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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/"><img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/nytlogo153x23.gif" alt="The New York Times" align="left" border="0" hspace="0" vspace="0"></a>
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<div class="">August 9, 2013</div>
<h1>Killing Lions, Buying Bombs</h1>
<h6 class="">By
<span><span>JOHAN BERGENAS</span></span>, <span><span>RACHEL STOHL</span></span> and <span><span>OCHIENG ADALA</span></span></h6>
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<p>
PRESIDENT OBAMA and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
recently stepped up the fight against poachers, who kill tens of
thousands of animals worldwide every year, selling their body parts for
enormous profits. As well as bringing much needed political focus to the
issue, their efforts include more resources to train and equip
anti-poaching forces. </p>
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This attention is part of a new understanding that poachers pose a
threat not only to endangered species, but to American national
security. A portion of the profits from poaching is funneled to
terrorist groups, including Al Shabab, based in Somalia, and the Lord’s
Resistance Army, which has killed more than 3,000 people and displaced
another 400,000 in Central Africa in recent years. </p>
<p>
Despite anti-poaching efforts across the developing world, the illegal
killing of wild animals continues: the Wildlife Conservation Society
says that 35,000 African elephants were killed illegally last year, and
that the number of elephants on the continent has fallen to only
420,000, from 1.2 million in 1980. </p>
<p>
Although it is impossible to know for sure how much money flows to
terrorists from poaching, some reports suggest that the monthly profit
for Al Shabab from the illegal ivory trade alone is $200,000 to
$600,000. In the case of the Lord’s Resistance Army, witnesses report
that Joseph Kony, the group’s leader, ordered the shooting of elephants
in order to trade their tusks for arms, cash, food and medical supplies.
</p>
<p>
The poaching-terrorist link is not new: in 1998 a Somali warlord tied to
poachers reportedly provided safe haven to operatives of Al Qaeda
responsible for the bombings of the American Embassies in Kenya and
Tanzania, which killed hundreds of people. But as both the global reach
of terrorist groups and the market for illegal animal parts have grown,
the nexus between the two has tightened. </p>
<p>
Before stepping down as secretary of state, Mrs. Clinton began an
effort, led by the director of national intelligence, to determine the
impact of trafficking in animal products on American security. </p>
<p>
The results of the report, which was finished this summer, have not been
released. But its conclusions are easy to guess, as shortly after its
completion President Obama created an interagency task force to develop
an anti-poaching strategy and pledged $10 million to help African states
combat poaching. </p>
<p>
That’s a welcome contribution, but far below what is needed. To be sure,
poaching is a complex, transnational threat, and cracking down on
poaching is simply too big a job for the United States, or any
government, to handle alone. </p>
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It is therefore noteworthy that Mrs. Clinton has continued to generate
awareness of the issue since leaving office. On July 15 she announced
she would use her influence to rally support from national leaders
around the world behind anti-poaching endeavors. Her effort should
catalyze other states to step up their own efforts against poaching and
wildlife trafficking in Africa. </p>
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But the best shot at combating poaching must include nontraditional
partners working together. This means that governments, multilateral
organizations and technology innovators — from the Pentagon and United
Nations counterterrorism units to the World Bank and conservation groups
— must play a part in addressing the problem by coordinating strategies
and sharing information. </p>
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A collaborative response is also needed to achieve development goals in
Africa. Tourism is a key part of many African economies, and diminished
wildlife populations, especially of popular animals like elephants and
rhinos, is a direct threat to their prosperity. </p>
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Another key to any anti-poaching strategy should be to equip law
enforcement and other authorities with the technology necessary to
counter high-tech poachers, who use helicopters, night-vision goggles
and automatic weapons. The United States, for example, should work with
African governments to deploy unarmed surveillance drones to track
poachers and identify their illicit networks. </p>
<p>
President Obama’s and Mrs. Clinton’s engagement on poaching deserves
credit. But to ensure the link between poaching and terrorism is
severely disrupted, their words need to be followed by a serious
commitment of money and resources, not only from the United States, but
from conservation, development and security organizations worldwide.
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<p> <a href="http://www.stimson.org/experts/johan-bergenas/">Johan Bergenas</a> is the deputy director of the Managing Across Boundaries initiative at the Stimson Center. <a href="http://www.stimson.org/experts/rachel-stohl/">Rachel Stohl</a> is a senior associate with the initiative. <a href="http://www.amaniafrika.org/about-us/staff">Ochieng Adala</a>,
the acting executive director of the Africa Peace Forum and a visiting
fellow at the Stimson Center, is a former Kenyan ambassador to the
United Nations. </p> </div>
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