Africa

Can Economics Save The African Rhino?

Gregory Warner — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:32:00 +0000

When Duan Biggs was growing up in the Kruger National Park in South Africa, he used to watch elephants and rhinos walking past his bedroom window. He left home to pursue degrees in biology and economics, and when he returned in 2011 the park looked and sounded "like a pseudo war zone," he says.

"There'd be helicopters flying overhead all the time," he says. "I remember one afternoon coming back to my home from a game drive and the bush was crawling with people with assault rifles, from the army, from the police, and from National Parks.

Nigeria Declares Emergency In 3 States Over Terrorism

Korva Coleman — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:03:00 +0000

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan imposed states of emergency in three states Wednesday, promising to send more soldiers to the northeast to put down a growing threat from militants from the Islamist group Boko Haram group and an offshoot, Ansaru.

NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton says Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, which are close to the Chadian border on the east, are beset with violence. Militants are threatening to impose strict Islamic law in the region, and are establishing control with more sophisticated weaponry.

In Somalia, Surviving A Kidnapping Against 'Impossible Odds'

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:28:00 +0000

In 2011, Jessica Buchanan was an aid worker in northern Somalia, helping to raise awareness about how to avoid land mines. The north was the relatively safe section of the country; that October, she traveled to the more dangerous southern region for a training. The night before she left, she texted her husband, Erik Landemalm, also an aid worker in Somalia. She asked him a question: "If I get kidnapped on this trip, will you come and get me?"

On the trip back from the training, Buchanan and a colleague found their convoy surrounded by armed Somalians.

Vietnam's Appetite For Rhino Horn Drives Poaching In Africa

Frank Langfitt — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:05:00 +0000

Africa is facing a growing epidemic: the slaughter of rhinos.

So far this year, South Africa has lost more than 290 rhinos — an average of at least two a day. That puts the country on track to set yet another record after poachers killed 668 rhinos in 2012.

Behind the rise in killings are international criminal syndicates and global economic change.

Rhino Horns Fuel Deadly, Intercontinental Trade

Sun, 12 May 2013 09:27:00 +0000

NPR's Frank Langfitt and Gregory Warner have teamed up for a series about how myth and money are driving extraordinary slaughter of rhinos. They talk with host Rachel Martin about the issue, which has repercussions from the African continent all the way to Asia.