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African Union Donkey Skin Trade Ban Laudable but Doubt, Pessimism Cloud Implementation

By 2020, the global donkey population stood at 53 million, two-thirds in Africa. Using the estimated human population in Africa, simple math shows that one donkey serves at least 37 people, making it a critical resource for the continent’s economy.

How COVID-19 is Impacting the Africa-Asia Wildlife Trade

Amid the shutdowns in both Asia and Africa due to the COVID-19 outbreak there've been serious disruptions to the illegal wildlife trade between the two continents. But even though it's been harder to get African wildlife products to markets in China, ...

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 ...

Africa’s Donkey Population Risks Collapse Due to Surging Chinese Demand for Hides

NOTE: this interview with Alex Meyers was recorded just prior to his departure from the Donkey Sanctuary. Persistent Chinese demand for donkey hides is now pushing the animal's population in many countries, including a number ...

Does Just One Man in China Control the Fate of Africa's Elephants?

In the powerful new Netflix documentary "The Ivory Game," Elephant Action League Executive Director Andrea Crosta ominously warned that the entire fate of Africa's elephants is in the hands of a single man, Chinese president Xi ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Looking Beyond “Useful Africa” at the Mining Indaba

With U.S.-South Africa ties in the deep freeze, it was notable to see the sheer size of the U.S. delegation sent to this week’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town – one of the most prominent industry gatherings and one of the few where the Global South gets a prominent voice.
The Trump administration’s famous Afrophobia seems (momentarily at least) tempered by its greed for minerals. It is reportedly walking ...

Why Reducing Ivory Demand in China Will Not Curb Poaching in Africa

"When the buying stops, the killing can too" reads the popular slogan that WildAid uses in its anti-ivory campaign to raise awareness in China. WildAid, along with most Western environmentalists, contend that curbing demand in China for ivory is the key factor to help ...

Report: Chinese Diplomats & Officials Tied To Ivory Trade in Africa

A recent report by the UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) alleges Chinese diplomats and officials are directly involved in the ivory trade in Africa. Most damaging, the EIA reports that even some members of visiting Chinese president Xi Jinxing's delegation smuggled dozens of kilos ...

The China-Africa Honeymoon Is Over

There is a growing sense among Africans and Chinese alike that their once heady romance is now entering a new, more pragmatic phase. Across Africa, people and politicians are becoming visibly more concerned about the surging trade deficits, massive loan debts, persistent labor rights ...

Chinese Environmental Sustainability in Africa

The Chinese have a well-earned reputation in Africa for not being very environmentally conscious. From highly mechanized clear cutting of tropical forests to the wholesale slaughter of endangered wildlife, the Chinese do not have an impressive track record on the continent. However, there are ...