At the Clinton Global Initiative’s Annual Meeting today, the Wildlife Conservation Society reported a number of encouraging gains achieved over the past year in the fight to save Africa’s elephants. Those include the successful 96 Elephants campaign in the United States, social media outreach efforts in China, and the newly passed New York and New Jersey State bans on ivory.

Having worked closely with Secretary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton to implement the commitment undertaken at last year’s CGI meetings, I must express my great appreciation for their dedication in protecting African elephant populations. We are deeply encouraged by the progress we have made and delighted to welcome several new governments to the cause this year from Asia, where the high demand for ivory is a leading contributing factor to the current crisis.

Shortly after the initiation of CGI’s Partnership to Save Africa’s Elephants one year ago, WCS launched the 96 Elephants campaign, named for the estimated number of elephants killed illegally in Africa every day. The campaign has focused on securing effective U.S. moratorium laws, bolstering elephant protection with additional funding, and educating the public about the link between ivory consumption and the slaughter of elephants.

Read the full blog by John Calvelli on NatGeo NewsWatch >>