Poaching threatens the survival of savanna elephants in Central Africa. Over the last two decades, the Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants programme has recorded 3 004 illegal elephant kills in this region. In April 2023, several elephants were killed in the Beinamar region of Chad, close to the Cameroon border, sparking concerns about a potential resurgence of poaching in this region.
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The national parks on the Cameroon-Chad border
 Source: ENACT |
The Bouba Ndjida National Park, located in the North Region of Cameroon, shares a border with the Sena Oura Biosphere Reserve in Chad. It has been repeatedly targeted by heavily armed poachers from Chad and Sudan who are driven by the international demand for ivory and the need for additional income streams to fund their activities.
These issues are compounded by systemic weaknesses. Inadequate surveillance capabilities, local tolerance of poaching, pervasive corruption, limited state presence in remote areas, porous borders and ongoing regional instability all increase the park’s vulnerability to illegal activity.
In 2012, around 650 elephants were killed in Bouba Ndjida National Park by a faction of the Sudanese Janjaweed militia. This was reportedly orchestrated by Sudanese clans affiliated with the Janjaweed, along with some members of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces. At the time, the park was protected by only five rangers who were equipped with outdated MAS 35 rifles. They were supported by roughly 20 villagers armed with traditional weapons.
This pivotal incident prompted Cameroon to adopt a green militarisation strategy that integrates Cameroonian military approaches and values into conservation practices.
“Operation Peace at Bouba Ndjida” is part of this strategy. Six hundred soldiers, 60 combat vehicles and an air squadron from the Rapid Intervention Battalion, an elite unit of the Cameroon military, are deployed annually from 1 December to end-May. “Operation Peace” coincides with the dry season (from November to April or May), when elephants make their seasonal migration across the Chad-Cameroon border to established water sources inside the park, and when poachers have historically been most active.
The operation has demonstrated positive outcomes while active, both in safeguarding the park’s elephants and in improving the area’s overall security. Interviews with local community members, as well as administrative and military authorities, indicate that Cameroon’s military presence significantly reduces poaching, as well as other criminal activities such as cattle rustling and hostage-taking, from December to early June every year.
This apparent lull may be misleading however, as criminals often shift their activities southward to the Belel area in Adamawa during the annual military operation. When the rainy season arrives and the military departs, incidents of hostage-taking and cattle rustling tend to spike again.
Deterring the poachers from Cameroon has also displaced their activities to the border areas with Chad. Here, equipped with sophisticated weaponry, such as AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades, they have been able to out-manoeuvre the state at every turn. They use Global Positioning System devices, satellite phones and satellite imagery to track, locate and poach the elephants.
Not only are elephants under threat but the presence of armed poachers in the park and surrounding areas has also created security challenges for local communities, rangers and the Cameroonian military. Tourism in Bouba Ndjida – a vital revenue source for Cameroon – has been crippled, with wealthy hunters from the United States, Mexico, Germany, France and South Africa deterred by the presence of these poachers.
Even though the operation is costly at around US$2 million per year, disbanding “Operation Peace” is not a viable option. In 2018, the Rapid Intervention Battalion scaled back its presence during the dry season after several years of relative calm. This reduction allowed poachers to swiftly return, leading to tragic consequences, including the deaths of six Cameroonian soldiers and two local guides. There is also a shortage of park rangers in the Bouba Ndjida National Park, who work in tough conditions without proper equipment or safety measures. These factors highlight the importance of continuing this essential programme, according to a high-ranking officer at the Army headquarters in Yaoundé who spoke to ENACT.
But Cameroon should also extend its efforts beyond green militarisation. Empowering local communities and actively involving them in anti-poaching efforts through education and awareness campaigns will foster a sense of responsibility for the park as a sanctuary and encourage them to protect their environmental heritage for future generations.
This sense of responsibility will be strengthened when authorities consistently ensure the fair and equitable distribution of wildlife fees to locals, as outlined in the financial and fiscal provisions of the recent Law on Forestry and Wildlife.
Regionally, cross-border cooperation is essential to combat poaching in Bouba Ndjida.
The signing of an anti-poaching agreement between Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad, and the adoption of the regional Extreme Emergency Anti-Poaching Plan in 2013, marked important progress. In addition, ongoing informal cross-border collaboration between the three countries enables intelligence sharing on the Sudanese ivory hunters who travel long distances across Chad and the CAR to operate in Cameroon.
However, this cooperation needs to be strengthened further through the specific actions outlined under Component 2 of the African Strategy on Combating Illegal Exploitation and Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora in Africa (2015). These actions would benefit countries in the sub-region, beyond just Congo-Brazzaville, to join the Lusaka Agreement Task Force, which fosters a cooperative approach to operations against poaching and illegal wildlife trade.
Finally, given the severe impact of elephant poaching on the security and economies of these countries, activating the mixed anti-poaching brigades, provided for in the Sena Oura-Bouba Ndjida binational agreement signed between Chad and Cameroon on 2 August 2011, is urgent.
Raoul Sumo Tayo, Senior Researcher – Central Africa, ENACT, ISS
Image: Born Free
