Environmental activist Marina Silva has unexpectedly found herself centre stage in Brazil's presidential election campaign, following the death in a plane crash of Eduardo Campos, the candidate for the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB).

But Ms Silva is an experienced politician with an impressive record.
A former environment minister during the government of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva she is seen as having the national and international profile to replace Mr Campos.
In 2010, she ran for president for the tiny Green Party and secured 19 million votes, forcing the race into a second round.
At the time, she said she wanted to be "the first black woman of poor origins" to reach the presidency.
Most people expected her to try again in 2014.
But after her newly created party, the Sustainability Network, failed to achieve the 500,000 signatures needed to be officially recognised, she joined Mr Campos as his vice-presidential running mate.
Now she will face the challenge of remaining faithful to his legacy - which PSB officials are determined to hold her to - while staying true to her own ideals.
Ms Silva opposed some of Mr Campos's alliances with regional candidates - especially when they were members of the country's powerful agribusiness lobby, which accounts for over one fifth of Brazil's GDP.
Having locked horns with the sector during her time as environment minister, she may now have to reach a compromise with its backers.
Ms Silva was born into a family of 11 children in the northern state of Acre, in the heart of the Amazon.
As a child she would walk several miles in the forest with her father and siblings every day to collect rubber from trees.
She campaigned alongside the rubber tapper and trade union leader Chico Mendes, who was killed in 1988 for his activism.
Throughout her childhood years, she was seriously ill a number of times - suffering from hepatitis, malaria and contamination by heavy metals.
As a result she suffers from frail health and has an intolerance to a long list of things - such as cosmetics, perfume, alcoholic beverages and red meat.
This and her devout evangelism have marked her style. She uses no make-up and prefers simple and sober clothing, mainly long dresses.
She often wears her hair in a tight bun tied by a thin braid.
It is a stern image, but according to political scientist Ricardo Ismael she also conveys personal warmth.
"She inspires confidence in ordinary voters - that she is accessible," explains Mr Ismael, who is a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio.
"Wherever she goes, she approaches people and allows herself to be approached. She seems frail but conveys remarkable strength.
"She knows Brazil. She knows the problems from seeing them on the streets, or living them," he adds.
Aged 16, Ms Silva left her community of rubber workers in Bagaco and moved to Rio Branco, the capital of Acre, to study and get treatment for hepatitis.
She was taken in by nuns in a convent and became the first person in her family to learn how to read and write.
"When I saw my name on the list of people that had passed the course, I knelt down and gave thanks to God. That list saying I was literate opened doors for me," she said in an interview with BBC Brasil years later.
After she left the convent, she went to work as a domestic maid in exchange for lodging.
Ms Silva was widely praised on an international level for her work as environment minister under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
During those five years, hundreds were arrested for crimes against the environment, a record area of territory was set aside as indigenous reserves and there was a significant slowdown in rainforest deforestation rates.
But she also faced defeats such as the approval of the first genetically modified soybean crops, which she had opposed.
Fearing her agenda was losing ground, she resigned in 2008 and a year later left the governing Workers' Party.
Opinion polls conducted following last year's wave of protests against World Cup spending, corruption and poor public services suggested Ms Silva was the only politician whose image had benefitted from the unrest.
Political scientist David Fleischer of the University of Brasilia says she appeals to the younger generation and those who want change.
"Those who took to the streets saying they didn't feel represented by Brazil's political system were still undecided, and now many will choose to vote for her", he says.
However, some of those critical of the bigger establishment parties are also uneasy about Ms Silva's devout religious views, fearing she is too conservative on social issues such as gay marriage and abortion.
Even though the protests have diminished, her supporters believe there is still a yearning for change.
They hope that the desire for change along with the emotional circumstances of her selection will result in a powerful boost to her campaign just weeks ahead of the election.


New figures suggest Scotland's accident and emergency departments treated 91% of patients within four hours between October and December.

This compares to 94% in the previous quarter and is slightly worse than England's performance of 92.6%.
Scottish Government targets are for at least 95% of A&E patients to be seen, admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
NHS Lanarkshire had the worst average figure over the period - at 85.5%.
The figure for NHS Lanarkshire in November was just 83%.
The Scottish figure for October and November was 91.8% but that fell to 89.8% in December.
The numbers are below the overall performance in England, but above that in what are described as "core sites" in major cities south of the border.
In December, 89.9% of patients were seen within four hours in Scotland, compared to 90.2% in England and 81% in Wales.
At "core sites" in the same month, the performance was 88.6% in Scotland, 85.3% in England and 77.2% in Wales.
Scottish Health Secretary Shona Robison said this winter had seen "unprecedented pressures" in hospitals.
In December, NHS Forth Valley (84.2%) and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (84.5%) were the worst performers.
NHS Tayside was the best health board for waiting times with 99% seen within four hours.
There was a slight increase in attendances compared to previous years.
The number of attendances at A&E services across Scotland over the past three years were
During the final quarter of 2014, 4,028 patients spent more than eight hours in A&E and 517 spent more than 12 hours.
The statistics said 27% of attendances at A&E led to an admission to hospital.
The health secretary said: "Staff in Scotland's NHS have done a terrific job over what has been a very challenging time and I'd like to thank them for all their work as they cope with an increase in the number of patients and an increase in those being admitted.
"These factors have clearly impacted on performance and today's figures do not meet the demanding, world leading targets we have set and the standards that patients rightly demand.
"We are determined to improve performance, which is why we have been taking substantial action to ease pressure on the front door of the hospital, as well as concentrating on the timely discharge of patients."
Last month, the Scottish government announced Â£100m to help health boards and local authorities tackle bed blocking which it is hoped would help people move out of A&E and through the system.
Scottish Labour Leader Jim Murphy said the waiting time figures "expose the crisis in our NHS under the SNP".
He said: "Patients across Scotland are told regularly by SNP ministers that they should be grateful things aren't as bad as in England. Now we know that under the SNP things are even worse in Scotland. That's just not good enough and Scotland deserves better."
He said Scottish Labour planned to fund an extra 1,000 nurses in Scotland's NHS, using the money raised from a Mansion Tax on homes worth more than Â£2m if it was to get into power in Scotland.
Scottish Tory health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: "Scottish Conservatives have long argued for 1,000 additional nurses to be the priority and a GP attached national health visiting services to be re-established along with a substantial investment and refocusing of GP practices.
"There is no justification for the SNP sneering at health services elsewhere in the UK when its own performance is rapidly failing before patients' eyes."
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Jim Hume called on the Scottish government to take action to alleviate "pressure cooker conditions" at A&E units.
Theresa Fyffe, Scotland director of the Royal College of Nursing, said: "The longer waiting times at A&E are a symptom of a system that is struggling to cope with the ever-increasing demand it is under, so I'm glad the Scottish government is taking steps to address this."
Dr Peter Bennie, chairman of BMA Scotland, said, "For individual patients, waiting for treatment can be a particularly difficult and stressful time and it is important that those with the greatest clinical need receive appropriate care within a reasonable timescale.
"NHS staff are working incredibly hard to ensure that patients receive high quality, timely care, but they are struggling to cope.  Pressure on NHS services is at a critical point and cracks are beginning to appear."
From next month the NHS in Scotland will be moving to monthly reporting of A&E waiting times.
Scots have been getting less information about the performance of their local emergency department than their counterparts in the rest of the UK, meaning the new figures are the first waiting time figures since September.
In England, hospitals publish A&E performance statistics weekly and by hospital, allowing more scrutiny of the performance of individual hospitals.
In Northern Ireland the public is given monthly performance figures by hospital.
Wales publishes monthly statistics by health board rather than hospital.
In Scotland the public has been only told how the NHS has performed every three months, and at health board level.
Because waiting times are combined over a three-month period, the poor performance of particular hospitals on particular days is sometimes not apparent, and figures relating to the busy New Year period are not included in Tuesday's release.


Uefa Euro 2016 is taking place in France this summer.

7 June 2016 Last updated at 20:53 BST
Twenty four countries will be competing to win the championships.
But, who are the key players to look out for hoping to lead their countries to glory?
Check out our round up of ones to watch.


A small town in Newfoundland, Canada, has become a sudden tourist spot thanks to a new visitor - one of the first icebergs of the season.
Canada's CBC News said that over the Easter weekend, the Southern Shore highway near the town of Ferryland was blocked with traffic as photographers - professional or amateur - pulled up to snap the hulking ice mountain.
The area off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador is colloquially known as "iceberg alley" thanks to the large number of ice blocks that drift down from the arctic each spring.
The icebergs are often locked into sea ice, which can last until late spring or early summer, but this one looks like it has grounded and could remain in place, Mayor Adrian Kavanagh told The Canadian Press.
This particular iceberg is quite large, and has taken up residence near the coastline - offering a good opportunity for photos, he said.
Icebergs famously hold most of their mass underwater, with just the tip of the iceberg protruding - meaning that many run aground when they veer near the coast.
That's good news for tour operators, one business owner told CBC Radio - because the bergs stick around where they can be reached.
It's already been a busy season in iceberg alley, with hundreds of icebergs reported in the Atlantic - many more than usual for this time of year in the coastal regions.


