The African Elephant

Ago the centuries, the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) lived almost everywhere on the African continent. Today, the elephants are found only south of the Sahara Desert and their distribution is fragmented and discontinuous. Because of this loss and fragmentation of range and also the poaching of elephants for their ivory, the number of elephants has declined across the continent. Before the 1970s, the decline had caused a major concern about the survival of the species. This concern has highlighted the need to monitor and report on the status of elephant populations across the continent.

The Database of African Elephant (BDEA) is designed to meet this need. This is a joint effort between conservation agencies and researchers from 37 countries that form the actual distribution of the African elephant. Information on the distribution and the massive presence of the elephant are met through field surveys and questionnaires, and stored in a database using Geographic Information System (GIS), together information on other factors such as vegetation type, coverage and boundaries of protected areas. Given the growing pressure on the African elephant because of several threats, the monitoring of the distribution area of the elephant and its staff provides invaluable data for the conservation and effective management of remaining populations and makers with information that will form the basis for developing national and international policies relevant to elephant conservation.

The BDEA is housed and managed at the Secretariat of the Group of Specialists on the African Elephant in Nairobi, Kenya.