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At the end of January, the first meeting took place of Asian countries to halt the threat of extinction of wild elephants. The meeting, held in Malaysia, was sponsored by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), which believes that the situation of the Asian elephant is now critical.

According to the IUCN, the original natural habitat of Asian elephants has been reduced by 95%, the current number of Asian elephants is thirty to fifty thousand, which is equivalent to 10-15% of the African elephant population. In fact, both species of this enormous and tranquil mammal are included in the Red List of Endangered Species, drawn up by the World Conservation Union.

The Asian elephant has now been confined to an ever-decreasing geographical area, drastically reducing its chance to move around in search of food and water. This is due to the extremely high human population density in southern and south-east Asia, which has in turn led to the deforestation of vast tracts of jungle for crop-growing.

The meeting in Malaysia brought together thirteen Asian countries with a population of wild elephants. Its purpose was to be the first step in finding shared strategies for balancing the needs of human growth and elephant protection.