Warwickshire have confirmed that former captain Varun Chopra will leave Edgbaston when his existing contract expires at the end of this season.

The 29-year-old Barking-born England Lions opening batsman had already intimated to the Warwickshire hierarchy that he would like to return home to his native south-east.
He has already been targeted by former county Essex, as well as Hampshire.
But he has now been given permission to officially talk to other counties.
Chopra, who left Essex for Edgbaston in 2010, was appointed captain in September 2014, after leading the Bears to the T20 Blast trophy the previous month as stand-in skipper.
Having deputised for Jim Troughton, he was in charge for the 2015 season, but he was then replaced by England's Ian Bell before the start of this campaign.
In a club statement, Warwickshire said: "Discussions have taken place with Varun since he took the decision to step down as captain earlier this year.
"Whilst everyone at the club is fully aware of his capabilities as a top-order batsman, there is also a need to look at the development of the squad in order to be able to maintain a challenge on all fronts in the coming years.
"Both parties believe now is a good time for Varun to accept a fresh challenge. He is now able to talk to other counties to realise his own career ambitions. In the meantime, he remains fully committed to the club."


Rory McIlroy hopes to build on a first Irish Open success by emulating his summer of 2014, when he won the Open and US PGA Championship.

They were the last of four major titles for the world number three from Northern Ireland, and he is determined to add to that tally in 2016.
"I feel with this win I can go and replicate my summer in 2014 and win a couple of majors," said McIlroy.
"If I don't win a major this summer, I will be very disappointed."
The 27-year-old's success at the K Club on Sunday was also his first victory of the season.
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McIlroy, who has not won any of the past five major tournaments, is focusing on a seven-week period taking in the US Open, Open and US PGA.
"You would think that your game isn't going to change too much from the first to the seventh week," he added.
"I really want to build up to those seven weeks and make sure my game is in the best possible shape so I've a chance of of winning a major, which would be fantastic, but I want to try to compete in all three."
An extended BBC iPlayer interview with Rory McIlroy is available here


Graffiti referring to the Syrian refugee crisis was spray-painted onto the doors of a 300-year-old former prison.

"Syians Welcome" was emblazoned on the front of the Dana prison in Shrewsbury.
Staff who run tours of the historic building said they were able to clean the graffiti off and had passed CCTV footage to police.
The attack took place days after a Syrian boy was pictured wearing a sweatshirt from a school in the town.
"They did it in broad daylight, a woman filmed the man doing it and he spelled Syrians wrong," said Joel Campbell, owner of Jailhouse Tours.
"It's a mixture of sadness and disappointment for us.
"It's difficult to understand why anyone would want to cause damage to a historic listed building."
Earlier in the week a photograph of a Syrian refugee boy wearing a sweatshirt from Belvidere Primary School in Shrewsbury sparked debate on social media.
BBC Radio 4 followed the story of Yamen Dhnie, a Syrian boy who fled Jordan with his family because of fears about their safety.
They have now managed to find their way to Greece.
People took to BBC Radio Shropshire's Facebook page to express their views on whether refugees should be offered a home in Shrewsbury.


Australia regained the Women's Ashes after England collapsed to 87 all out to lose the second Twenty20 international by 20 runs.

Needing to win at Hove to keep the multi-format series alive, England were chasing 108 but slipped to 10-3 and 23-5, with Ellyse Perry taking 2-13.
Lydia Greenway made 26, but was last out with five balls to go.
Australia, who managed only 107-7, take an unassailable 10-4 lead on points with just one T20 remaining.
In doing so, the Southern Stars win the Ashes for the first time since 2010-11, England having won on both occasions since the multi-format of three one-day internationals, a Test and three T20s was introduced in 2013.
Behind 8-4 after losing the Test and two of the ODIs, a superb bowling display meant the hosts required only a modest target to take the series into a deciding T20 in Cardiff on Monday.
But, as with most of the series, England's batting was once again below par and they crumbled to their lowest ever T20 score.
On a slow pitch, the Australia decision to include seamer Rene Farrell over spinner Erin Osborne proved to be an excellent choice as the 28-year-old claimed 3-17, including Sarah Taylor and Heather Knight in her first over.
Greenway gave England hope, her sixth-wicket partnership of 25 with Katherine Brunt the highest of England's innings between the only two players to reach double figures.
But after Brunt was bowled by Megan Schutt and Danni Wyatt was unluckily run-out backing up, England, captained by Charlotte Edwards, looked beaten, a result confirmed when Greenway heaved Farrell to cow corner.
Australian jubilation seemed a long way off earlier in the evening, when England opening bowlers Brunt and Anya Shrubsole again impressed.
Their good work was backed up by spinners Rebecca Grundy and Danielle Hazell as the tourists lost three wickets for eight runs in 11 balls to collapse to 51-4.
But star of the Test match Jess Jonassen and Jess Cameron both made speedy scores of 21, with Australia taking 16 from the final over.
Their total did not look competitive, but it was enough to ensure 23-year-old Meg Lanning became the youngest ever Australia captain, male or female, to win the Ashes.


Chelsea's win at Leicester kept the chasing pack at arm's length, but it is now Tottenham who are second after their victory over West Brom.

