More than 30 countries met in Bonn from 5 to 8 November 2018 to establish the African Carnivore Initiative. The initiative constitutes the first Africa-wide commitment towards saving African Wild Dog, Cheetah, Leopard and Lion.
Habitat loss and fragmentation, prey depletion, retaliatory killing of carnivores by owners of livestock and increasing trade in lion specimens and live cheetah are the main reasons for these animals’ rapid decline across most of Africa.
Range States agreed on the following priority measures: developing and implementing conservation strategies for each of the four species; creating and maintaining a network of healthy ecosystems to address the threat of increasingly fragmented habitats and finding solutions to human-animal conflicts and facilitating coexistence.
The African Carnivores Initiative is a unique collaboration between the only two global treaties whose mandate is to conserve endangered species. The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) focuses on broad conservation measures, such as habitat protection, establishment of ecological corridors and mitigation of human-wildlife conflict. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulates international trade and seeks to stop illegal trade. By working together, CMS and CITES can tackle the conservation of the four carnivores from two different angles.
Further information: https://www.cms.int/en/news/african-states-make-long-term-commitment-conserve-their-largest-carnivores
Source: News UN Bonn, 15.11.2018