At the Entebbe International airport, the Uganda wildlife authorities confiscated unmarked crates of of elephant ivory which were due to be export to an unmentioned destination. The packages comprised of over 700 kilograms of ivory and two tons of scales from pangolins also know as scaly anteaters. On the international black market, the value of ivory is estimated to be about $1.5 million and Pangolin scale at $1.2 million reported by the French news agency.

The seizure of the ivory from right at the airport has offered more evidence on the existence of illegal wildlife trade that is a very big threat to the existence and survival of wildlife species which is frustrating law enforcement in the country and environmental preservations yet enriching the greedy poachers. All East African nations are working hard to stop illegal trade with now tougher legislation in works according to the UGANDA wildlife authority (UWA). Currently UWA is tracing the times and its mostly likely that this is the ivory stolen from the Ugandan government store rooms which is still under investigatons.

Funding capital for conflict

This illegal wildlife trade generates income that is often used to help finance militias and ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, according to Jossy Muhangi, spokesman for the wildlife authority.

So far Uganda has put in a lot of effort in eliminating poachers from its national parks, regional insecurity and porous borders mean that illegal goods can be easily moved through the country and sent abroad to Europe and Asia.

Although the UWA spokes person didn’t want to pint fingers to our neighboring countries. he commented that according to DNA tests carried out last year by UWA veterinary unit on the ivory, Muhangi said. The tests showed some had come from Ruaha, a national park in southern Tanzania. Other samples were traced to eastern DRC.

According to Muhangi poaching of elephant tusks in Uganda, has been going down for a long time. In 2011, 25 elephants were killed illegally in the country’s parks; two years later, the number of illegal killings had dropped to five. Muhangi attributed the decline to the creation of an intelligence unit that interacts with communities but we have also increased our ranger presence in most of the parks.

The wildlife authority has been working with agencies in Uganda and neighboring countries, creating interstate partnerships with rangers in South Sudan and the DRC. The partnerships enable representatives to go on joint patrols and to combine strategy meetings in border regions.