Liverpool dropped to third on goal difference following their draw at sixth-placed Manchester United, while Arsenal are fourth after victory at Swansea.
Manchester City were thrashed by Everton and have dropped to fifth, while there were also important wins for West Ham and Hull City.
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The save from Zlatan Ibrahimovic's free-kick was good but the stop from Henrikh Mkhitaryan was even better. Simon Mignolet has had to fight to regain his first-team place at Liverpool, but since his return the keeper has looked good. His decision-making seems to have improved and he appears less frantic.
Mignolet has always been a good shot-stopper but I have felt he is prone to come for a cross he is not entitled to get, or rush out of his penalty area in a vain attempt to get involved only to complicate matters.
However, none of that seemed relevant against Manchester United. He caught comfortably from corners, punched brilliantly when he had to under pressure and allowed centre-back Dejan Lovren to do his job without any interference. I have been very critical of Liverpool's defence this season, but I must say they were impressive against Manchester United.
These new formations that are being so liberally introduced, mostly by foreign managers, are providing such freedom for certain players that their performances have been transformed.
I couldn't tell if Kyle Walker was playing right-back or right-wing. There was even one occasion when he looked like he was actually playing up front.
There is no doubt that a back three releases the full-backs to go forward - that's if the defender can play with the ball at his feet of course, which is just as well because Walker loves to get involved. Spurs are looking good at the moment, and so is Walker.
Did anyone see the ball Toby Alderweireld played for Kyle Walker in the first half? Sadly, the move came to nothing but that wasn't the point. This player has been absolutely fantastic for Tottenham this season in every conceivable department.
I admit West Brom weren't at their best, but Alderweireld still had to deal with the threat of Matt Phillips and Salomon Rondon.
I could have selected David Luiz, Gary Cahill or Cesar Azpilicueta for Chelsea's impressive clean sheet away at Leicester in difficult circumstances, but what I find extraordinary about Alderweireld is that his performances often go unnoticed. Well, not so here, and he makes my team of the week once again.
I thought a draw was a fair result but if Liverpool had left Manchester United with all the points I wouldn't have complained. The way they defended against Jose Mourinho's side's second-half aerial bombardment was admirable - and the man at the heart of that scrap was Liverpool centre-back Dejan Lovren.
United had run out of ideas at this stage of the match so resorted to Mourinho's favourite tactic - the long ball game made famous at Chelsea during the Didier Drogba days, although for some reason the label has never really stuck to Mourinho.
Nevertheless, Lovren marshalled his troops around him brilliantly and, if Liverpool can defend this well in future matches, I may have to revise my position on where they might finish.
What a stunning performance from the full-back. His first goal with his right foot was sensational and his second with his left wasn't bad either. Alonso is almost unrecognisable from the player I saw at the start the season. He has made my team of the week before, but I have never seen a full-back go hunting for his hat-trick.
His performance against Leicester just exuded confidence and the player grew in stature with every second. In fact, he was unlucky not to get his treble.
In contrast, I think the behaviour of Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been despicable, not least because he appears to have let his team-mates down in the middle of a serious title challenge, which his shenanigans have now put at risk. I have no problem with a professional footballer wanting to leave to triple his wages - but the way it has alleged to have been done is totally unacceptable.
Thank goodness Chelsea have individuals in the team like Alonso who at the first sign of interest from elsewhere matched with an obscene amount of money don't just down tools. There has to be a better way of professionals conducting themselves than that.
Pedro has won every trophy a player could win for club and country, but I can't remember when I have seen him play better for a team or look as comfortable as he currently does with Chelsea. Blues manager Antonio Conte played a masterstroke against Leicester by using Willian, Eden Hazard and Pedro up front in order to replace Diego Costa - but the reaction from Pedro, in particular, was immense.
He seemed to grow in stature in the absence of their rebellious centre-forward and played accordingly. As for Costa, his problem is no longer with his manager, who must feel terribly let down by the striker, but his team-mates.
It's one thing having a dispute with your manager and club, but when you have to go into the dressing room and face your team-mates when they have put themselves on the line for you it is a very uncomfortable experience. I for one hope the Chelsea players don't make it easy for him.
This was a massive result for Everton manager Ronald Koeman, particularly after his side's ignominious FA Cup exit. I said a few weeks ago that something wasn't quite right at Goodison Park and it probably needed something from the January transfer window to fix it.
In the meantime, Koeman has put his faith in a teenager by the name of Tom Davies. A young, local lad whose performance against Manchester City was way beyond his years. Everton have a history of unearthing local talent and, although I don't see a Wayne Rooney, I do see a player who has blue blood running through his veins.
On the other hand, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are struggling and Manuel Pellegrini (remember him) must be crying with laughter. City's lack of fight when they went behind was so conspicuous it was scary and, if they have any chance of winning the title - and I don't think they do - they need players with desire to match their obvious talent.
Spurs boast a long and successful history of fielding some extraordinary midfield players. Paul Gascoigne, Luka Modric, and Glenn Hoddle - the king of White Hart Lane - immediately spring to mind. However, whenever I watch Christian Eriksen I see the most delightful player.
Eriksen doesn't possess the combustible temperament or mischievous nature of a Gascoigne, or the artistry of a Modric or Hoddle - but what he does display all over the pitch, and with great alacrity, is a dignified football authority with which he absolutely destroyed West Brom. The season started slowly for Eriksen but, interestingly enough, Tottenham's success in recent weeks totally correlates with his return to form.
I've seen Marko Arnautovic in this mood before and he can be devastating. In fact, Sunderland should have read the early warning signs. This was a 45-minute blitz by Stoke and Sunderland never recovered.
It wasn't only Arnautovic who impressed me against the Black Cats. Rejuvenated Stoke City striker Peter Crouch - who, by the way, has been playing brilliantly since his return to the Potters line-up - did too. It was the link up play between Arnautovic, Xherdan Shaqiri and Crouch that ultimately destroyed Sunderland.
A note of caution for Sunderland boss David Moyes, however. I couldn't help but notice an air of discouragement about Jermain Defoe's performance against Stoke. The last thing the Black Cats need is a disillusioned Defoe. If they lose him they really are sunk.
At last, Harry Kane is well and truly over feeling somehow responsible, wrongly, for England's miserable Euro 2016 performance and is back to his best again. Often the price for playing for your country is the effect it can have on your club form.
However, West Brom were trounced by Spurs, who have paid the Baggies and Chelsea back with interest after those two teams were directly responsible for the demise of their title challenge last season. Spurs played some lovely football against both teams, but the star of the show against West Brom was, without doubt, Kane.
Normally when you score a hat-trick it doesn't get much better than that - but when he has seen the birth of his first child in the same week, I'm beginning to think this might be Harry Kane and Tottenham's year.
What is it with players these days? They sign a new contract, take the bonus and then renege on the agreement. Thank goodness West Ham can rely on Andy Carroll because it seems they can't rely on Dimitri Payet.
Everything was stacked against West Ham as they took on an equally desperate Crystal Palace.
Playing at home in London Stadium can't be much fun when your fans are so far away they feel as though they are watching the game from the car park. Nevertheless, the Hammers did actually manage to muster some atmosphere in this makeshift football graveyard thanks to an outstanding performance from, unlike Payet, the totally committed Carroll.
If only the striker could remain fit between now and the end of the season no-one would give a fig about Payet, as good as he is.
If Carroll's post-match interview is anything to go by Payet would be wise to keep a low profile at the training ground next week. It would appear players like Carroll don't take kindly to team-mates who take the money and then run.


Volkswagen says it will not release its results nor hold its shareholders' meeting on time, as it needs more time to work out its accounts as a result of last year's emissions crisis.

The company was due to release results on 10 March and hold its shareholders' meeting towards the end of April.
It has not said by how much these events will be delayed.
It says results will be about the same as in 2014, although the cost of the crisis will eat into those.
It said it was working on "valuation calculations".
Sales in VW-branded cars dipped last year after the scandal - which affected 11 million cars - came to light in September. Deliveries fell 5.3% in October, 2.4% in November and 7.9% in December compared with those months in 2014.
It was its first drop in VW-branded sales in 11 years as the company continues to cope with the emissions scandal.
VW has promised it will have a fix in the coming weeks for the millions of US cars with defeat devices that disguised emission levels in diesel cars.
Sales of VW-brand cars fell 4.8% in 2015 to 5.82 million cars from 6.12 million a year earlier.
The US Environmental Protection Agency is suing the company over what it says were 600,000 affected vehicles and a US law firm is conducting an investigation into who made the decisions to cheat.
Volkswagen says it is sticking to its plan to publish the findings of its investigation into the scandal in the second half of April.
Results from Porsche, which is owned by Volkswagen, are also being delayed.


A farm manager, accused of being responsible for the deaths of two workers at a Hampshire fruit storage unit, has admitted exposing the men to a risk of death.

Scott Cain and Ashley Clarke died in February 2013 after entering a container that had dangerously low oxygen levels.
The men were trying retrieve apples for an agricultural competition.
Their boss at the time, Andrew Stocker, denies manslaughter.
Appearing before Winchester Crown Court, Mr Stocker said he knew the units were potentially life-threatening but he never fully appreciated the risk.
When asked whether he accepted that allowing the men to enter the units amounted to gross negligence, Mr Stocker replied: "Yes, I was negligent."
Previously the court heard how Mr Stocker, 57, "encouraged" a practice nicknamed "scuba diving" on Blackmoor Estate to find the best specimens in storage.
Employees held their breath while in the container with 1% oxygen.
Mark Dennis QC, prosecuting, said anyone entering the container would "die immediately" if they ran out of breath while in the facility.
The court heard that days before the deaths the former manager of Tory peer Lord Selborne's estate had instructed Mr Cain to collect fruit samples for the Marden Fruit Show in Kent.
Mr Cain, 23, and Mr Clarke, 24, died while Mr Stocker was on holiday in the Maldives.
Mr Stocker, of Bordon, denies two counts of manslaughter and the trial continues.


About 100 people protested in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Tuesday, chanting: "Mr President, we demand security."

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25 November 2014 Last updated at 16:30 GMT
The demonstration came after al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab gunmen killed 28 people in a bus attack on Saturday.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people have fled to a military airstrip in Kenya's Mandera region amid fears that militants could launch a new assault.


The number of elephants being killed for their ivory has stabilised but overall species numbers have continued to decline.

Data produced for 2015 shows that poachers are still killing more elephants than are born every year.
The report also highlighted a rising trend in poaching in South Africa's Kruger National Park, considered one of the safest havens.
But there was positive news from Eastern Africa where elephant number have outpaced poachers for the fourth year in a row.
The Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) compiles an authoritative set of figures on the annual trends in elephant numbers.
Called MIKE (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants),  the latest data indicate that the rise in the numbers of elephant deaths, witnessed since 2006, peaked in 2011.
Since then the numbers have stabilised but the level remains "unacceptably high overall".
In 2015, the programme recorded the deaths of 14,606.
The researchers estimate that half of these were illegally killed putting the population well above the sustainability threshold, where deaths outweigh births.
"African elephant populations continue to face an immediate threat to their survival from unacceptably high levels of poaching for their ivory, especially in Central and West Africa where high levels of poaching are still evident," said John Scanlon, CITES Secretary General.
"There are some encouraging signs, including in certain parts of Eastern Africa, such as in Kenya, where the overall poaching trends have declined, showing us all what is possible through a sustained and collective effort with strong political support."
The mixed picture for the iconic species continued in Southern Africa. The overall levels of poaching remained below the sustainability threshold, but an upward trend in killing was seen in Kruger National Park for the first time.
CITES have demanded that the 19 countries most heavily involved in the killing of elephants or the consumption of ivory produce national ivory action plans to show how they plan to tackle the issue.
In January the trade body said that China, Kenya, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, all countries of primary concern, have "substantially achieved" the goals outlined in their plans.
Several other countries including Angola, Cambodia and the Lao People's Democratic Republic were told to improve their efforts and report to the CITES governing body, the Conference of the Parties, taking place in South Africa in September this year.
"The momentum generated over the past few years is translating into deeper and stronger efforts to fight these crimes on the front line, where it is needed most - from the rangers in the field, to police and customs at ports of entry and exit and across illicit markets," said John Scanlon.
"Governments must continue to strengthen these front line efforts, whilst the UN, other intergovernmental bodies and civil society must further enhance their much needed support, if we are to move from stabilising to reversing the devastating poaching trends of the past decade."
The September meeting will likely see intense debate between those who want to see some limited sales of ivory stockpiles and those in favour of closing all markets.
The latest figures on the numbers of elephants killed have been released on the UN's world wildlife day in New York, an event that this year will have special focus on the future of elephants.
Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc and on Facebook.


