On September 24th members of the African Parks organization and guests gathered at the River Club in NYC to discuss the protection of wildlife resources and elephant preservation in Chad. A panel of speakers was comprised of the Chadian President, His Excellency Idriss Debyt, Mahamat Issa Halikimi, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Environment and Water Resources, and Peter Hearnhead CEO, APN and the discussion was lead by Ron Ulrich. Over 85 guests gathered to learn more about the elephants in Chad which have been hard hit by poachers, particularly in Zakouma National Park.
Shortly after taking up his position as Minister of Environment and Fisheries Resources in Chad, Mr Mahamat Halakimi was in the field following up on the elephant massacre which took place during March 2013 in south-west Chad. This latest massacre was widely publicized as were the previous ones in 2012 and 2011. Mr Halakimi’s desire to do something positive resulted in African Parks being requested to assist with the development of a national strategy to protect Chad’s unique elephant herds – unique because these savanna elephants are amongst the last remaining herds north of the rain forests of Central Africa.
The Chadian government has really stepped up its efforts and President Idriss Deby Itno is taking a leadership role in Central Africa. Recently, the government announced a zero tolerance policy on poaching and wildlife trafficking, and the government has taken action to hunt down the poachers.