In Togo, the illegal trade of African elephant (Loxodonta africana) ivory is widespread despite efforts made by the government to curtail these activities. By using data gathered from CITES institutions and natural resource management authorities in the country, we investigated the extent of ivory trafficking in Togo. We also conducted surveys in villages around protected areas, which still contain elephant populations to assess the species’ current status in the country. Our surveys indirectly corroborated that there are probably no more than 150 elephants collectively within the country's protected areas, most of them in the Fazao-Malfakassa National Park. We also estimated that a minimum of 41.65 tons of ivory (elephant tusks and carved objects) was intercepted in Togo between 2008 and 2018. Despite the fact that presently illegal elephant hunting is unlikely in Togo, we show that this country is the entry point for ivory from Central Africa (Cameroon and Gabon). We maintain that Togo's position as an intermediary country in the illegal ivory trade is a tangible threat to elephants throughout their range countries and is also likely to affect the dwindling population of these animals in the country if adequate enforcement is not implemented.

中文翻译：

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深入了解西非多哥的非法象牙贸易和大象状况

在多哥，非洲象 ( Loxodontaafricana ) 的非法贸易) 尽管政府努力减少这些活动，象牙仍然很普遍。通过使用从该国 CITES 机构和自然资源管理机构收集的数据，我们调查了多哥象牙贩运的程度。我们还在保护区周围的村庄进行了调查，这些村庄仍然包含大象种群，以评估该物种在该国的现状。我们的调查间接证实，该国保护区内总共可能不超过 150 头大象，其中大部分在法扎-马尔法卡萨国家公园。我们还估计，2008 年至 2018 年期间，多哥至少截获了 41.65 吨象牙（象牙和雕刻品）。尽管目前在多哥不太可能非法猎杀大象，我们表明这个国家是中非（喀麦隆和加蓬）象牙的入口点。我们坚持认为，多哥在非法象牙贸易中的中间国地位对整个大象分布国构成了切实的威胁，如果不实施适当的执法，也可能影响该国这些动物数量不断减少的情况。