Tom Hardy has revealed he is "totally ready" to reprise the role of Mad Max in the next film in a planned trilogy.

The British actor said he was "looking forward" to a follow-up to Mad Max: Fury Road, which screens at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday.
The new film sees Hardy step into the shoes of Mel Gibson, who played Max in George Miller's 1979 original.
Miller's return to the franchise hits UK screens on Thursday and has been greeted with enthusiastic reviews.
The two-hour post-apocalyptic action movie sees Hardy's Max and another character played by Charlize Theron pursued by villains in a brutal road battle.
Australian director Miller insisted on using real vehicles and shooting in a remote desert in west Africa, resulting in a tough seven-month shoot for the film's stars.
"Now I get it," said Hardy of his director. "But at the time we didn't know what he was thinking.
"Filming it was very hard to understand. My head is on my shoulders and your head is on your shoulders and there's no possible way I could know what you're thinking.
"The gargantuan thing that George was trying to achieve, there was no possible way to articulate what we saw in those two hours on the screen.
"So those seven months on set were long because we just didn't know what he was thinking. You knew it was brilliant, but we just didn't know."
According to reports, the next film in the series will focus on Theron's character, a one-armed, shaven-headed warrior named Imperator Furiosa.
"I'm totally ready to go and do another one," Hardy told the BBC on Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival.
"It's not case of 'trust me, it works'. I know it works and I can kind of feel the world I'm in."
Mad Max: Fury Road is out in the UK on Thursday.


The Baltimore Ravens beat the Indianapolis Colts to extend the long and distinguished career of the man many observers consider to be the greatest defensive player in the history of the sport.

Linebacker Ray Lewis, 37, recently announced that he would retire at the end of the season and his team-mates were determined not to let him down in his final home appearance.
While the Ravens' defence did well to stop the Colts' rookie quarterback Andrew Luck - who has more than lived up to the pressures associated with being the number one draft pick - it was his opposite number Joe Flacco who emerged victorious.
That Flacco did was largely down to a spectacular performance from his main target, Anquan Boldin.  The wide receiver broke the team's record with five catches for 145 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter which sealed a 24-9 victory for the Ravens.
Baltimore will next travel to Denver to face the AFC's top-seeded Broncos, who had earned the right to a bye through the wild card weekend.
Next weekend's other AFC divisional round game brings together the Houston Texans and the New England Patriots.
Thanks to some stifling defence, the Texans were never really in danger at home to the Cincinnati Bengals.
While they struggled to convert possession into points, Arian Foster ran for 140 yards and a touchdown as they ran out 19-13 winners.
In the NFC, Green Bay managed to contain Minnesota's chief threat, Adrian Peterson, to convincingly win the all-NFC North encounter 24-10.
It was sweet revenge for the Packers, whose 37-34 loss in the final week of the regular season to the Vikings deprived the former of a bye week and guaranteed the latter a place in the play-offs.
Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers kept the visitors' defence on their toes throughout, finding 10 different receivers as he completed 23 of 33 passes for 274 yards and one passing touchdown.
Meanwhile Peterson, who last week fell just short of breaking Eric Dickerson's 1984 record for the most rushing yards in a season, was limited to 99 yards from his 22 carries.
The Packers will head west to face the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday, 12 January for a place in the NFC Championship game, which will also feature the winner of Sunday's match-up between the Seattle Seahawks and the top-seeded Atlanta Falcons.
In a match hyped as being a duel between rookie quarterbacks, Seattle's Russell Wilson came out on top against the Washington Redskins' Robert Griffin III.
But that tells only half the story, as an already injured Griffin - widely known as RG3 - was eventually forced out of the game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.
The Seahawks had earlier responded well to a nightmare first quarter in which Griffin threw a pair of touchdown passes to Logan Paulsen and Evan Royster.
But from 14-0 down, the visitors never looked back, scoring 24 unanswered points thanks to some solid defence and inspired play by Wilson and running-back Marshawn Lynch.
Lynch ran for a touchdown and 132 yards from his 20 carries, while Wilson completed 15 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown.
His performance was typified in the fourth quarter when, having handed the ball off to Lynch, he charged downfield before throwing a brilliant block to allow his team-mate to score.
That gave the Seahawks the lead for the first time and, less than a minute later, the game was all but over when Griffin's knee buckled as he tried to field a bad shotgun snap, the pain so bad that he did not even try to recover the ball.


A tweet from a teenager asking a US fast food chain for a year's supply of chicken nuggets has become the most retweeted ever.

Carter Wilkerson's plea broke Ellen DeGeneres' record when he passed 3,430,249 retweets on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Wendy's said: "We didn't expect Carter's response, and we couldn't anticipate the overwhelming support he has received."
The company has donated $100,000 (Â£78,000) to charity in his name.
On 5 April, the 16-year-old from Reno, Nevada, tweeted Wendy's asking how many retweets he would need to get a year's free supply of chicken nuggets.
The fast food chain replied within a minute: "18 million."
"Consider it done," Mr Wilkerson replied.
He then posted a screenshot of the tweets with the call "HELP ME PLEASE. A MAN NEEDS HIS NUGGS."
The tweet quickly went viral, reaching 1 million retweets in two days.
It was shared by global companies including Apple Music, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Twitter itself, and celebrities including Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul.
Other companies replied to the teenager with their own offers, including United Airlines, which said it would fly him to a Wendy's restaurant in any of the cities it serves.
"The [PR] industry has a word for this type of activity: 'brand-jacking'," PR Week deputy editor John Harrington told the BBC.
"While not hugely original, it can be successful. It shows the importance of reacting quickly to trending topics on social media."
And while Wendy's seemed as surprised as anyone by the response to Mr Wilkerson's tweet, Mr Harrington said that "from a PR point of view, they've played a blinder".
"Most brands would probably have ignored the tweet or given a bland response, but by reacting with humour, Wendy's has created a vast amount of positive exposure and goodwill."
Oscars selfie
The record for the most retweets was previously held by Ellen DeGeneres, for her 2014 Oscars selfie.
The photo, which featured Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Spacey and Meryl Streep among others, had 2.1 million retweets by the end of the awards ceremony.
When Mr Wilkerson first published his tweet, hers had about 3.2 million retweets.
Ms DeGeneres brought up the challenge to her record on her talk show a week after Mr Wilkerson's initial plea, when his message had reached 2.6 million retweets.
"Stop it right now," she joked. "I worked so hard to set that recordâ€¦ and this guy asked for nuggets?"
"One moment the nation is reacting to a snap election, the next we are rallying behind a teenager who just really, really likes a chicken nugget," commented Twitter's UK managing director, Dara Nasr.
Wendy's said that when Mr Wilkerson broke the record, it would donate $100,000 (Â£78,000) to charity.
The money will go to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a US charity set up in 1992 by the founder of Wendy's.
The charity works to find permanent homes for children in foster care.
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Every 30 years or so, the government has a crack at bringing businesses to heel - usually in the wake of a scandal.

