Fight Against Ivory Poaching in Africa gets $80 million Boost

The effort to stop the slaughter of Africa's elephants for their tusks received an $80 million boost Thursday by the Clinton Global Initiative and its partners.

The CGI Commitment to Action to save Africa's elephants was made by seven nations and a host of conservation groups.

Funding for the plan will come from both public and private sources, including the United States, European and African governments and a variety of individuals, institutions and foundations. The roadmap for the initiative, which is committed through 2016, has goals of addressing the ivory poaching dilemma on three levels: stopping the killing, stopping the trafficking and stopping the demand.

The African nations backing the commitment are Botswana, Cote D'Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, South Sudan, Malawi and Uganda.

Conspicuously absent is Zimbabwe, where this month nearly 90 elephants were poisoned with cyanide in Hwange National Park, Africa's third largest wildlife sanctuary.

The $80 million will be used to support national governments' effort to bolster anti-poaching enforcement at the 50 priority elephant sites, according to a statement from the Environment News Service (ENS). An additional 3,100 park guards will be hired with the funds.

"In addition, anti-trafficking efforts will be increased by strengthening intelligence networks and penalties for violations and adding training and sniffer dog teams at 10 key transit points," the ENS report stated. "New demand reduction efforts will be implemented in 10 consumer markets over the next three years."

Also this week, a group of heads of state called for a special UN envoy on wildlife crime and a General Assembly resolution to combat the illegal trade.

"Illicit wildlife crime is no longer a simple environmental problem, it is a transnational crime and a threat to peace and security on our continent," said Ali Bongo the President of Gabon. The Somali militant group al-Shabaab, the organization claiming responsibility for the terrorist attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya, has been said to generate revenue from the illicit wildlife trade.

Guido Westerwelle, the German Minister of Foreign Affairs, said crimes against wildlife are "no longer a measure of securing endangered species, it's about countering the spread of organized crime and preventing uncontrolled militarization. This has become a problem of foreign and security matters."

In 2012, the estimated black market value of ivory was $1,800 per kilogram (2.2 pounds), according to Wildlife News.