1 June 2016: Twenty-eight African lion Range States came together to discuss the status of the species and set a conservation agenda that recognizes the role of community-based natural resource management, partnerships and transboundary collaboration. In a Communiqué agreed to at the meeting, countries recognize the main threats to lion populations and relay steps to improve conservation of the species and its habitat.

At the meeting, convened by Uganda with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and held from 30-31 May, in Entebbe, Uganda, Range States reached consensus on a number of different issues, including a number of practical actions. They recognized that the main threats to lions in Africa stem from: unfavorable policies, practices and political factors; ineffective lion population management; habitat degradation and reduction of prey base; human-lion conflict; adverse socio-economic factors; institutional weakness; and increasing trade in lion bones.

Range States agreed that there is a need to improve the collection of scientific information and data and called for strengthening legislation on lion conservation, as well as establishing effective governance structures and improving law enforcement measures through initiatives such as the Lusaka Agreement on Cooperative Enforcement Operation directed by the Illegal Trade in Flora and Fauna and the Horn of Africa Wildlife Enforcement Network (HAWEN). They also agreed that community-based natural resource management, the creation of incentives for local communities to engage in lion conservation, the sharing of conservation benefits and the establishment of mitigation measures could increase the lion range and enhance conservation efforts. In their Communiqué, they also agreed on a statement on trophy hunting, recognizing that the practice, if well managed, is a good conservation tool as long as it is based on scientifically established quotas.

In a joint statement, CITES and CMS noted that the meeting of African lion Range States was timed to feed into the forthcoming 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17) to CITES, at which a proposal to up-list lions from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I will be considered. The meeting was also held in response to a call from the eleventh meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 11) to CMS for lion Range States to come together to discuss lion conservation across Africa and the possibility of listing the African lion under CMS.

According to the 2015 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, and recognized in the Communiqué, African lion populations have experienced an overall decline of 43% between 1993 and 2014. While populations increased in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe by 12% over the same period, other sub-populations in the rest of Africa have decreased by 60%. [CITES Press Release] [Communiqué] [CITES-CMS Joint Statement] [CMS Press Release]