IUCN SSC African Elephant Specialist Group

Savanna elephants in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya © Shifra Goldenberg
The African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) promotes the long-term conservation of Africa’s elephants through science-based guidance and information sharing.

What we do

The African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) is an integral part of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). We mainly provide technical input to help decision makers, scientists, and wildlife managers for African elephant conservation by providing:

Elephant Database

Updates on the numbers and distribution of both species of elephants on the African continent, available on the African Elephant Database.

Forest elephant in Conkouati-Douli National Park, Republic of Congo © Hilde Vanleeuwe

Expertise for conservation strategies and management plans, publishing Pachyderm, and maintaining the African Elephant Library.

Billy the forest elephant, Lopé National Park, Gabon © Fiona Maisels

Tools and advice on managing human-elephant conflict to help coexistence. Please see the:  Human-Wildlife Conflict & Coexistence Library Resource; Save the Elephants’ Human-Elephant Coexistence Toolbox 2023 Edition 2.

Annual Reports

Learn about our work and results in 2023: 2023 AfESG Annual Report

Previous annual reports: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016-2017

Left to Right: Dave Balfour, Ben Okita, Rob Slotow and SSC Chair Jon Paul Rodriguez

AfESG members were recognized by the SSC Chair for their outstanding contributions to the SSC Key Species Results of the IUCN SSC Species Strategic Plan 2021–2023, notably achieving key outcomes in the ASSESS component of the Species Conservation Cycle. Our AfESG impact on biodiversity conservation was highlighted as significant and noteworthy. Citation of Excellence

5th IUCN Leaders’ Meeting in Abu Dhabi

African elephants on the IUCN Red List

AfESG assesses the two African elephant species for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species to inform conservation efforts. The Red List Authority Coordinator is Kathleen Gobush.

Elephant-related events:

Please email the secretariat at afesg@iucn.org with information about any other upcoming events dealing with elephant conservation.

  • The 78th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will convene in Geneva, Switzerland: 3-8 February 2025.
  • Celebrate World Elephant Day, Tuesday 12 August 2025
  • The 20th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP20) is scheduled to be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from Monday 24 November to Friday 5 December 2025.

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