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Wildlife crime, including the poaching of elephants for illegal trade in ivory, continues to pose a severe threat to biodiversity, the rule of law, and local livelihoods, in some parts of the world. Tackling this transnational challenge requires strong partnerships and sustained capacity-building, so as to enable frontline personnel and institutions to collect, share, and act on reliable data that underpins effective law enforcement and conservation strategies.
Since April 2024, the Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants Programme of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES MIKE Programme) has partnered with the École de Faune de Garoua, Cameroon, Central Africa’s premier conservation training institution for over four decades. This collaboration focuses on equipping rangers and park managers to collect and analyze elephant mortality data and monitor poaching trends.
Participants learn to accurately record elephant mortality data – including the type and cause of death, detection method, age and sex of the elephant before death, and the presence or absence of tusks – engaging in practical exercises for using standardized protocols and applying crime scene management techniques that preserve evidence for court proceedings.
Over 200 individuals, including MIKE focal points, park wardens, and rangers, have been trained across 15 MIKE sites in the sub-region. The training is now delivered regularly to trainee rangers, ensuring rangers build their skills in CITES MIKE data collection during their education.
CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero said, “As CITES Parties prepare to meet in Samarkand, Uzbekistan for the 20th Conference of the Parties (CoP20) in November this year, training in elephant mortality monitoring continues to be critical. Accurate, reliable and comparable data from the field empowers decision-makers to craft stronger policies and gives frontline conservation stewards the tools to protect not only elephants, but also other threatened species and the ecosystems that sustain them – particularly in the Congo Basin, where poaching pressures remain high.”
With over 20 years of data collection and reporting, range States in the Congo Basin have contributed to building a robust database that not only informs global analyses of poaching trends but also serves as a critical resource for conservation areas. This data supports the development of effective anti-poaching strategies, enhances site-level management and inform global decision-making by CITES Parties on the conservation of African elephants.
According to a recent CITES MIKE report on the latest Proportion of Illegally Killed Elephants (PIKE) data, which calculates the number of illegally killed elephants found divided by the total number of elephant carcasses encountered, the sub-region reported an average PIKE of 0.58, which remain high compared to the other sub-regions in the continent: 0.3 in Eastern Africa, 0.25 in Southern Africa and 0.48 in West Africa.
As elephant poaching in the Congo Basin is driven largely by the illegal ivory and bushmeat trade, there is a pressing need for smarter, more targeted surveillance strategies to conserve remaining populations. Data-driven surveillance and best-practice management are critical to conserving the remaining populations. Through a partnership with the École de Faune de Garoua, targeted training has helped strengthen capacity to combat poaching in the region.
The programme introduced participants to Ranger-Based Monitoring (RBM) and real-time operations, equipping them with practical tools to improve anti-poaching responses. By optimizing RBM to meet management needs and leveraging new technologies, the training has enhanced the ability of frontline staff and managers to detect, prevent, and respond to wildlife crime more effectively.
This partnership with the École de Faune de Garoua also strengthens regional collaboration by bringing together rangers from Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR), the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon to share experiences using real-time operations and the challenges they face, exchange best practices, and coordinate efforts against transboundary wildlife crime.
“This training has allowed me to connect with fellow rangers from neighboring countries, with whom we share the same forest and face the same challenges. Now that we know each other, communication is easier, and information sharing and collaboration are much more effective. Building these connections is essential to fighting poaching in the Tri-National de la Sangha landscape,” said Claver Modiki, ranger at Dzanga-Sangha National Park, CAR.
By embedding CITES MIKE trainings into foundational ranger programs and equipping future rangers early in their careers, the initiative ensures long-term sustainability and scalability of conservation efforts across the sub-region.
The École de Faune de Garoua now boasts a team of instructors with specialised expertise in CITES MIKE protocols and advanced anti-poaching techniques, positioning the school as a regional hub for conservation excellence.
