African Elephant Specialist Group

Background 

For effective conservation and management of any species, data on its distribution and abundance are essential. African elephants occur in 37 countries in Africa. While many of these range States undertake surveys of their wildlife populations, there is a great variety in the type and quality of surveys undertaken. Additionally, a number of other organizations (NGOs, the CITES Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) programme, national and international academic researchers, and others) undertake surveys and collect information on the status of the species in the course of their work. For national, regional and international policy-making, it is essential, particularly for a species such as the African elephant which is of high economic and aesthetic value, to have a standardized database containing easily-accessible data on the speciesʼ population size and distribution.

African Elephant Specialist Group and African Elephant Database

The IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) has developed a system of analyzing and collating data to prepare estimates at the national, sub-regional, and continental levels, in its ongoing maintenance of the African Elephant Database (AED). The AED and its accompanying publication, the African Elephant Status Report, is a significant resource for range State wildlife authorities, researchers, and policy makers at all levels. The AfESGʼs Data Review Working Group (DRWG) oversees this database, and is comprised of a number of AfESG members.

For the purposes of managing African elephant data, the AED provides an interactive platform for exploration of current and historical African elephant population and range data. It allows users to browse survey estimates, as well as to view the analyzed data at the national, sub-regional and continental levels. The AED allows data providers to submit new data through an online process. It encourages data providers to allow their data to be shared widely, and then publishes those new survey reports immediately. Combined with annual updates of the national, regional, and continental estimates, this is a major step forward in making data more swiftly available to decision-makers.

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