National Geographic: A Powerful Weapon Against Ivory Smugglers: DNA Testing

 Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on May 23, 2013     Hong Kong Customs seized 113 ivory tusks in a cargo shipment at Hong Kong International Airport on April 30 this year. Officers detected the ivory when they X-rayed a consignment labeled “spare parts” being shipped from Burundi, Africa to Singapore via Hong Kong. DNA analysis…

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National Geographic: Chaos and Confusion Following Elephant Poaching in a Central African World Heritage Site

 Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on May 13, 2013   As poachers fired on forest elephants inside the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, a World Heritage Site in the Central African Republic (CAR), the impotence of foreign governments and non-governmental organizations in preventing the slaughter of wildlife amid political chaos was, once again, revealed. Earlier this week, the World…

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National Geographic: Did Polar Bears Really Lose at CITES?

       Posted by Laurel Neme in Polar Bear Watch on March 29, 2013    Delegates at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) 16th Conference of Parties held in Bangkok in March rejected a proposal to ban international trade in polar bears and their parts. The decision caused a stir because polar bears face a precarious future. While some…

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Mongabay.com: CITES 40th Anniversary: Reflections of CITES Secretary-General John Scanlon

By Laurel Neme, special to mongabay.com March 04, 2013 Part 3 of 3 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is often hailed by scholars and conservationists as the most effective international environmental agreement. On March 3, CITES celebrates its 40th anniversary. What accounts for its success? In the following interview, CITES Secretary-General John Scanlon…

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National Geographic: A Young Voice for Elephants: Celia Ho

       Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on February 21, 2013 “I take every chance to share my campaign and the difficulties elephants are facing,” says Celia Ho, a 14-year-old student from Hong Kong who launched a campaign to stop ivory consumption after reading Bryan Christy’s “Blood Ivory” article in National Geographic. Her young voice represents a…

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National Geographic: Poachers Capitalize on Chaos in Central Africa

Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on February 5, 2013         Poachers are capitalizing on the disarray in the Central African Republic (CAR) and appear to be moving freely in a search of elephants. Late last year several columns of Sudanese poachers, up to 200 well-armed men, were spotted traveling across northern CAR toward…

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A Tree Calls for Help

A new wireless device, called Invisible Tracck, can deter illegal logging by allowing authorities to track illegally cut trees in Brazil. Brazilian authorities will attach this small device onto valuable trees that might be targets for illegal loggers. If and when that tree is cut down and moved, the device will wake up and send a signal to authorities when it comes into…

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National Geographic: Elephants in Cameroon and Chad face Imminent Threat

  Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on December 5, 2012         Gangs of heavily armed elephant poachers have crossed the Central African Republic (CAR) from Sudan and are reported to be close to the southern Chad and northern Cameroon borders. Several columns of Sudanese poachers, comprising between 150 to 200 men riding on…

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