Africa's lions, wild dogs to get more protection

Africa's lions, wild dogs, leopards and cheetahs are all set to get increased protection with two UN-related wildlife bodies proposing a new initiative at a global summit in October to halt their serious decline, it was announced on Thursday.

The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) will submit their action plans to the CMS COP12 wildlife summit in Manila from October 23-28.

Summit organisers say proposals for inclusion of the lion and leopard on CMS Appendix II will also be discussed at the meeting that will see over 120 countries for the 12th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals or CMS COP12.

The African Carnivores Initiative follows on from the CMS-CITES Joint Work Programme 2015-2020, which has been agreed by both Conventions.

If adopted, it is intended to become a shared platform for the implementation of resolutions and decisions on lions, leopards, cheetahs and wild dogs under both CMS and Cites.

The two conventions would look to pool their resources and expertise in a drive to deliver concrete action and policy guidance in tandem with other organisations such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

CMS and CITES have already cooperated in bringing all African Lion Range States together in Uganda in May 2016 to identify the key measures needed to conserve lions across Africa.

Cites COP17 also adopted a set of decisions on the conservation and management of the lion and the wild dog, which call for the collaboration of the two conventions.

"Time is running out for Africa's iconic carnivores. As sister organisations, CMS and Cites will seek to reap the synergies that exist to save the continent's remaining big cats and wild dogs," an official statement quoting CMS Executive Secretary Bradnee Chambers said.

Added Cites Secretary-General John Scanlon: "Africa's carnivores are among the most widely recognised and admired animals in the world. Today these charismatic predators are facing many and varied threats. However, this crisis can still be averted, and Cites and CMS are joining forces to better respond to these threats."

According to IUCN, the African lion, cheetah, leopard and wild dog are in constant, and sometimes severe, decline across the African continent, except for lions in Southern Africa, where there has been a slight increase.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species assesses the extinction risk of a species according to specific criteria.

The 2015 Red List assessment of the African lion suggests that lion populations overall have experienced a decline of 43 per cent between 1993 and 2014.

For the leopard, the 2016 IUCN Red List Assessment estimates a decrease of over 30 per cent in populations across Sub-Saharan Africa over the past 21 years, in line with severe declines in prey species and the expansion of agricultural land.

The wild dog is classified as endangered under the 2012 IUCN Red List Assessment. Although data deficiency complicates population estimates, the IUCN Assessment estimates that an overall decline of 17 per cent took place between 1997 and 2012.

--IANS

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