About

Elephants in Gourma National Park, Mali © Carlton Ward

Our mission

To promote the long-term conservation of Africa’s elephants throughout their range

Objectives

  1. To compile and synthesize information on the conservation and status of the African elephant across its range.
  2. To provide and improve technical information and advice on the conservation of Africa’s elephants to the following:
    • range State government agencies
    • non-governmental organizations, including both international and African-based organizations
    • inter-governmental organizations
    • non-range State governments
    • Special effort will be made to target outputs in a manner that meets the needs of the above
  3. To promote and catalyse elephant conservation activities in general.
  4. To build capacity through the exchange of ideas, information, and technical expertise among the members of the group.

Our current programme can be seen in the following link: AfESG 2021-2025 Quadrennium outputs.

Activities

  1. To review the status of elephant populations in Africa.
  2. To maintain, update, and improve the African Elephant Database and, ideally, to publish a report every 3 years.
  3. To undertake analyses of relevant data to assess conservation priorities.
  4. To provide technical information to assessments of the impact of human activities (including legal and illegal off-take, changing land use patterns, and changes in relevant national and international policies and legislation) on Africa’s elephants.
  5. To contribute technical information to evaluations of the effectiveness of different management actions.
  6. To advise governments on options for conservation action through interactions on both national and regional bases.
  7. To improve technical support for the development, promotion and implementation of conservation strategies.
  8. To facilitate co-ordination and co-operation in conservation-related research on Africa’s elephants to ensure that lessons learned can be disseminated and applied as widely as possible.
  9. To produce a peer-reviewed journal, Pachyderm, publishing articles on elephants and rhinoceroses.
  10. If funding allows, to hold a meeting of members every 3 years to facilitate information exchange and collaboration between members.
  11. To form task forces, as required, to examine key and technical issues in detail.
  12. In order to serve the public demand for information on Africa’s elephants, to liaise with the IUCN/SSC to ensure that the information on the Specialist Group website is accurate.
  13. To liaise as closely as possible with the IUCN/SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group.
Savanna elephants, Kruger National Park, South Africa © Michelle Henley
Savanna elephants, Kruger National Park, South Africa © Michelle Henley
Savanna elephants, Kruger National Park, South Africa © Michelle Henley

Our Work

The AfESG provides technical support and advice on a range of matters related to elephant management and conservation, including advice on managing human-elephant conflict to promote coexistence. The AfESG facilitates the development of national, regional, and continental conservation strategies and management plans, in support of the African Elephant Action Plan. The AfESG has also assisted in the organization, facilitation and technical preparation of range States dialogues. Our current programme can be seen in the following link: AfESG 2021-2025 Quadrennium outputs.

The AfESG maintains two vital elephant management tools: the African Elephant Database (AED) and the African Elephant Library. The AED holds data on how many elephants there are, and where they are found, across 37 countries of their range. The AED is the source for African Elephant Status Reports – the most recent report was published in 2016 with updates expected in 2024. These reports are generally considered the most authoritative and up-to-date source of knowledge about the numbers and distribution of African elephant populations at national, regional, and continental levels. The African Elephant Library is an invaluable and growing archive of over 7,500 references on Africa’s elephants.

The AfESG works with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The group has been involved in the development of the CITES programmes: Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) managed at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) managed by TRAFFIC, as mandated under CITES Resolution Conf. 10.10.

Additionally, AfESG works with the Convention of Migratory Species (CMS) in the conservation of elephants in West Africa. For some time, the AfESG has served as the coordinator for the implementation of the MOU amongst the West African Range States under the CMS.

The AfESG will continue to provide interdisciplinary scientific information to aid decision-making and action to help all stakeholders. The group will continue to build capacity and focus on African elephant conservation and connectivity in range States for population viability and to improve coexistence with people in Africa.

Future

The AfESG will continue to provide sound, interdisciplinary scientific information to aid in decision-making and action. The group will strive to maintain its focus on conservation action on the ground and on capacity building to manage the species and the challenges it faces.