Illegal trade puts more World Heritage sites in danger

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IUCN: Illegal trade puts more World Heritage sites in danger

18 June 2014 | International news release

Doha, Qatar, 18 June 2014 (IUCN) – Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve has been listed as World Heritage in Danger due to unprecedented levels of illegal wildlife trade, as announced today at the 38th annual World Heritage Committee meeting in Doha, Qatar.
The decision, which aims to trigger international action to protect the site, follows the advice of IUCN – the official World Heritage advisory body on nature.

“Illegal wildlife trade and elephant poaching in particular remain at an alarmingly high level and Tanzania is one of the source countries that are most heavily affected by it,” says Tim Badman, Director of IUCN’s World Heritage Programme. “We hope that placing Selous on the List of World Heritage in Danger as well as Tanzania’s positive response to the decision will strengthen the international cooperation that is so urgently needed to tackle the problem and help the site recover its outstanding values.”

Elephant and rhino poaching, triggered by the international demand for ivory and rhino horn, continues to escalate in Selous, which is one of the largest remaining wilderness areas in Africa. Its elephant population dropped from 70,000 in 2005 to 13,000 in 2013, and a recent survey shows a decline of almost 90% compared to 1982, the year the site was inscribed on the World Heritage List. Selous’ black rhino population has also declined dramatically.