The ivory was seized – along with numerous illegal weapons – during anti-poaching operations over the past few months and was due to be transferred this week to a centralized storehouse in the capital, Libreville. But now both the ivory and weapons are once again in the hands of criminals, who are likely to channel the ivory back onto the black market.

Marthe Mapangou, Director of WWF-Gabon said: “This theft leaves a bitter taste in the mouth because it undermines the good anti-poaching work being done and the bravery of the eco-guards who put their lives on the line to save the country’s elephants. If Gabon does not fix the weaknesses in its judicial system and end the impunity for crimes like this then it will not succeed in curbing ivory trafficking.”

The ivory that was stolen from the courthouse in the town of Oyem came from around 50 forest elephants. Since 2002, the Congo Basin has lost an estimated 62 percent of its forest elephants to poaching and trafficking, which are both rife in northern Gabon.

This theft is the third time in as many years that confiscated ivory has disappeared from the Gabonese government’s possession – and no one has yet been brought to justice.

Similar incidents have also occurred in other Central African countries. In Cameroon, for example, hundreds of inventoried tusks have disappeared since 2013 both from local courthouses and from the central storage depot in the capital Yaoundé.

Lamine Sebogo, WWF African Elephant Programme Leader said: “These unfortunate incidents raise serious questions about ivory stockpile management by Congo Basin countries. We urge governments to ensure much more rigorous security and management of their ivory stocks.”

In 2014, Gabon, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo all signed the London Declaration, committing to adopting effective legal frameworks and deterrents against wildlife crime.
Gabon, in particular, has positioned itself as a leader in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade by publicly burning its ivory stockpile in 2012, following an independent audit, while President Ali Bongo has demonstrated his commitment to tackling the poaching crisis by attending last month’s African elephant and illegal wildlife trade meetings in Kasane, Botswana.

“Gabon has a good reputation internationally when it comes to combating wildlife crime but this theft demonstrates that the reality on the ground is very different,” said Mapangou. “The country has shown leadership before and it urgently needs to do so again by effectively protecting current and future ivory stocks, and by catching and prosecuting the criminals behind these thefts.”

Source: WWF