By Johan Bergenas:

For the past two weeks, leaders from around the world have gathered in South Africa for a global wildlife summit to debate regulations on the trade of endangered plants and animals. This triennial event, which concludes Wednesday, led to new protections for such species as the pangolin and sharks. But some countries are disappointed that one endangered animal did not receive new, desperately needed protections: the elephant.

The controversy comes amid the worst elephant-population decline in decades. In just seven years, 144,000 of Africa’s savanna elephants—almost one-third of the remaining population—were killed for their ivory. Today, only 350,000 roam the African plains.

Click here to read the full article on Politico.

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Johan Bergenas is a Senior Associate and the Director of the Partnerships in Security and Development program, where he leads the Natural Security Forum.​

Photo credit: Jude via Flickr