In the 1980s it was Asil Nadir's Polly Peck and the late Robert Maxwell who prompted a series of corporate governance reforms. Sports Direct and BHS are the poster children of this new crackdown and some of the measures contained in the Green Paper are designed with those miscreants in mind.
Will today's proposals succeed in changing the culture and practice of a corporate world perceived by the prime minister and others to be working for the few rather than the many?
Twenty years ago the average chief executive made 40 times as much as the average worker - now that ratio is 130 according to the High Pay Centre.
Publishing these ratios firm by firm will shine a greater light on this inequality, but it will also throw out some odd results. Under this test, Goldman Sachs will look like a more equitable company than John Lewis thanks to the very high pay of the average banker. (Around Â£400k if you are interested).
It's also unclear what companies will do. Massively reduce the chief executive's pay or massively increase the average worker's pay? It's worth being clear that although shareholders sometimes balk at chief executive pay, they would rather overpay one person than see profits redirected into the pockets of the rank and file.
We already know that the government is not proposing putting real workers on boards - despite more than once giving the impression it wanted to.
Having a workers' representative in the remuneration committee is an interesting idea, as it is in this subcommittee of existing directors that the formulas are concocted that can spit out vast salaries even in the face of poor company performance.
The problem is that these formulas are often based on relative rather than absolute performance.
In the case of BP, the company lost Â£3.5bn the year Bob Dudley picked up Â£14m in pay and bonus. But hey, it wasn't HIS fault the oil price crashed and the company had to pay out $60bn in compensation for an accident that happened before he arrived.
Binding annual votes on pay could make an enormous difference as Bob Dudley would not have been able to pocket that money in the teeth of 59% of shareholders. Even here, shareholder votes may clash with contract law if the company cannot deliver the pay packet it agreed with the chief executive.
The failure of BHS casts a long shadow over the corporate landscape and yet this Green Paper gives little emphasis on amplifying the voice of pension scheme members.
Perhaps that is because the government realises that danger lurks here. If pension trustees can actually block proposed takeovers (as some have been calling for after the disastrous BHS acquisition by Dominic Chappell) many businesses that have defined benefit pension schemes could become unsellable, zombie-like entities which can't be bought, can't invest and slowly decay.
I remain unconvinced that these loose proposals - even if made mandatory - could have prevented the collapse of BHS.
Ultimately, the success or failure of this crackdown will depend on how much is voluntary and how much is mandated. Today's Green Paper and the comments of the business secretary suggest that the government wants to encourage rather than impose a new approach. That will be seen by most as a far cry from the fighting talk of Theresa May's early days.


A thousand trees are being planted at a former south Armagh security base as a memorial to those killed in the Troubles.

The heavily fortified barracks in Forkhill was a regular target for attacks.
It was sold by the Ministry of Defence to the Northern Ireland Executive and passed on to the local council.
It is now being developed as a community garden.
The tree planting is part of a wider project called the Peace Forest Ireland initiative.
It aims to plant 4,000 trees on both sides of the border in memory of those who died.
Children from St Oliver Plunkett's Primary School in Forkhill helped with the planting.
John Haughton of Forest Friends Ireland came up with the idea of the living memorial.
"The dream of peace has been realised, and that's the most amazing thing," he said.
The project is being managed by the Ring of Gullion Partnership - a conservation group.
Darren Rice said it was part of a wider initiative to increase the low density of tree cover in the area.
"Over the past two years we have planted around 120,00 trees in south Armagh," he said.
Oak, alder, willow and rowan trees are all being planted in the six acre site at Forkhill.
Many myths grew up around the army base during the Troubles.
Among the stories the locals were told was that an underground nuclear bunker had been developed at the busy helipad.
But when contractors moved onto the site to clear it for this project they found plenty of reinforced concrete, but no evidence of any underground structure.


The percentage of Americans living in poverty is statistically unchanged from 2010's record high, even as household income fell, a US Census report says.

The poverty rate was 15% in 2011, meaning 46.2 million Americans were in poverty, staying flat after three previous years of increases.
Real median income of households in the country dropped by 1.5%.
The average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2011 was $23,021 (Â£14,300).
Income inequality, as measured by the Gini index, increased by 1.6% in 2011, the first time there has been an annual rise in the index since 1993.
The percentage of Americans lacking health insurance fell to 15.7% from 16.3%, the report also said.
Poverty in the US reached a record high in 2010, at 15.1%.


There's been a lot of "fair play, George Osborne" on Twitter in recent days, commending him for breaking a series of agenda-setting political stories.

There was the line about how not a single member of the cabinet supports the prime minister's immigration cap, followed by the scoop about her swivel on social care.
Given his 20 years in politics, including six as chancellor, by my calculation Mr Osborne has roughly 17,000 further scoops in his head, with which he will no doubt be entertaining readers of the Standard in weeks to come.
He has had a very lively news agenda in his first weeks as an editor, with not just the election and now the horror in Manchester, a city he championed, with a constituency nearby, but also Donald Trump's novel experiments in modern public administration.
The tougher test will come when, inevitably, the news agenda is quieter - perhaps in August, for instance.
Alas for him, his news supremo, deputy editor Ian Walker (one of two deputies on the paper, together with Charlotte Ross, who overseas Features and ES Magazine), is leaving.
I can reveal that Walker is heading to Mail Online, where he has been appointed executive editor by Martin Clarke, Mail Online's editor.
Walker, who worked with Clarke years ago, will focus on the news operation. After nearly 17 years at the Standard, he is leaving despite, and not because of, Mr Osborne's sprightly entry into journalism. He will start the new role in September.
Walker's departure doesn't strictly create a vacancy at the Standard, where an internal solution is likely to be found.
At Mail Online, Walker will spend less time thinking about London, but more time responding to howls of outrage on social media.
Search for "Daily Mail" on Twitter and you'll see a range of stories in the aftermath of the Manchester terror attack that have met with fury.
Of course, it's in the nature of social media that we hear more from those who are angry about a particular story than those who agree with it.
And these controversies tend to have one effect above all, which is to increase web traffic for the world's most widely read English-language website.
Walker is entering a new world and his appointment is a signal that Mail Online is serious about breaking hard news stories, as well as generating traffic through its notorious sidebar of shame.


Stewards at football grounds across England have been given pocket guides on combating homophobic abuse as part of a Kick It Out initiative.

Of 402 incidents reported to the anti-discrimination body last season, 68 related to homophobic, biphobic and transphobic abuse - a rise of 4%.
Ten thousand of the booklets have been issued as part of Kick It Out's "Call Full Time On Hate" campaign.
The guidance they contain is designed to help "effectively challenge" abuse.
The booklets include information on what homophobic, biphobic and transphobic discrimination is and the role stewards and safety officers can play in reporting such behaviour.
"It is important that Kick It Out continues to raise awareness of the issues which still blight our national game," said Roisin Wood, the body's chief executive.
"These topics have long been taboos in the game, but thanks to the proactive work of campaigners we are beginning to see the football community recognise the positive impact LGB&T inclusion is having on the sport."


The company mining for gold in Scotland has reported widening losses.

Scotgold Resources said it made a pre-tax loss of 1.2m Australian dollars (??622,000) in the six months to the end of December.
For the same period in 2013, it announced a loss of about ??518,000.
Its latest results were impacted by ongoing exploration costs, which amounted to more than ??100,000 during the period.
Scotgold, which is looking to produce gold at Cononish near Tyndrum, was boosted last month by a positive assessment of its potential reserves.
A report by consultants showed a 201% increase in the estimated amount of gold in the area.
The comparison was with a previous study published in November 2012.
The new assessment suggested 248,000 ounces of gold could be found on the basis of rock that has already been assessed at the Cononish site.
The consultants also calculated that the quality of that gold was 9% better than previously estimated.
Work has now started on a 3D geological model to assess the "optimal mining methodology" for the Cononish deposit.
A revised mine development plan is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of this year.


Two BBC Radio presenters have been charged with sex offences against four children in the 1990s.

Married Tony and Julie Wadsworth have presented on BBC Radio Leicester and BBC WM in Birmingham.
The couple from Leicestershire are due to appear at Warwickshire Magistrates' Court on Wednesday 11 May.
A BBC spokesman said: "We understand the charges do not relate to their conduct or position at the BBC." He said both presenters remain off air.
Mr and Mrs Wadsworth are accused of offences against boys aged 11 to 15 that are alleged to have taken place in Atherstone, Warwickshire, between 1996 and 1999.
Mr Wadsworth, 68, of Old Mill Road, Broughton Astley, has been charged with five counts of inciting a boy under the age of 16 to commit an act of gross indecency.
His wife, 58, whose on-air name was Julie Mayer, has been charged with seven counts of inciting a boy under the age of 16 to commit an act of gross indecency.
They both also face one count of committing an act outraging public decency.


Translink is asking for an end to free Christmas parking in Belfast.

It says last year's council initiative to entice more shoppers, increased traffic congestion and disrupted bus services.
Instead, Translink and the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) are offering alternative ideas, including reducing bus and train fares.
Their proposals for Christmas 2016 are to be considered by a Belfast City Council committee on Wednesday.
In 2015, the council, for the first time in several years, offered free parking for 1,500 vehicles in the evenings and at weekends.
However, Translink considered the move "counterproductive" - it says it increased congestion as people queued or circled the city centre looking for no cost parking.
It said the knock-on impact reduced the punctuality and reliability of its bus services.
As an alternative this year, it says it is prepared to run fare reduction offers on buses and trains during the month of December.
It said it will also extend the opening hours at park and ride facilities.
In a statement, Translink said: "Planning for Christmas parking and traffic are part of the discussions we have each year with Belfast City Council and other partners to help keep Belfast moving during this extremely busy period."


Chinese conglomerate Shanghai Pengxin Group has been on a buying spree ever since it entered New Zealand in 2011.

