Global March for Elephants and Rhinos to Take Place October 7

Participants in the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos

It has been announced that thousands of people around the world will be participating in the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos (GMFER) on October 7, in order to put pressure on international leaders to combat poaching and the illegal wildlife trade. Last year, the GMFER established marches in over 140 cities and had representatives at the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES which was the largest meeting on the international wildlife trade. During the meeting, CITES agreed to urge that countries shut down their domestic ivory markets instead of regulating them. This year, in addition to demanding government action to end the wildlife trade, GMFER will be focusing on ensuring that conservation efforts do not alienate the local communities. To do this, GMFER will be hosting a program called "A Day With Wildlife" in partnership with the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit and the Bush Babies Environmental Education in South Africa's Kruger National Park. The organizations will be spending the day with children and elders from bordering communities in Limpopo, talking about the history of Kruger National Park and the importance of collaborating with homegrown communities to achieve conservation goals.

The significance of this year's GMFER focus is to reach out to local communities and empower them about the value of joining forces in protecting elephants, rhinos, and other endangered wildlife around the world. According to Rosemary Alles, cofounder and president of GMFER, indigenous communities in elephant and rhino range countries are known to be protective of poachers because they bring resources back to them in order to survive. She further added that the Western world needs to be more aware and understanding of the struggles of indigenous communities and should consider other options than just militarizing to stop poachers. This distinctive approach is an essential step towards ending poaching and the illegal wildlife trade. Mainly targeting poachers and other would-be perpetrators alone is not enough; it is equally important to reach out to local communities and educate and empower them about the crimes against wildlife and the value of conserving the world's wildlife. Furthermore, countries around the world should close down their local ivory and rhino horn markets as this would further dwindle the elephant and rhino populations. 

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