Asian Elephant Conservation Act Law and Legal Definition
The Asian Elephant Conservation Act (“Act”) is a federal legislation enacted in1997 to perpetuate healthy populations of Asian elephants. The Act assists in the conservation and protection of Asian elephants by supporting and providing financial resources for conservation programs of Asian elephant range states and the CITES Secretariat. [16 USCS § 4262].
The Act aims to protect at-risk elephant populations and their habitat/ecosystem. It promotes applied research on elephant populations and habitat including surveys and monitoring; conservation education; and protected area management in important elephant ranges.
Some important provisions of the Act are:
The Secretary of the Interior will provide grants from the Multinational Species Conservation Fund for approved final projects for conservation of Asian elephants.[ 16 USCS § 4264]
The Secretary can accept and use donations to provide financial assistance for conservation programs. Amounts received as donations will be transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit into the Multinational Species Conservation Fund. [16 USCS § 4265]
Grants provided by this Act cannot be used for captive breeding of Asian elephants other than for release in the wild. [16 USCS § 4264]
Appropriations are authorized at $5,000,000 annually for five years, 2007 through 2002, to carry out provisions of the Act. [16 USCS § 4266]
