The Elephant Crisis Fund (ECF) is a joint initiative of Save the Elephants and the Wildlife Conservation Network, established to invest in organizations which are working to secure a future for elephants in Africa.
The ECF was set up in 2013 to support a network of organizations with funding and technical expertise to help them combat the ivory poaching crisis. With this threat now reduced, the ECF has broadened its scope to improve coexistence between humans and elephants and to protect elephant landscapes.
Savanna and forest elephants are facing intense threats to their survival in many parts of Africa. The ivory trade has reduced in recent years but ivory continues to move from Africa to illegal markets in Asia. Other threats to elephants’ survival are becoming more acute, including habitat loss, and a sharp rise in conflict between humans and elephants as they compete with each other for space and resources.
WCS Republic of Congo © Scott Ramsay
Such clear and present dangers to savanna and forest elephants—two of the most ecologically important and treasured species on Earth—require responses that are rapid, innovative, collaborative, and effective. The ECF promotes and invests in such interventions.
To secure a future for elephants, the ECF supports partners working in three programmatic areas:
- Ending the ivory crisis: stopping the killing of elephants for ivory, preventing ivory from reaching markets, and reducing the demand and profitability of the trade in ivory products.
- Promoting human-elephant coexistence: reducing conflict between humans and elephants through mitigation measures and land use planning.
- Protecting elephant landscapes: safeguarding important elephant landscapes, to allow elephant populations to recover.
The ECF has strong governance with a board that oversees strategy and a team which conducts deep vetting to ensure funding reaches the most effective projects, and monitors progress to track impact.
Since 2013, the ECF has awarded $36.34 million in 489 grants to 114 partners in 44 countries to support some of the best efforts to safeguard the future for elephants. The ECF is working to ensure that elephant populations across Africa are no longer under threat. Read more about the Elephant Crisis Fund here.
Carved ivory items seized at Shenzhen Baoan International Airport Guangdong Province China © China Customs
