Executive Summary - Occasional Paper No. 22 - African Elephant Database 1998

The African Elephant Database 1998 is a comprehensive overview of numbers and distribution of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), published by IUCN in its Occasional Paper series. Based on a GIS-database maintained by the IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) in Nairobi, Kenya, it updates the African Elephant Database 1995 (Said et al., 1995) with information collected during the years 1995 to 1998. Data from 37 countries from four regions of the African continent (Central, Eastern, Southern and West) are displayed in the form of text, tables of estimates and GIS-generated maps showing elephant range, protected areas and major geographical features. The country and regional data contribute to the overall continental data which are also summarised on maps and tables. All the source material is referenced and an introductory section details the background and structure of the database, the methodology used for counting elephants, and the criteria for determining the reliability and quality of data.

Over the centuries the range of the African elephant has shrunk and become fragmented, most noticeably in West Africa. Of the 37 remaining countries with African elephant populations, about one-third harbour less than 10,000 individuals, often in scattered populations. There is considerable variation from country to country in data reliability and quality, for several reasons. For example, many range states are experiencing political strife or economic difficulties and thus lack the resources to conduct regular wildlife surveys. Vast areas of elephant range are forested, particularly in Central Africa, where elephants are counted by indirect dung count methods and results from relatively small survey zones are extrapolated to much larger areas. Countries with savannah elephant populations tend to be mainly in Southern and Eastern Africa, where elephants can be counted more accurately from the air. Even in these regions, however, several range sates are not able to produce regular updates of numbers and range.

Because of this variation in data quality, it is inappropriate to summarise all estimates into one continental total. This is why the authors decided to categorsie the estimates according to the quality and reliability of the data received, into four distinct groups based on criteria drawn up by the AfESG's Data Review Taskforce. Thus for every country and region, and ultimately for the continent itself, elephant estimates are expressed as Definite, Probable, Possible, and Speculative. These mutually exclusive categories can be interpreted simply to mean that in any given country there are "definitely" (w) number of elephants, "probably" (w + x) number of elephants, "possibly" (w + x + y) number of elephants and "speculatively" (w + x + y + z) number of elephants. The categorisation provides a basis for addition at least within categories and enables the reader to discern the quality of data in a particular country at a glance. It provides the stimulus for improving the accuracy of data collection, and highlights areas for further improvement and analyses.

The African Elephant Database 1998 is an objective representation of the status of the African elephant today. The GIS approach provides a valuable overview which enables individual populaitons to be seen in a continental perspective.

The publication is available in full on the web, and hard copies can be ordered from: IUCN/SSC AfESG Secretariat c/o WWF-EARPO PO Box 62440 Nairobi, Kenya. Email: afesg@wwfeafrica.org
ISBN: 2-8317-0492-8