14 DAY TRIAL // Courtesy of illegal traders that like to make a profit by selling animal body parts and also thanks to the people who are their customers, poaching activities are now blooming in Africa.
In fact, it is estimated that some 22,000-35,000 elephants living in this part of the world are killed by poachers and stripped of their tusks on a yearly basis.
What's more, figures shared with the public by conservationists and environmental groups say that, back in 2013, South Africa lost about 1,000 rhinos to the illegal trade in animal body parts.
The good news is that, according to media reports, the fight against poaching activities is beginning to gain momentum. Thus, China has recently announced plans to put on its superhero cape and join the battle to protect Africa's elephants. Mongabay informs that, while visiting the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that the country was ready and willing to spend $100 million (nearly €72 million) on combating poaching operations.
In case anyone was wondering, China's decision to get behind efforts to keep elephants in Africa safe from poachers is not entirely selfless. On the contrary, word has it that, by supporting anti-poaching campaigns, the country hopes to improve on its own image.
This is because, according to reports pieced together by conservationists and green groups whose members are in the business of protecting wildlife, much of the ivory and rhino horn originating from Africa gets sent to markets in China or other regions in East Asia.
Besides, it appears that, over the past few decades, China has implemented several industrial and development project in Africa. By doing so, it has dipped its finger into local natural resources and has consequently attracted quite a lot of criticism.
Otherwise put, it would not be entirely wrong to label China's pledging $100 million to curb poaching activities in Africa as an attempt to make amends for the damage it has helped cause.
Saving elephants aside, word has it that China does indeed have some really big plans for Africa. Thus, the $100 million intended for anti-poaching campaigns is said to be part and parcel of an impressive loan package encompassing $10 billion (about €7.2 billion) in credit and $2 billion (roughly €1.4 billion) in aid.
Interestingly enough, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang maintains that his country is also willing to bring high-speed rails technology to Africa. “We have a dream that all African capitals are connected with high-speed rail, so as to boost pan-African communication and development. China is ready to work with Africa to make this dream come true,” he said while at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa.