In the 20th century, elephant numbers continued to decline with more ivory poaching and new threats, such as habitat destruction through logging and farming as well as conflict.

West African states have witnessed civil unrest and political instability over the last three decades -- notably in Liberia, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Nigeria -- which experts say has had a serious impact on wildlife.

Experts estimate the number of elephants left in the region of 13 countries to be between 5,000-13,000.

"West Africa was having serious problems in terms of instability and when people don't have peace, they don't think about conservation -- they first think about human preservation," Anthony Jarbo Tablah, a senior Liberian wildlife expert told Reuters.

"Now the entire region is more or less returning to stability, we want to focus on development and looking after the environment which is why 13 countries in West Africa signed this treaty on Tuesday," he added.

The treaty and its action plan set targets and timetables for improving elephant habitats, boosting fragile populations and setting up protected wildlife corridors between countries.

While the largest remaining elephant populations are in Burkina Faso and Benin, other West African countries have populations of fewer than 100.

Wildlife experts say it is unlikely these smaller populations will survive without swift and far-reaching action, as they are more vulnerable to extinction due to drought, disease and poaching which removes breeding males.

Under the aegis of the Convention of Migratory Species (CMS), the treaty plans for compensation for crop damage by elephants and the establishment of trained, rapid response teams to deal with rogue elephants to reduce animal-human conflicts.