.
Okay, we have to say it: Pope Francis has done a lot for everyone this year, but this is a big deal. The encyclical, “Laudato Si”
(Praise Be to You), is a papal document that every bishop and every
priest of the Roman Catholic church has an obligation to read, and every
member of the church has an obligation to recognize. And not only does
this papal document recognize manmade global warming but it also speaks
to issues of pollution, water, biodiversity, human life, equality, and
the ethics of it all.
The UN recognized wildlife trafficking as a transnational crime.
After a UN General Assembly decision in July of this year, wildlife
trafficking officially became a serious crime. The United Nations
Environment Programme executive director, Achim Steiner, called the
resolution “a historic step forward,”
and it could well be a defining moment. The resolution not only called
on nations to legislate and cooperate on illegal trafficking enforcement
but also recognized its link with organized crime and suffering in
local communities. It could mean the world to species such as the rhino
that are on the brink of extinction.
NGOs and Chinese Internet Kingpin Tencent joined forces for elephants.
The Nature Conservancy and the International Fund for Animal Welfare
have partnered with Tencent, a major Chinese Internet company, to battle
online wildlife trafficking and promote the conservation of elephants.
In the bigger picture, the collaboration is the first conservation
project Tencent has partnered on. It, along with the recent U.S.-China
partnership, may be a sign of China’s changing attitudes on wildlife conservation, which could mean a whole lot more for wildlife from 2016 onwards.
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