IUCN and regional partners have unveiled the first-ever West Africa Regional Pangolin Conservation Action Plan, a coordinated roadmap designed to reverse steep declines across West African pangolin species by aligning anti-trafficking measures, habitat protection, and cross-border recovery efforts.
The plan lays out short-, medium- and long-term priorities — from strengthening frontline law enforcement and trade-monitoring systems to restoring and protecting key habitats and building national recovery programmes that can be adopted by range states. It is framed as a multi-decadal strategy to ensure coherent action across jurisdictions and sectors.
West Africa is home to three pangolin species — including the white-bellied and black-bellied pangolins and the giant pangolin — many of which are now assessed as Threatened. The action plan explicitly targets the drivers most responsible for declines: illegal wildlife trafficking, habitat loss, and gaps in national capacity for monitoring and prosecution.
Why it matters: Pangolins are among the world’s most heavily trafficked mammals. Regional coordination matters because trafficking networks, enforcement capacity and habitat threats cross borders; a single country’s effort is unlikely to work unless neighbouring states align policy, intelligence sharing, and prosecution. The plan therefore prioritises cross-border law-enforcement cooperation and trade-traceability mechanisms.
Implementation will hinge on rapid national adoption, funding for capacity building, and measurable monitoring. The action plan proposes concrete indicators and timelines that will let governments and conservation partners track progress — but success will require predictable financing, strengthened customs and police capabilities, and urgent scaling of community engagement where pangolins coexist with people.
What to watch: whether West African range states formally adopt the plan into national strategies; the immediacy and scale of donor commitments; and early wins in dismantling trafficking networks through improved intelligence and cross-border prosecutions. If those pieces fall into place, the plan could be a turning point for pangolin conservation in the region.
