Wildlife reports

Asian elephants face a 15% population decline and rising illegal trade. EIA urges CITES CoP20 to renew key Decisions and strengthen protections.

The NIAP process is vital to combat ivory trafficking. EIA urges SC79 to include UAE, monitor China, and escalate Angola and Mozambique to strengthen enforcement.

The 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will take place from 23 November and 5 December in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. EIA will be actively engaging at CoP20 on a range of key issues relating to the protection of elephants, rhinos, Asian big cats, pangolins and vaquita porpoises, in addition to broader compliance and enforcement issues.

The illegal live trade and illegal trade in parts and derivatives of Asian elephants have been acknowledged by multiple stakeholders as a threat to the species’ survival. This is reflected in policy provisions.

Our research from 2024 highlights that significant concerns remain regarding transparency, information sharing and criminal justice in the global fight against wildlife crime. This report is part of EIA's regular assessment and focuses on four themes, which build upon the findings of our previous work.

Asian elephants have been categorised as endangered for nearly four decades and their cross-border commercial trade has been banned for almost 50 years. The threats posed by human elephant conflict and habitat loss on the species have been well documented, although less systematic attention has been given to the threat of poaching and illegal trade.