Jennifer Hile, of the National Geographic Channel, reports that there is a very promising new factor in the Central African Republic that should cut down on wildlife poaching in the near future. Up through the 1980s, hordes of Sudanese, using military weapons and traveling on horseback, exterminated all the rhinos and most of the elephants, then turned to small game until it was depleted to the point of unprofitability. The poaching had been carried out because there were markets in North Africa for the ivory and bushmeat. Finally, poachers come in smaller numbers to take the remaining game and to terrorize and rob local people. The Central African Republic government has had too few resources to attend to the crimes against its people and wildlife in the remote Chinko River Basin, and so it appeared that there was no hope for the region.

Happily, now there is someone who can make things right again. Joe Blatz, an American, has been given the CAR government's blessing to train and arm the local population.

Now they will be able to defend both themselves and their wild resources. Blatz is a co-founder of the Central African Wildlife Trust, or CAWT, an organization based in Millwood, Virginia. He has experience in this field; in 1989 he helped train over 700 Tanzanians to deter (read repel and kill) poachers in that country. The operation there was such a success that he left it as soon as the local people were handling poachers on their own. The IUCN noted Blatz' victory for wildlife there, and in 1996 asked him to assess the similar problem in the Central African Republic, where he now has been given the go-ahead to train a local anti-poaching brigade in a similar manner.

Joe Blatz will set up a school, a medical center, and a "home guard" of men who will protect their village and range out into the bush on anti-poaching patrols. They will have guns and trucks, and Blatz is training them in paramilitary tactics and modern communication techniques. He is confident that these people, oppressed for centuries by gangs of Arab raiders, can now learn to protect themselves and their native territory, so that their game resources can recover.

It has been noted that the Chinko River basin is an extremely rich habitat for the diverse African wildlife that poachers have nearly eliminated. Once poaching is deterred, the elephants, rhinos, hippos, and small game should be able to recover here. An ongoing crime against people and nature can and will be halted, thanks to the CAR government, the IUCN, the Central African Wildlife Trust, and not least, thanks to Joe Blatz, a man with an unusual name who is endowed with unusual vision and courage. He is a man who is making a difference.

IWMC congratulates all who have participated in this endeavor, and congratulates the National Geographic Society for bringing this story to light on August 11, this year, in a televised feature about the world's most dangerous jobs. Finally, we have some good news about the poaching saga in Africa, and about ways it is being addressed in a practical, down to earth manner.