Johan Bergenas, a researcher at the Stimson Center, a
D.C.-based think tank, has been a particularly vocal advocate for combating a
“new threat in the terrorist hotbed of Africa.” He urges conservation groups to
“combat poaching, using new and inexpensive technologies to detect and deter
terrorist activities and traffickers,” adding, “Drones, satellite imagery,
tracking devices and other high-tech tools could transform the fight to save
elephants and rhinos, cheaply and effectively starving terrorists of the easy
money they gain from wildlife crimes.”
Bergenas’s views have found an audience with some wildlife
conservation groups, which are now attempting to reframe their work in terms of
American “wars” on terror and drugs.
To read the full article, click here.