India postpones first ever international meet on elephants
With only three species of elephants living in the world in 50 countries across Asia and Africa, the challenge of conserving this majestic species is not restricted to a few countries.
Without citing a reason for the postponement, the ministry of environment and forest on Thursday said, "The fresh dates would be decided later". The ministry also expressed its regret for the inconvenience caused to the participants due to this decision.
Representatives of fifty countries were expected to participate in the pioneering conference on welfare and conservation of elephants. The meet (E 50:50) was expected to bring together scholars, conservationists and policy makers to discuss issues on elephant conservation policy.
The conference was scheduled to include conclaves on science, culture and management culminating in a ministerial summit to adopt "a charter with common minimum global vision on conservation, management and welfare of elephants across all range countries" for the next 50 years.
India is home to 60% of all of Asia's wild elephants and about 20% of captive elephants. With only three species of elephants living in the world in 50 countries across Asia and Africa, the challenge of conserving this majestic species is not restricted to a few countries.
Representatives of most of the range countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Congo, Zimbabwe, Togo, Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Zambia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal and Thailand had expressed their eagerness to participate in the event.