The conservation of the African elephant, a "flagship" species of global significance, provides tremendous opportunities for simultaneously conserving biodiversity and increasing benefits to local communities. The full range of such benefits is extensive and includes improved access to natural capital; improved livelihood opportunities; improvements to social capital; greater food security and reduced vulnerability to ecosystem degradation. Owing to their role as "keystone" and "umbrella" species that help maintain biodiversity of the ecosystems they inhabit, the contribution of elephants to achieving overarching global biodiversity conservation objectives can be significant. The cultural and aesthetic values of elephants are also important, not only to African societies, but to the world at large.
Human elephant conflict
The search for effective measures to deal with human-elephant conflict is one of the most significant challenges for elephant management. The AfESG meets this challenge through the work of its Human Elephant Conflict Working Group.
In order to meet this challenge, in 1997 the African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) officially inaugurated a five-member Human-Elephant Conflict Task Force. In 2002 this was re-named the Human-Elephant Conflict Working Group (HECWG) to more accurately reflect the ongoing nature of its work.
- Helping to reduce HEC by developing mutually beneficial strategies for elephant conservation and improvement of human livelihoods.
- Providing technical advice and expertise to elephant range state governments or other conservation support agencies on the management of HEC
- Linking people with an interest in, and co-ordinating activities with respect to HEC
- Fulfilling a catalytic role in getting HEC related studies underway