The food giant has bought 29 farms through local subsidiaries to become the country's third largest dairy producer.
Pengxin's expansion plans in New Zealand seemed to be going smoothly until last month when the government unexpectedly rejected its $56m (Â£36m) bid to buy the sprawling and iconic Lochinver farm.
The move came as a big surprise, considering the sale had been approved by the country's foreign investment body.
Now, Pengxin has pulled the plug on another deal to buy a group of farms 3,300 hectares in size, saying it was "not confident" of approval from the government, considering its last experience.
It is also taking the government's decision to block its purchase of Lochinver to court, seeking a judicial review.
Terry Lee, director of Milk New Zealand - a subsidiary of Pengxin - says the aim of the legal action is to get "clarity" on the requirement used to assess the sale of farmland bigger than five hectares to foreign buyers.
"Judgement has to be made as to whether the status quo applies (that is, ownership remains with the current owners), or alternately that the property would have been sold anyway to a well-funded and competent New Zealander," he said in a statement earlier this month.
A big Chinese investor backtracking on purchase plans amid slumping commodity prices could not have come at a worst time for some of New Zealand's dairy farmers.
Dairy prices have fallen more than 50% since February, hitting the economy hard.
New Zealand is the world's largest dairy producer - exporting 95% of its production - and its central bank has had to cut interest rates three times this year, partly to stem the fallout from tumbling prices.
Also, China is the largest foreign investor in the country's dairy sector, according to the New Zealand China Council.
Colin Armer, who is one of New Zealand's largest dairy investors and has been in the farming business for 35 years, says Pengxin's decision to cancel a deal to buy more farms may have an impact on owners looking to sell their farms because of falling prices.
"I think long term owners of land are entitled to sell it to the best price they can get and if there's public belief that those owners should take a lesser price, than they should be putting their own hands in their pocket really," he told the BBC.
Mr Armer, who is a shareholder in Fonterra - the world's biggest dairy exporter - and top producer Dairy Holdings, says he welcomes the competition from Pengxin.
"Bring it on. Foreign investment is great for New Zealand - it's needed," he says. "I hope they do well - I hope New Zealand does well out of it as well."
NZ$6.6bn
Foreign direct investment from China and HK
$800m Current Chinese investment
$700m Proposed Chinese projects
But not all farmers are as enthusiastic about how rapidly the Chinese firm's business has grown in the country in such a short period of time.
Dr William Rolleston, president of the Federated Farmers of New Zealand, a group that lobbies on behalf of its farmer members, says some farmers are concerned about the scale of the purchases.
"New Zealanders don't have an issue on ownership at a low level. No one would be concerned if 5% of farmland was owned by overseas buyers," he says.
"But if 95% of the land in New Zealand was owned by overseas buyers, I think we would have an issue - it would reduce our strategic options in the future."
Dr Rolleston's sentiment echoes public concern from 2012 when Pengxin bought 16 dairy farms and sparked a debate about national identity.
During the last elections in 2014, opposition politicians stoked those fears by saying that New Zealanders risked becoming "tenants in their own land".
Meanwhile, dairy is not the only sector that is seeing increasing Chinese investment.
Earlier this month, shareholders of the country's biggest meat co-operative Silver Fern Farms voted to sell half the company to a unit of China's state-own food giant Bright Food Group for $178m.
The deal, however, still needs to be approved by New Zealand's Overseas Investment Office (OIO), a body that oversees foreign bids to buy sensitive assets.
Despite the local backlash, New Zealand's government and trade organisations maintain the country is open for business.
Land information minister Louise Upston told the BBC that its decision in September to block Pengxin's purchase of Lochinver farm does not mean the country is not interested in attracting foreign investment.
"It's [foreign investment's] an important part of our economic strategy, but equally when we do have an application for sensitive land and assets - we will put it across the 21 criteria that we need to assess and make a decision based on that," she says.
"We weren't convinced that this particular application met that threshold, which is substantial and identifiable benefits for New Zealanders."
However, Martin Thompson, chairman of the New Zealand China Trade Association, says Pengxin's decision to cancel the deal to buy more farms in North Island is in part intended to be their statement of disappointment over the government's rejection.
"Their messaging in their press release is the timing it's taking to consider their application," he says. "I hope it doesn't translate to a of loss appetite to invest in New Zealand."
Pengxin is the second major Chinese investor to pull out of big purchase in the country recently.
Investors from He Run International recently cancelled plans to build an $54m dairy factory in Otorohanga in North Island. The move was a big blow to the small town already dealing with job losses because of the downturn in the industry.
Gary Romano, chief executive of Dakang New Zealand Farm Group - the unit of Pengxin that cancelled the latest deal said the purchase and "significant further investment" would have had a positive impact on the local and wider New Zealand communities.
"We are very disappointed that this will now not happen," he said in a statement.
The firm says the deal was cancelled, because it had not received any advice from the country's foreign investment watchdog, OIO, on the sale after filing an application in April.
"Our decision to end the agreement is somewhat based on our experience with Lochinver where the sale and purchase agreement had to be extended 11 times, each extension causing frustration and pain to the vendors, and uncertainty for everyone involved," he adds.
Annelies McClure, manager of the OIO, says the application had been delayed twice, because it required more information from the Chinese firm.
Meanwhile, Dr Rolleston of Federated Farmers, says that if Pengxin does decide to pull back on future farm purchases in the country, it will not make a big difference to the industry.
"There's likely to be softening in farm land prices anyway because of the fall in dairy prices," he says.
"If you're buying a hundred farms, then you've got to really show that you're making a big difference in New Zealand by taking those sorts of strategic assets out of the country."


Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said that the UK should hold its EU referendum "as soon as necessary".

"We talk to a lot of bosses and there has been uncertainty whether it's for the election or the referendum," said Mr Carney on the BBC's Today programme.
Analysts fear businesses may delay making investments while there is uncertainty over Britain's future in the EU.
David Cameron has promised a vote on whether the UK stays in the EU by 2017.
"[Businesses] have not yet acted on that uncertainty," he said. "Or to put it another way, they are continuing to invest and they are continuing to hire."
But he added that it was in everybody's interests to resolve the uncertainty.
Companies may also be investing less in technology than they otherwise would do as a result of the wide pool of available workers.
Older people willing to work and workers seeking more hours added 500,000 to the labour force over the last two years, said Mr Carney.
Migrant labour also expanded the workforce, but its impact was only a tenth of the size according to Mr Carney.
Mr Carney told the BBC's Today programme that he would "really dampen down" the argument that foreign workers were to blame for lower productivity.
As the number of jobseekers falls, attention will turn to productivity, he added.
"Now that spare capacity is being used up," said Mr Carney. "For the economy to move forward, it's going to be a story of increased productivity.
"We think that it's going to start to pick up over the next few years."
Analysis:  Jonty Bloom, BBC Business Correspondent
British productivity is awful and has been for years.
Take computerised lathes, hi-tech equipment that costs hundreds of thousands of pounds to buy. You might think that British and German workers with such a piece of kit would make the same number of widgets or car parts or whatever.
But they don't. Experts tell me there are two main reasons. German workers are more highly trained, so get more out of the machine. The second is that when it breaks down or needs reprogramming, they can do it themselves. British workers turn off the lathe and wait for an expert to come and fix it.
Just one example of a much wider problem that explains why a German, French or US worker can produce as much as a British one and still take every Friday off.
The UK's level of productivity per worker fell during the global economic crisis.
"This is one of the great costs of the financial crisis," said Mr Carney. "What you have in economies after a financial crisis is a sharp drop in productivityâ€¦ There is a huge opportunity cost."
Productivity levels have taken longer to recover than expected.
"We have been successively disappointed with the productivity performance of the UK," Mr Carney told the BBC.
"[Productivity] matters in terms of the speed limit for the economy and for when we should raise interest rates," said Mr Carney. "We think the most likely path for interest rates is up."
Mr Carney warned on Wednesday that "persistent headwinds continued to weigh on the UK economy", which would mean more gradual increases in interest rates than had previously been the case.
Inflation was 0% in March for a second month, well below the Bank's 2% target.
Carney said that the UK might fall into deflation next month, but inflation was expected to pick up, notably towards the end of the year.
"Our aim is not just to get the inflation rate back to 2% but to keep it there," said Mr Carney. "In order to get it there and keep it there, there will be limited and gradual increase in interest rates over the next few years."


From toupees and bomb scares to giving Van Morrison a trim and chatting about jazz, Belfast Barber Frank Thompson has seen it all.

