In Cameroon, You Will Soon Be Able to Change Phone Company But Keep Your Number

The government of Cameroon Tuesday April 19, destroyed by burning, some 2000 elephant tusks as well as 1753 finished ivory products as if to send a message that Cameroon’s second war after that against Boko Haram, is against poaching.

The pyre set to destroy the 3.5 tons of items seized from poachers and traffickers was lit at the Yaounde Conference Centre, in the presence Samantha Power, visiting US Ambassador to the United Nations, Ngole Philip Ngwese, Cameroon’s Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, as well as other government dignitaries.

The destruction of the seized ivory items, ordered by 83-year old President Paul Biya, is the first ever to be carried out by the Cameroon government and is seen as one of the spectacular destruction of poached endangered species items in Africa.

During the burning ceremony, Power said the move is an indication that “the only place ivory belongs and the only value ivory has is on elephants.”

Ngole Ngwese regretted the number of guides and park rangers who have been killed in recent time during anti-poaching campaigns. He was confident that the confiscated items had been destroyed beyond reach, reiterating government’s decision not to preserve them in the National Museum.

Much earlier, Ngole told reporters the move is in respect to the Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, CITES, and the ratification of various global and sub-regional agreements.

“We shall continue combating organised poaching in concert with neighbouring countries and our partners,” Ngole is quoted in the national bilingual daily, Cameroon Tribune as saying, adding that by ordering that elephant tusks be burned, Biya seeks to ensure efforts are not frustrated and that seized ivory does not find its way to the black market.

Cameroon’s colony of elephants has considerably reduced over time. In 2010, the elephant population in Cameroon was estimated at 21,000 (National Strategy for Elephant Management, 10-year duration). The rise of poaching, especially the mass slaughter of 2012 in the Bouba Ndjida National Park in north Cameroon, drastically reduced the elephant population.