Meeting from 6-7 February 2008, in Bamako, Mali, delegates from 17 African elephant range states focused their discussions on elephant conservation and anti-ivory trade initiatives.

The meeting, which gathered delegates from Mali, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Southern Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya, resulted in the creation of a coalition for the conservation of the African elephant and against ivory trade. It was organized by the governments of Mali and Kenya and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), following a decision by the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) to allow for sales of specific ivory stocks owned by Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe before commencement of a nine-year trade suspension.
Links to further information
IFAW press release, 7 February 2008
Environment News Service, 6 February 2008