After nearly 60 years Frank, who owns a salon in Belfast city centre, is setting down his scissors.
His clients have included the poet, John Hewitt, and John de Chastelain who helped de-commission paramilitary arms in Northern Ireland.
Frank went into the business as a boy sweeping the salon floor.
Over the decades his family have dressed the heads of top politicians, actors, poets and pop stars.
Of the many famous follicles Frank has trimmed, some characters stand out.
"Van Morrison and me, we're roughly the same age and Van came in when I was about 18 or 19 and he actually taught me the love of jazz.
"He would always give me a couple of records."
Several generations of Frank's family have been barbers, with his great, great grandmother being the "first lady barber in Belfast".
The retiring barber said: "I'm a people person, I like to talk to people and also listen to people, you do an awful lot of listening.
"Sometimes it gets very deep if people are a bit depressed, but normally it's people who talk about football, and boxing and politics.
"But we never allow anyone to have an opinion on politics because you couldn't win in Northern Ireland, you would lose customers from both sides."
Another anecdote that Frank remembers typifies the black humour of Northern Ireland folk.
"There used to be a very famous newsreader over in England, I don't want to say a name, but he was the first one that wore a toupee on TV," he told the BBC.
"He was over here doing a story on Northern Ireland and we were the first barbers to do toupees.
"So, we're doing his toupee and there was a bomb scare and he wouldn't leave without it. We had his toupee off cleaning it.
"I had to literally grab him by the arm and push him down the stairs with the toupee and he's running up Castle Street with all the water round his face trying to get this toupee on in the middle of a bomb scare."
As Frank prepares for a life of leisure, he says he will miss the chat with his regulars.
"I often say to my wife, I think we're the poor man's psychiatrist," he said.


A senior policeman investigating the disappearance of Ben Needham on a Greek island has been summoned back to the UK amid reports members of his team went on an eight-hour drinking session.

Police are investigating a report in The Sun that officers spent an evening drinking wine and beer after launching a new appeal for information.
Ben, from Sheffield, was 21 months old when he disappeared on 24 July 1991.
His mother Kerry Needham said she "fully" supported the police team.
Det Supt Matt Fenwick, of South Yorkshire Police, is returning to the UK to discuss the matter with the force.
In a letter to South Yorkshire Police, Ms Needham's solicitor said her client "fears the entire investigation is in jeopardy".
Ms Needham told BBC Look North: "[It's an] absolutely insensitive, malicious thing to do to the detectives.
"They're out there working so hard on the investigation, then something like this could blow it for us. I'm so angry, it was really unnecessary."
The Sun has not commented.
South Yorkshire Police said "an internal investigation" would be held.
Officers are on the island for two weeks to re-appeal to local people and follow up lines of inquiry.
At a news conference on Tuesday, they offered a reward of 12,500 euros (£9,800) to anyone who provides information leading to the discovery of Ben.
Ms Needham has always maintained her son, who would now be 26, is alive and was probably abducted.
According to the newspaper, after the news conference at about 17:00 local time, the officers gathered for drinks at their hotel before heading to a pizzeria and bars.
The last members of the team finished the session shortly before 01:30, it said.
On social media, Ben's sister Leighanna said the report was "a slap in face to our family".
"Those detectives on that island are the only 'official' help we've had from this government in 25 years.
"And well done The Sun. You've well and truly slapped us in the face."
Earlier this year, the force secured £450,000 from the Home Office to help in the search.
Ben vanished after travelling to the island with his mother and grandparents who were renovating a run-down farmhouse building in the village of Iraklis.
Det Supt Fenwick told the paper the team was "desperately" trying to find the youngster and that officers were "working really hard".
He said: "We were up at seven this morning and we've got officers still out now (at 20:30) interviewing people.
"What I can say is that no public money was spent on alcohol."
A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: "We're absolutely committed to this investigation and require the highest possible standards from all of those involved. The team must now get on with the important task in hand.
"Following concerns raised regarding the behaviour of some of those involved, the senior officer has been recalled to the UK with immediate effect to provide the details of exactly what has happened. An internal investigation will follow."
Officers travelled to Kos on Sunday to carry out "house-to-house visits" and distribute leaflets and posters.
A DNA test was carried out on a man in Cyprus in an attempt to establish if he could be Ben, but it proved negative in 2013.
In 2012, a police operation focused on a mound of earth and rubble close to where the toddler was last seen, but no trace of him was found.


Thousands of London commuters are facing three weeks of travel chaos after a large section of the Victoria Line was closed for refurbishment.

The Victoria Line is closed between Seven Sisters and Walthamstow Central, and services will not be as frequent between Seven Sisters and Brixton.
Transport for London (TfL) said the work would mean an extra 12 trains per hour running on the line.
The line carries more than 200 million passengers a year.
TfL said at present 24 trains per hour were able to travel beyond Seven Sisters, but the work will mean 36 trains can pass through.
London Overground Services are expected to be full on departure from Walthamstow Central, and so will not stop at Clapton, while St James Street will be exit only.
TfL said the three-week closure meant the rest of the Victoria Line, the Central Line between Bond Street and Leyton and bus services in north-east London were expected to be exceptionally busy.
Rail replacement buses will run from Walthamstow Central to Seven Sisters as well as from Walthamstow Central to Stratford and Stratford International.


Scottish Borders Council has seen the average time taken to handle major planning applications cut by more than 60% over two years.

In 2013/14 it took 73.3 weeks to decide on projects like wind farms or large-scale housing developments.
Its latest annual report showed that was reduced to 27.6 weeks in 2015/16.
Councillor Ron Smith said it had taken a "great deal of work" to bring down the timescales but added that further improvements were planned.


England are set to welcome back Mako Vunipola and Anthony Watson from injury for their Six Nations match against Italy in a fortnight, says Eddie Jones.

Prop Vunipola (knee) was sidelined in December while wing Watson suffered a hamstring problem last month.
Number eight Billy Vunipola could be fit for the final game against Ireland.
Dylan Hartley, replaced after 46 minutes in Saturday's win over Wales, said boss Jones told him he "captained the side brilliantly this week".
Defending champions England, having won their opening two fixtures, host Italy at Twickenham on 26 February (15:00 GMT start) and are strong favourites to continue their bid for a second successive Grand Slam.
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"Mako has a big chance. He will play for Saracens next weekend and if he gets through that game we will bring him into camp for the Italy week," said England head coach Jones.
"Watson ran at 95% on Friday so we are confident he will be able to play against Italy. It will be great to have him back and we will probably use him."
Billy Vunipola, who suffered knee ligament damage during England's 27-14 defeat of Argentina in November, could be fit in time to play in Dublin on 18 March in what could be a title decider.
"Billy might get back for Ireland. He'd be pretty useful off the bench at 150kg," Jones said.
Hartley, who has helped lead England to a record 16-Test winning run, has been replaced in each of Jones' 15 matches in charge and made his briefest appearance yet in Saturday's win over Wales in Cardiff.
Despite coming off after 46 minutes the 30-year-old hooker said: "I don't think it was too early. I talked to Eddie and he said I captained the side brilliantly this week.
"There is a reason we have these finishers who come on and do their job for the team, as much as I do mine.
"I came off the field and the team handled itself brilliantly - there is so much experience out there and these guys have good heads on them so the team runs itself."


Hundreds of people gathered at Birmingham's' Victoria Square for a vigil to remember the 22 people killed and 64 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Manchester Arena on Monday night.

The vigil was later disturbed when a man carrying weapons was arrested nearby.
Before that crowds gathered outside the council house, where a civic dinner after the election of the city's new mayor Anne Underwood, was due to be held.
Candles were placed in jars and a minute's silence was held as well as speeches from leaders of several faiths. People gathered around the council house entrance and numbers were swelled as more people, many making their way home from work, stopped to listen. Some sat in the sunshine near the flowers planted in the square's 'Floozie in the Jacuzzi' statue.
The Bishop of Birmingham, David Urquhart, said it was "appalling" for the victims and their families to find "this murderous suicide in them middle of a wonderful evening".
Barbara Anderson, 66, from Kings Heath, said she was there with her daughter Carol Cockerill and granddaughter Lauren.
"I was gutted when I heard the news - we have family in Manchester and I needed to make sure they were safe," Ms Anderson said.
"They were, thankfully. I don't go to big concerts but Carol's sister, does... You just have to hope they will be safe.
"This made me angry- I have spent the day watching the news and went to the gym - good way of working off the anger.
Ms Cockerill added: "We attend major events and something like this will not stop us going or think twice.
The message from all speakers at the event was "we are one", BBC News reporter Kathryn Stanczyszyn said.
The crowd was encouraged to chant those words together at one point.
Andy Street, West Midlands mayor, told BBC News that he was very proud to be at the vigil to show "we are utterly united in defiance of what has happened".
Zeshaan Ali from Hodge Hill, a volunteer co-ordinator for Islamic Relief, went with his nine-year-old son Musa and daughter, Juwayriyah, 11.
"I have two kids myself- no family should have to go through what happened yesterday," the 33-year-old said.
"Also, I'm from the Muslim faith. I want to show terrorism does not exist within a religion.
"We go for days out, to the Bullring or the park on a sunny day - the same thing as going to a big concert. We like to think it is safe wherever you go with your family.
"I heard the news when I woke up - it was sickening to hear it... Our prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones."
Jessica Foster, 47, a vicar from Kings Heath, 47, said it was important to stand together and show "we will not be divided by those who want to maim and murder".
"In Birmingham we connect no matter what your faith, ethnicity or wealth. We want to show our solidarity with Manchester," she said.
Saraya Hussain, 40, from Balsall Heath added: "It resonates with you as a parent. So how can we contribute and share in their grief? We came here to say we will not allow it to divide us."
As the vigil drew to a close at about 07:10, shouts from around the side of the council house building could be heard.
Police declared a security alert and cleared the square, but there was no panic. People simply drifted away.
Police later said the man, already known to them and thought to have mental health issues, had been charged with possession of a sharp or pointed article in a public place, resisting or obstructing a constable in execution of his duty and possession of an offensive weapon.


