AFRICAN
CONSERVATION AND WEB SITES FOR AFRICA FROM
AFRICANWEBSITES.NET
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Much of Africa's habitat
and its wildlife is threatened by overpopulation and unsustainable use of
natural resources
by poor people. Raptors are no exception; over 100 species
either breed in Africa or migrate there each winter from Europe and Asia.
Conservation of far ranging species like raptors and other migratory birds
presents special problems to biologists. How do we protect animals that range
so far and need widely dispersed habitats in which to survive?
The Peregrine
Fund's Pan Africa Program aims to establish projects throughout Africa
that train local people to do the studies needed to achieve conservation
of birds of prey and other species. The programme will bring biologists from
diverse countries and cultures together in a common effort to protect Africa's
natural resources. You can email The Peregrine Fund at
tpf@peregrinefund.org.
The mission of the
International Fund for
Animal Welfare (IFAW) is to improve the welfare
of wild and domestic animals throughout the world
by reducing commercial exploitation of animals, protecting wildlife habitats,
and assisting animals in distress. They seek to motivate the public to prevent
cruelty to animals and to promote animal welfare and conservation policies
that advance the well-being of both animals and people.
IFAW was founded in 1969
to confront the cruel commercial slaughter of harp and hooded seals. Having
successfully rallied worldwide condemnation of the hunt, they have grown
to become one of the largest international animal welfare organizations in
the world. Today IFAW
has offices in 12 countries and a staff of more than 200 experienced campaigners,
legal and political experts, and internationally acclaimed scientists. They
are a pragmatic and dedicated family of professionals who believe that animals
suffer far too much from commercial exploitation, habitat destruction, and
needless cruelty. And they are joined in that belief by more than 1.8 million
supporters. You can email
IFAW -
info@ifaw.org.
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) (Headquartered
at the Bronx Zoo, U.S.A.), works to save wildlife and wild lands throughout
the world. For more than a century, WCS has inspired care for nature,
pioneered environmental education programmes
and helped sustain biological diversity. WCS supports programmes in
Africa to gather information on wildlife needs, train local conservation
professionals, and work with in-country staff to protect and manage wildlife
and wild areas for the future. For information on any of their current projects
in Ivory Coast - detailed below - you can email them at
feedback@wcs.org :
West African manatee conservation and education.
The ecology of the Crowned Eagle in Tai
Forest.
The bushmeat crisis is
the most significant immediate threat to the future of wildlife populations
in Africa. Hunting of wildlife to meet people’s
demand for protein may still be sustainable in
the few remaining areas where population densities are less than 2 people/km2,
trade routes are poorly established, and human population growth rates are
low. The scale of the illegal, commercial bushmeat trade now occurring in
Africa, however, is driven by markets with large, rapidly-growing populations
of consumers and is considered by experts to be unsustainable. This
commercial-scale trade threatens the survival of numerous species as well
as posing considerable health and economic threats for future generations.
The Bushmeat Crisis
Task Force (BCTF), founded in 1999, is a consortium of conservation
organizations and professionals working throughout Africa and dedicated to
the conservation
of wildlife populations threatened by illegal,
commercial hunting of wildlife for sale as meat. The BCTF operates under
the direction of an elected Steering Committee and is funded by Supporting
and Contributing Members. BCTF's primary goals are to: a) work with the general
members of the BCTF to focus attention on the bushmeat crisis in Africa;
b) establish an information database and mechanisms for information sharing
regarding the bushmeat issue; c) facilitate engagement of African partners
and stakeholders in addressing the bushmeat issue; and d) promote collaborative
decision-making, fund-raising and actions among the members and associates
of the BCTF. For more information about the BCTF and the bushmeat issue,
please visit their
website or email them
directly.
For more information on Cote d'Ivoire, click
here.
If you would like to
contact us please email
terry@africanconservation.org
