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Written question asked by Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative) on Tuesday, 19 December 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 8 January 2024. It was answered by Rebecca Pow (Conservative) on Wednesday, 10 January 2024 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Elephants: Poaching

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps with (a) international counterparts, (b) charities and (c) rangers to help tackle the poaching of elephants.

Answer

The UK is committed to combatting the illegal wildlife trade (IWT). We are increasing our funding and will invest a further £30 million between 2022 and 2025.

Defra Ministers and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials at Posts regularly discuss important conservation matters including poaching of elephants. For example, the UK signed a letter of intent in December 2023 with Cameroon’s Minister of the Environment, Nature Protection, and Sustainable Development to deliver the Biodiverse Landscapes Fund.

Defra provides support for a variety of different projects that support rangers and protect elephants through the IWT Challenge Fund and direct programming, which are detailed below.

  • Defra’s grant scheme – the IWT Challenge Fund – has supported projects to change behaviours, strengthen wildlife crime legislation, and help communities to protect the wildlife they rely on for their livelihoods. More information is available at https://iwt.challengefund.org.uk/.
  • Our support for rangers includes the British military’s Defra-funded Counter IWT Ranger Training Programme, which has helped wildlife parks work together to strengthen law enforcement and share information to disrupt smuggling and poaching across Africa.
  • The UK is investing at least £12 million Overseas Development Assistance between 2024 and 2030 in Cameroon, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo through the £100 million Biodiverse Landscapes Fund. This programme aims to protect biodiversity and reduce poverty, with measures that intend to reduce human wildlife conflict and combat the illegal wildlife trade.

Information on total number of rangers is not available as we do not aggregate this data.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
7628
Session
2023-24
Grouped for answer
Yes
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Charities International cooperation Poaching Elephants
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk