The Elephant Dilemma: A Long-term Perspective on the Management of African Savannas - Biodiversity Conservation and Environmental Change - page 13

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The Elephant Dilemma: A Long-term
Perspective on the Management
of African Savannas
Managing elephants is one of the most complex and emotive problems in conservation
ecology. Elephants are one of our most fascinating and endearing conservation icons. We
identify with their complex social structure and relate to their grief when family members are
lost through drought or ivory poaching. Their survival is inextricably linked with the identity
and survival of the African savanna, to which many people feel a deep spiritual connection.
However, increasing elephant populations are seen by many as a threat to vegetation, people,
crops, and the habitat of other wildlife. As the world's largest land mammal, their impact on
savanna trees can appear devastating, and proponents of culling argue that elephant culling
will protect habitat and generate revenue from ivory sales that could be used for conserva-
tion. Thus, the debate is polarized between those who feel that the slaughter of elephants for
ivory or trophy hunting is morally wrong and ecologically questionable, and those who feel
that their numbers must be controlled for the sake of other species, and for the integrity of
savanna vegetation (Owen-Smith et al. 2006).
The history of elephant management has reflected the tension between these competing
lines of argument. In East Africa, most governments have shown great commitment to a ban
on ivory trading, promoting non-consumptive approach to elephant conservation, such as
via photographic tourism (Gillson and Lindsay 2003). Management has generally been
laissez-faire, on the grounds that that elephant numbers have always fluctuated, and will nat-
urally regulate over time. Kenya, Zambia, and Gabon burned their ivory stockpiles as a ges-
ture of commitment to the ivory ban (Gillson and Lindsay 2003). In parts of southern Africa,
however, elephants were, and to some extent still are, often seen as over-abundant, and dam-
aging to habitat. The ivory from elephant culls is viewed by some as a valuable resource for
conservation in poor countries where finances are already over-stretched. Controlled sales of
ivory have taken place from Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Botswana in recent years, and at the
same time there has been a massive increase in poaching and the seizure of illegal ivory
(Bennett 2014, Wittemyer et al. 2014).
These contrasting approaches to elephant management are rooted in fundamentally dif-
ferent beliefs about nature and the philosophy of conservation management: preservation