China’s Vice President Han Zheng addressed the UN General Assembly on Thursday. Along with retreads of established Chinese positions on Taiwan, Ukraine, and the Israel/Palestine conflict, his comments also provided interesting clues about China’s messaging to the Global South.
First, he called on the international community to “follow the direction of a multipolar world” with the UN at its center. I wonder how opinion within Beijing’s inner circles breaks down around the bipolarity/multipolarity issue, considering ...
Category: Conservation
Rhino Poaching Rates in Africa and Asia Have Plunged by Half, Says New Report
Poaching rates for both African and Asian rhinos have been steadily falling for the past three years and are now at their lowest rates in almost a decade, according to the findings of a new report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the wildlife conservation ...
The Chinese Embassy in Harare Responds to Zimbabwe’s National Park Mining Ban
The Chinese embassy in Harare responded late last week to the Zimbabwean government's surprise decision to ban all mining activities in the country's five national parks and in most river beds. Although Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa did not mention China by name when announcing the ...
Zimbabwe Government Responds to Public Outrage Over Chinese Coal Mining in Hwange National Park
In a surprise reversal, the Zimbabwean government announced an immediate ban on all mining activities in the country's five national parks. The move was in response to widespread outrage over the government's decision to allow two Chinese companies to begin coal mining operations in the Hwange National ...
Leading Environmental Protection NGO Responds to Ghana’s Controversial Decision to Re-License a Chinese Trawler
The London-based Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) responded this week to the Ghanaian government's controversial decision to renew the fishing license for the Chinese trawler Lu Rong Yuan Yu 956. The EJF's main point of contention is that Lu Rong Yuan Yu ...
CITES Under Pressure to Crack Down on Elephant Trade and Loosen Restriction on Ivory Sales
Wednesday marked World Elephant Day (yes, apparently elephants also have their own day) and that sparked a heated discussion over the African ivory trade and Zimbabwe's controversial sales of young elephants to China. While conservationists and those who advocate for more relaxed wildlife trade regulations ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Unpacking Han Zheng’s Messaging to the Global South at the UN General Assembly
Three New Chinese Trawlers Are on Their Way to Africa as Part of a Global Expansion of China’s Distant Fishing Fleet
China's notorious distant fishing fleet appears to be undertaking a major global expansion, particularly into Africa's already over-fished waters. The issue is sparking disputes between China and countries in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, where some leaders are now publicly challenging ...
The Chinese Embassy in Malawi Showcases White Hunters in its Appeal to Crackdown on the Illegal Wildlife Trade
Given China's outsized role in the illicit African wildlife trade, it's interesting to note the imagery that the Chinese embassy in Malawi selected in their Tweet today to denounce illegal poaching.
Donkey Populations in Kenya and Ghana Are on Track to Be “Devastated” Due to Chinese Demand for Hides
The Washington Post's West Africa correspondent Danielle Paquette and Maxwell Suuk published a compelling story this weekend on the devastation that subsistence farmers in Ghana are encountering due to donkey poaching. The animal's hides are sought after in China where they're used to make the traditional Chinese medicine ejiao ...
Recent Killing of Kenyan Rhinos Highlights Need to Get Wildlife Issues Back on the China-Africa Agenda
The privately-run Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya provided a sobering reminder this week that even though wildlife conservation issues have largely disappeared from the broader China-Africa agenda, the fate of some of Africa's most endangered animals is becoming increasingly perilous.
Conservation Update: Rhino Horn Trafficking Trial in Malawi | Ivory Sales in China via Japan | China’s Distant Fish Fleet Needs More Transparency
Poaching and wildlife conservation issues have largely fallen off the broader China-Africa agenda ever since Beijing outlawed its domestic ivory trade in 2018. Even as Chinese demand for endangered African wildlife products, particularly pangolin, and other animals such as donkeys whose skins are used to make a ...