Chinese Demand for Timber and Wildlife in West Africa

 The Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame published in October 2025 a paper titled "Chinese Demand for Timber and Wildlife in West Africa: Responding to the Environmental and Social Impacts" by various authors.

China's demand for timber and illegal wildlife products contributes significantly to deforestation and biodiversity loss in West Africa.  This paper recommends ways to strengthen enforcement and promote accountability to address environmental and social impacts of Chinese demand for timber and wildlife.

Environmentalists Outraged Over French/Chinese Oil Project in Uganda and Tanzania

 The New York Times published on 14 March 2023 a feature article titled "An Oil Rush Threatens National Splendors Across East Africa" by Abdi Latif Dahir with numerous photographs by Arlette Bashizi. 

A multibillion-dollar oil drilling and pipeline project is displacing thousands of people in Uganda and Tanzania, and ravaging wildlife habitat.  The oil drilling, which is already underway, occurs along Lake Albert in Uganda.  The pipeline will go south from Lake Albert through Uganda and then continue the length of Tanzania through game parks to the Indian Ocean port of Tanga.  France's TotalEnergies and China National Offshore Oil Corporation are managing the project.   

War Damage to Tigray Region's Environment

 Ethiopia Insight published on 22 February 2023 a commentary titled "War and Siege Inflicted Damage on Tigray's Ecosystem" by Emnet Negash, Ghent University, and Emiru Birhane, Mekelle University.  

The war in Ethiopia's Tigray Region resulted in significant damage to agriculture, animal herds, reforestation, wildlife, and the environment generally.

Mega-Themes in Africa-China Relations 2017

Lina Getachew Ayenew, Ethiopia-based author and consultant focused on Africa-China relations, recently posted her 2017 "Mega-Themes in Africa-China Relations."

The focus of the 2017 edition is the Belt and Road Initiative, China versus the US, ivory trade, technology, education and healthcare.

China Implements Ban on Ivory Imports

World Press Review published on 12 January 2018 an interview titled "China Makes Good on Its Pledge to Curb Elephant Poaching with Ivory Trade Ban" with Grace Gabriel, regional Asia director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

At the beginning of this year, China implemented a ban on the domestic sale and processing of ivory. As the largest consumer of ivory, this move should significantly reduce the incentives for the poaching and killing of elephants in Africa.

Tanzania Replaces Chinese Company with Turkish Company for Railway Project

Kenya's Standard Digital published on 8 October 2017 an article titled "Tanzania Building Electric Rail at Half Price of Kenya's Diesel Standard Gauge Railway Line" by Paul Wafula.

The article compares the process Kenya and Tanzania used to build a new standard gauge rail system in each country. Kenya opted for a no-bid contract with China Road and Bridge Corporation supported by Chinese financing. Tanzania quietly terminated a contract awarded to a Chinese construction company due to allegations of corruption and broke the project into four parts with four open bidding tenders and different funding sources. A Turkish and Portuguese consortium won the first phase and a Turkish company won the second phase. The article argues that the trains in Tanzania will travel much faster than those in Kenya and the project will cost less per kilometer.

Loss of Agricultural Land in Africa

The New York Times published on 30 July 2017 a long article titled "Loss of Fertile Land Fuels 'Looming Crisis' across Africa" by Jeffrey Gettleman.

Discussions of global agricultural land usually note that Africa has by far that largest percentage of unused cultivable land. Some suggest that Africa could feed the world in spite of the fact that Africa is a net food importer. This article points out that Africa's unused land is not as productive as often claimed. A recent NASA study explains that the degradation of Africa's agricultural land has resulted in more than 40 million Africans trying to survive on land whose agricultural potential is declining due to overuse and climate change. An expert at Michigan State University commented that the concept of land-abundant Africa is increasingly outdated. Finally, sub-Saharan Africa has the fastest growing population in the world, putting additional pressure on the land each year.

Rhino Horn Smuggling to China and Vietnam

The Elephant Action League published in July 2017 a report titled "Grinding Rhino: An Undercover Investigation on Rhino Horn Trafficking in China and Vietnam" by Andrea Crosta, Kimberly Sutherland, and Chiara Talerico.

Continued consumer demand for rhino horn in China and Vietnam has created economic incentives for, and a resurgence of, poaching and trafficking in African countries. The report provides information on the rhino horn black market in China and how rhino horn is smuggled from Vietnam to China and then sold and distributed in China.

China Bans the Ivory Trade: Cyberspace Poses Challenge

News China magazine published on 1 February 2017 an article titled "A Dark World" by Wang Yan.

While the government of China recently banned the illegal ivory trade, the article points out it will be difficult to enforce the regulation. Illegal ivory traders have moved their business online to WeChat. Social media platforms such as Alibaba and Tencent have made serious efforts to ensure they are not being used to facilitate the illegal wildlife trade but there is no guarantee they can stop all trading activity.

What Do Kenyans Think of Chinese?

China House Kenya published on 1 October 2016 the results of a survey titled "What Do Kenyans Actually Think of the Chinese in Kenya?" by Cheng Lyu, Jinmeng Li, Zander Rounds, and Lucy Liu. The survey is based on 459 questionnaire responses distributed to Kenyans in neighborhoods, markets, and malls. This does not qualify as a scientific survey but is at least as valid as random press reporting.

The majority of respondents held a positive view of Chinese; 77 percent agreed with the statement that China is helping Kenya. The responses were much more critical of Chinese for their involvement in the illegal trade of ivory and rhino horn.

East Asian Networks Smuggle African Ivory

The BBC published on 7 July 2016 a story titled "East Asian Networks 'Smuggle Ivory across Africa'" by Navin Singh Khadka. Drawing on a lengthy report by the NGO Traffic, the article emphases the role of East Asian gangs in the killing of about 30,000 African elephants annually for their ivory.

Understanding China and South Africa's Illegal Wildlife Trade

The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) published in October 2015 a paper titled "Not Beating around the Bush: Understanding China and South Africa's Illegal Wildlife Trade" by Yu-Shan Wu, a researcher at SAIIA.

The illegal wildlife trade is one of the complexities that exists in China-South African relations.  It translates into a lack of common understanding in policy spaces on the intrinsic value of wildlife in South Africa. 

China and the Illegal Wildlife Trade

The Centre for Chinese Studies (CCS) at Stellenbosch University published on 25 February 2014 a commentary titled "Illegal Wildlife Trade, China and the Sale of Endangered Shark Products" by Meryl Burgess, research analyst at CCS.  She concludes that China is showing signs of taking seriously the fight against illegal wildlife trade.