Protection Plan for Endangered Tanzania's Savanna Elephants Population

Protection Plan for Endangered Tanzania's Savanna Elephants Population
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Due Date Protection Plan for Endangered Tanzania's Savanna Elephants Population A recent update on the IUCN List of Threatened Species includes the African savanna elephant or Loxodonta africana. The update comes following a significant decrease in the number of African elephants in the past two decades. Over the past 50 years, the number of African savanna elephants has decreased by 60% for several reasons (IUCN, 2021). Tanzania, a country in East Africa, has felt the impact of the decline in elephants like any other country south of the Sahara. Several conservation groups, including TRAFFIC, estimate that poaching reached an industrial scale between 2009 and 2014, leading to a 60% decline in the elephant population (Taylor, 2021). The classification of the African savanna elephant as an endangered species also calls for remedies that will save the elephant population in the vast East African state. Elephants’ Biome             There are several types of biomes, including aquatic, grassland, forest, tundra, and desert (WWF, 2021). In Africa, there are two types of elephants based on the forest and grassland biomes. Most African elephants live in the savanna, which is a subcategory of the grassland biome. Savannas cover almost half of the African continent (Cuni-Sanchez et al., 2016). The Serengeti plains of Tanzania are probably the best-known African savanna and host many savanna elephants. Savanna elephants are those that prefer extensive grasslands and scattered trees. On the other hand, forest elephants are mainly found in West African forests. The recent update by IUCN places both species of elephants in the endangered species category. While the aquatic biome plays a crucial role in providing water for elephants, it is not conducive for elephants to live in. Further, the tundra and desert biomes do not have sufficient resources (food and water) to support a population of elephants. Threats to Elephants in Africa             In Tanzania and Africa, the greatest threat to elephants is poaching (Allen, 2016). The factors that influence poaching can be classified into country factors and international factors. According to Allen's report, demand for ivory in Asian markets, including China and Vietnam, is crucial to poaching. It provides a lucrative avenue through which poachers can fund their activities and gain from them. The international demand is an example of international factors that fuel poaching. Country factors include border vulnerability, anti-poaching capabilities, corruption, politics, and economics (Lavadinović, Islas, Chatakonda, Marković, & Mbiba, 2021). These factors are interrelated and intertwined. For instance, politics plays a crucial role in allocating resources for the protection of elephants, keeps the economy steady, thus leading to professionally trained anti-poaching units, controls corruption, and responds to issues of poverty. A recent study by Hauenstei...