Poaching in Africa becomes increasingly militarized [09/12/2016]
- Due to skyrocketing consumer demand, particularly from Asia, todays
wildlife traffickers have the resources to outfit their henchmen with
weaponry and equipment that often outmatches that of the local park
rangers.
- The poachers doing the most damage in Africa today are
employed by professional trafficking syndicates, and they enjoy a level
of support and financial backing unimaginable during earlier poaching
crises.
- The poachers arsenal includes the expanding use of
military-grade equipment like helicopters, machine guns, infrared
scopes, and heavy armored vehicles.
Researchers analyzed satellite data and historical land cover maps to
determine how much forest was cleared for plantations between 1973 and
2015.
In total, they found 18.7 million hectares of old-growth
forest was cleared between 1973 and 2015. Of that, they concluded 4.5 to
4.8 million hectares were cleared for plantation expansion mostly for
palm oil production.
They found less plantation-driven
deforestation on the Indonesian side than they were expecting, but a big
jump from 2005 to 2015. Malaysia has remained relatively constant since
the 1970s.
The researchers recommend their findings be used to increase transparency and accountability.
Culled from Mongabay Newsletter
No comments:
Post a Comment