Calls for joint regional action in Niassa Reserve targeted by foreign elephant poachers – Mozambique

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Calls for joint regional action in Niassa Reserve targeted by foreign elephant poachers – Mozambique

8:50 CAT | 12 Dec 2016

File photo

The governor of Niassa, Arlindo Chilundo, says Niassa National Reserve’s elephant population is under pressure from foreign poachers gathering there for to extract ivory.

Speaking at a press conference, Chilundo said that poaching was something that affected all conservation in the African continent, and that, with a total area of 42,000 square kilometres, the Niassa National Reserve had forest, wildlife and mineral resources that were all being targeted by transnational crime syndicates.

For this reason, Chilundo says neighbourly coordination between the Mozambican and Tanzanian provinces across the Rovuma River is vital.

In the case of the indiscriminate slaughter of elephants in the Niassa Reserve, joint regional action would allow effective control of the common border and facilitate the fight against trans-border crime.

Chilundo says there is also illegal mining both inside and outside the Niassa National Reserve involving foreigners, some of them Tanzanian nationals who enter Mozambique with the help of national citizens.

He said that the illegal mining affected the quality of river water, as illegal miners use mercury, a serious pollutant and a danger to fish and other animals, including man himself.

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