{"id":62443,"date":"2013-10-31T14:23:38","date_gmt":"2013-10-31T14:23:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierraexpressmedia.com\/?p=62443"},"modified":"2013-10-31T14:23:38","modified_gmt":"2013-10-31T14:23:38","slug":"cote-divoire-and-manchester-city-football-star-yaya-toure-becomes-unep-goodwill-ambassador","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/?p=62443","title":{"rendered":"C\u00f4te d’Ivoire and Manchester City Football Star Yaya Tour\u00e9 Becomes UNEP Goodwill Ambassador"},"content":{"rendered":"

Footballer to Concentrate on Combatting Wildlife Crime, Particularly Poaching of African Elephants for Ivory
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Nairobi, 29 October 2013 \u2013 <\/b>International football star Yaya Tour\u00e9 today pledged to combat the illegal ivory trade that sees thousands of African elephants slaughtered each year as he was unveiled as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).<\/p>\n

Mr. Tour\u00e9 joins the roster of other Goodwill Ambassadors\u2014Brazilian supermodel Gisele B\u00fcndchen, US actor Don Cheadle, Chinese actress Li Binging, French photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand and Indian economist Pavan Sukhdev\u2014to help generate public awareness and understanding of environmental causes.<\/p>\n

Tour\u00e9, African Footballer of the Year in 2011 and 2012 and an inspirational figure for Manchester City and his national side C\u00f4te d’Ivoire, travelled to the headquarters of UNEP in Nairobi, Kenya\u2014a country that is facing a massive spike in poaching\u2014to accept his nomination.<\/p>\n

\u201cC\u00f4te d’Ivoire\u2019s national team is named \u2018The Elephants\u2019 after these magnificent creatures that are so full of power and grace, yet in my country alone there may be as few as 800 individuals left,\u201d Tour\u00e9 said. \u201cPoaching threatens the very existence of the African elephant and if we do not act now we could be looking at a future in which this iconic species is wiped out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI became a UNEP Goodwill Ambassador to spread the message that this poaching\u2014and other forms of wildlife crime\u2014is not only a betrayal of our responsibility to safeguard threatened species, but a serious threat to the security, political stability, economy, natural resources and cultural heritage of many countries,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Increased poaching and loss of habitats are decimating African elephant populations\u2014especially in Central African countries\u2014according to a report entitled \u201cElephants in the Dust – The African Elephant Crisis\u201d, released in Bangkok in March at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).<\/p>\n

\"Yaya<\/a>

Yaya Tour\u00e9<\/p><\/div>\n

The UN estimates that over 17,000 elephants were illegally killed in monitored sites in 2011 alone. Overall figures may be much higher. The extent of the killings now far exceeds the natural population growth rates, putting elephants at risk of extinction, especially in Central and Western Africa. But even previously secure populations, such as those in East Africa, are now under threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are honoured that Mr. Tour\u00e9 has agreed to be a Goodwill Ambassador,\u201d said UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. \u201cHis personal commitment to an environmentally sustainable lifestyle and his global status as an internationally renowned sportsman makes him a particularly powerful African voice to speak and inspire action on the environmental challenges and the solutions to these challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Tour\u00e9 has already demonstrated his commitment to tackling this issue. In September this year, Mr. Tour\u00e9 and other players at a World Cup qualifier between C\u00f4te d’Ivoire and Morocco\u2014viewed by tens of millions across the globe\u2014held up slogans to raise awareness of the killings of elephants and other wildlife.<\/p>\n

The Elephants in the Dust report\u2014produced by UNEP, CITES, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network (TRAFFIC)\u2014 says that the illegal ivory trade has tripled since 1998.<\/p>\n

Criminal networks are responsible for the illegal trafficking of ivory between Africa and Asia. Large-scale seizures of ivory destined for Asia have more than doubled since 2009 and reached an all-time high in 2011.<\/p>\n

The international community is looking at measures to address the crisis, including collaborative action to combat the illegal trade in wildlife and timber, which would include:<\/p>\n