http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/05/13/where-terrorism-and-the-ivory-trade-collide
On April 22, following the Earth Day world premiere of The Last Animals, the Tribeca Film Festival posthumously awarded the fallen wildlife rangers in Garamba National Park with the Disruptor Award for their work and bravery in defending elephants.
The day before, poachers in Garamba National Park killed yet another ranger and soldier in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Joël Meriko Ari and Gerome Bolimola Afokao left behind 11 children. Since I first visited the park in January 2015 while filming The Last Animals, 13 rangers and military have been killed while trying to protect the elephants in Garamba, where terrorism and the ivory trade collide. It’s no coincidence that this happens to be the same place where less than 10 years ago, the Northern White rhino went extinct in the wild. On any given day there are more poachers in the park than giraffe. The park is the size of Delaware and is patrolled by 130 determined rangers, who put their lives on the line alongside the national military thwarting cross boarder incursions from South Sudan and remnants of the Lords’ Resistance Army, amongst others.
Northern White rhinos are now the most critically endangered mammals on the planet with only three left and all in captivity. Historically they inhabited 5 African countries west of the Nile River, but around 2007 they were poached out of Garamba National Park—their last stronghold. Today, the park is a battleground for the ivory of one of the last viable elephant populations in Central Africa.
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National Parks were set up to provide safe havens for animals, yet on average two to three rhinos are killed on a daily basis in Kruger National Park. Zoos were created to provide people the opportunity to see wild animals in far away places but increasingly they hold “backup” populations for animals critically endangered in the wild. Conservation in the 21st century is not only confusing, but diabolical. The web of criminal activity, bureaucracy and corruption surrounding the illegal and legal wildlife trade create a world of smoke and mirrors. Just a few weeks ago, South Africa announced the country will re-legalize her domestic rhino horn trade, hinting at allowing some international trade even though it’s contraband under international law. Rhino owners in the country often argue that they need the revenue to pay for the protection of their rhinos and are eager to capitalize on their stockpiled horns that are worth more than gold.
