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A Mid-Year Update from the Elephant Crisis Fund
With innovative funding and expert knowledge sharing, the Elephant Crisis Fund (ECF) responds swiftly and effectively to the many challenges facing elephants.
In 2023, we've already granted over $2 million in 29 diverse grants, for aircraft, equipment and vehicles, training and mentoring, pioneering conflict mitigation techniques and anti-trafficking investigations.
We’ve made site visits this year to the Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Benin, South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Kenya. These trips have revealed the impact of our donors' generous funding, and helped to determine future needs.
In this newsletter, we share the highlights and challenges from the first half of 2023, showcasing some of our conservation partners' incredible efforts.
Protecting a Forest Elephant Stronghold
Deep in the heart of the Republic of Congo lies Odzala-Kokoua National Park, a crucial stronghold for forest elephants. Save the Elephants' Dr. Chris Thouless and Dr. Lucy King recently visited African Parks in Odzala; this account of their trip provides captivating insights into the progress and challenges faced in protecting this wild and densely forested site.
Read more | 4 min
Addressing Human-Elephant Conflict in South Luangwa, Zambia
The rise in human-elephant conflict near South Luangwa National Park in Zambia threatens lives and livelihoods. It is escalating as elephants venture beyond the boundaries of the protected area and into neighboring villages. Leading the charge against this conflict is Conservation South Luangwa. Discover how this inspiring Zambian organization is working with communities on initiatives such as ingenious 'smelly' fences and elephant-safe grain stores.
Read more | 4 min
A Worthy Legacy: The Esmond B. Martin Royal Geographical Society Prize
Esmond Bradley Martin was an exceptional individual who significantly contributed to uncovering the illicit trafficking of rhino horn and elephant ivory. He was honoured at the inaugural Esmond B. Martin Royal Geographical Society Prize award ceremony earlier this year. Despite his tragic murder in Nairobi in 2018, Esmond's legacy lives on through the prize established in his honour.
Read more | 4 min
Rare ‘one-in-a-million’ camera footage captures a forest elephant in Liberia reacting to a BuzzBox™. Elephants are afraid of bees - watch as the forest elephant recoils from a tech-generated bee sound during a crop protection trial. This footage showcases cross-border collaboration between Save the Elephants and ECF grantees Wild Survivors in Tanzania and ELRECO in Liberia.
Read more | 1 min
Restoring the Jewel of the Congo
From humpback whales to forest elephants, mangroves to dense rainforests, Conkouati-Douli in the Republic of Congo is uniquely diverse. Despite complicated challenges such as illegal mining and a growing bushmeat trade, under the management of ECF grantee Noé this magical National Park is experiencing a re-genesis. Discover the highlights of Dr. Chris Thouless' recent trip to Conkouati.
Read more | 5 min
Some Signs of Hope in a Wildlife Trafficking Hotspot
Nigeria has gained notoriety as a major wildlife trafficking hub in Africa: however, there are some signs of hope. Nigerian law enforcement agencies, working with ECF grantees, have made significant progress in investigating trafficking networks and bringing criminals to trial. In addition, Nigeria's proposed Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill holds the potential for significant positive impact.
Read more | 3 min
About the Elephant Crisis Fund: The Elephant Crisis Fund (ECF) is a joint initiative of Save the Elephants and the Wildlife Conservation Network, created to address the African elephant conservation crisis by funding urgent and innovative action by partners in Africa and around the globe.
The Fund provides support in three programmatic areas: Ending the Ivory Crisis, Promoting Human-elephant Coexistence and Protecting Elephant Landscapes. Since 2013, the ECF has granted over $33.6 million with 443 grants to 109 partners across 44 countries.
To all our major funders, individual donors, corporate partners, and contributors who financially support the Elephant Crisis Fund, thank you for investing in this important work. Through your continued generosity, we are able to provide essential funding to our global network of conservation partners.
Thank you for making a very real difference to the future of elephants.
The Elephant Crisis Fund runs a 100% donation model. Every dollar raised is directly deployed to elephant conservation projects in the most critical hotspots, with zero administrative fees or overhead. Please help us to support the best ideas by trusted institutions to help save one of the greatest icons of the natural world.
Photos and footage by: Chris Thouless, Lucy King, Conservation South Luangwa, Wild Survivors, Noé, and Nigeria Customs Service
