Countdown to extinction: wildlife in the Central African Republic

African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) and her young. I hate to end the week on a down note, but I just encountered a new study published in the African Journal of Conservation that merits greater attention.

Researchers have found that wildlife populations in the northern region of the Central African Republic (CAR) have fallen 65% in two decades (3.25% per year) with local extinction potentially on the horizon for a number of species. They largely blame the problem on a lack of state control in the area, which has enabled wide scale poaching of wildlife particularly by foreigners from war-torn neighboring countries.

The study conducted an aerial sample spanning 85,000 square kilometers in 2005). They found that populations have fallen approximately 80% for elephants (4803 to 929), 89% for the waterbuck (2719 to 303), 90% for the Buffon kob (28,446 to 2900) and 70% for the giraffe (1750 to 535).

These losses are on top of widespread declines that occurred earlier in the 20th century. For example, the black rhino population, abundant earlier in the century, collapsed by the early 1980's, finally going locally extinct in 1986. 

Incredibly, these declines have occurred in an extremely remote, sparsely populated region where 85% of the lands are conservation areas. The study authors attribute the declines to poaching by locals and foreigners from neighboring countries of Chad and Sudan combined with a southward migration of seasonal cattle grazing activities. The authors write,

"If the current situation persists, the countdown seems launched for the extinction of large mammals in Northern CAR…The irregular presence of law enforcement as a consequence of interruptions of funds between the different [European Union] project phases, combined with the absence of state authority in this region largely explains this result."

The area of the Central Africa Republic sits in a region of extreme political instability with Sudan, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of Congo all bordering. The authors emphasize that increased state control and international coordination are necessary to stem the problem. They write,

"While anti-poaching and community based wildlife programs (in community hunting areas) have a positive impact on local poaching, they do not prevent international intrusions. Giving CAR the possibility to secure its own territory is thus crucial for biodiversity conservation in this area. If sub-regional armed conflicts are not tackled and CAR’s national borders secured, biodiversity will continue to decline.

Given that the data for this study was collected in 2005, I wonder how things have changed in the last 5 years given the dynamic situation with neighboring Sudan. For example, observers in 2007 found that some of Sudan's wildlife appeared abundant despite the war. I am curious if anyone has information about the current status in the northern region of the Central African Republic.

--Reviewed by Rob Goldstein

Bouche, P., Renaud, P., Lejeune, P., Vermeulen, C., Froment, J., Bangara, A., Fiongai, O., Abdoulaye, A., Abakar, R., & Fay, M. (2009). Has the final countdown to wildlife extinction in Northern Central African Republic begun? African Journal of Ecology DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2009.01202.x