The government has confirmed a plan to ban extreme discounting of alcohol in England and Wales.

The Home Office said new rules setting minimum prices for different drinks would come into effect on 6 April.
Ministers hope the plan will end the practice of supermarkets using drink as a loss-leader - selling drinks at below the cost they pay themselves.
But critics have described the plan as "laughable" because it will affect only 1% of sales.
Last year the Home Office dropped a proposal to follow Scotland's lead by setting a minimum price per unit of alcohol. Instead, it said it would use existing licensing laws to prevent supermarkets offering deep discounts.
The new scheme, which will be in force before the World Cup, requires retailers to use a complicated formula based on alcohol duty and VAT to calculate a floor price.
A 440ml can of 5% beer will have a minimum price of 50p. A standard bottle of 40% vodka could not be sold for less than £10.16 and a bottle of wine would retail for at least £2.24.
These prices are higher than the lowest-discounted alcohol currently available in England and Wales - but below Scotland's tougher minimum pricing scheme.
Officials estimate that 1.3% of sales - 200m litres - will become more expensive and this will lead to an overall drop in consumption of 0.04%.
Official figures suggest the scheme will cost business £4m to implement and the Treasury will lose £5m. But they also project savings of £5m for the NHS and almost £4m because of fewer crimes.
Ministers say that setting a pricing floor will target "pre-loading" in which people consume heavily discounted supermarket drink before going out to pubs and clubs. One small research project found that two-thirds of young people arrested for alcohol-related disorder in one city had pre-loaded with cheap alcohol.
Crime Prevention Minister Norman Baker said: "The coalition government is determined to tackle alcohol-fuelled crime, which costs England and Wales around £11bn a year.
"Banning the sale of alcohol below duty plus VAT will stop the worst examples of very cheap and harmful drink."
But Eric Appleby of Alcohol Concern said: "The idea that banning below cost sales will help tackle our problem with alcohol is laughable. It's confusing and close to impossible to implement.
"The government is wasting time when international evidence shows that minimum unit pricing is what we need to save lives and cut crime."
The Scottish Government's plan to introduce a scheme to set a minimum price per unit of alcohol is currently on hold because of legal challenges from the drinks industry.


With warnings of snow showers across Wales from Thursday, there could be an impact on schools, travel and services.

Councils will post school closures on their websites, but the decision is taken by individual head teachers.
Cardiff Airport has a live arrivals and departures board and Traffic Wales details any problems on the roads.
Two Met Office yellow "be aware" warnings for snow are in effect throughout Wales on Thursday and there is also a chance of thundersnow.
About 2cm (0.8in) of snow is possible on low levels, with 5cm-10cm (1.9in-3.9in) possible above 200m (656ft).
Wrexham council said there could be disruption to some of its services.
Lead member for environment and transport, David Bithell, said: "It is likely that services will not be affected, but members of the public will be kept appraised of any changes.
"As the weather is checked daily from October, we are more than prepared for any increased gritting activity and have plenty of salt stocked."
Denbighshire council said it had 3,600 tonnes of salt and would prioritise A and B roads, as well as having contracts with 25 firms to clear minor roads.


A former giant of German retail - Anton Schlecker - has gone on trial with his wife and two children over the collapse of his pharmacy chain, which once employed some 50,000 people.

Mr Schlecker is accused of offences relating to the 2012 bankruptcy, and his family allegedly helped him. His shops sold personal hygiene goods and household articles.
"The accusations are unfounded," he objected, via his lawyer in Stuttgart.
He could get up to 10 years in jail.
In Germany about 25,000 Schlecker staff lost their jobs, as did a similar number elsewhere in Europe, after the business filed for bankruptcy.
According to Stuttgart prosecutors, Mr Schlecker knew that bankruptcy was looming and siphoned off more than €20m (£17m; $21m) in assets, which would otherwise have gone to creditors.
He is accused of having made false statements about the company's financial situation.
Mr Schlecker's lawyer argues that his client did not imagine that the business was facing collapse.
The indictment includes the charges that Mr Schlecker spent €1m on a home renovation for his son Lars, a holiday for the children that cost tens of thousands of euros, and €800,000 in gifts for four grandchildren.
Lars and his sister Meike ran a logistics firm, LDG, which allegedly became a conduit for some of the Schlecker company assets.
His wife Christa is accused of having received tens of thousands of euros disguised as consultancy fees.


Government estimates for air pollution in Oxford have been deemed "excessively optimistic" by the city council.

Oxford's atmosphere breaks European limits for nitrogen dioxide but a government action plan suggests the city will hit targets by 2020.
Oxford City Council said it was "surprised" by the estimate and "concerned" at the modelling used.
The government said it was committed to improving air quality and cutting harmful emissions.
According to a 2016 report from the Royal College of Physicians, air pollution across the UK is linked to around 40,000 premature deaths annually.
Last year Oxford was listed by the World Health Organisation as one of 10 urban areas in the UK breaching air pollution safety levels.
But the government's Draft Air Quality Action Plan predicted Oxford will meet the European Union's target by 2020, without any further action.
Estimates 'incorrect'
Oxford City Council said the government's modelling was "excessively optimistic" and did not use the council's own data.
Councillor John Tanner said: "These draft proposals find that, without taking any further action, the city will have no problem by 2020. We think this is incorrect."
A spokesperson from the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said it had set out its plans to improve air quality through its new programme of Clean Air Zones.
"We are firmly committed to improving the UK's air quality and cutting harmful emissions," the spokesperson added.
The Draft Air Quality Action Plan was described as "weak" by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan when it was released in May, and criticised by the Liberal Democrats and The Green Party.
Consultation on the government's plan closes at 23:45 BST, and DEFRA said it would publish its final air quality plan by 31 July.


Hotel occupancy and revenue fell in Scotland in September but remained higher than any other area of the UK, according to a regular survey.

Accountants BDO found occupancy fell year-on-year by 1% to 87.3% - higher than the rates recorded for England, Wales and regional UK.
Rooms yield stood at Â£65.90 in Scotland, well ahead of other UK areas.
Edinburgh and Glasgow had the highest occupancy in the UK, including London, at 92.1% and 91.6% respectively.
Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow experienced double-digit falls in revenue, but all three cities remained in the top 10 of anywhere in the UK.
Only Inverness bucked the trend by seeing revenue increase by 8.8% to Â£62.35 per room.
Alastair Rae, from BDO, said: "Aberdeen aside, the drop in revenue in Edinburgh and Glasgow is due to very high numbers last year when Edinburgh was basking in a late festival rush as well as multiple major conferences, while Glasgow was still on a post-Commonwealth Games high.
"The country is becoming an all-year-round destination through a combination of being a fantastic tourist destination coupled with a major conference, concert and business centre.
"So despite these falls in revenue, the hospitality sector must be feeling reasonably confident for the rest of the year.
"Aberdeen is, of course, the exception and is still coming to terms with the fall in oil prices which make the hospitality sector highly vulnerable to price fluctuations.
"I would expect this situation to continue for some time to come."


Hearts have signed former Burton Albion goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin on a one-year deal after a successful trial.

The Edinburgh-born 29-year-old was released this summer despite being first choice as the Brewers avoided relegation from the Championship.
Keepers Jack Hamilton and Viktor Noring are also in Hearts' squad.
"I'm really pleased and obviously really looking forward to signing for a massive club like this," McLaughlin told HeartsTV.
"It's my home town so it's a fantastic feeling and it's been great to be training with the lads for a few days, and I'm now just looking forward to getting on with the serious work.
"You always want to be at clubs where you're competitive and you're looking to achieve things."
Hearts interim head coach Jon Daly said of McLaughlin earlier this week: "The coaching staff have been very impressed by his training levels and his abilities.
"The level he has been playing in the Championship is very competitive. It's very similar to Scotland, with cross balls and contact."
McLaughlin, who began his career with Harrogate Railway Athletic in the Northern Counties East League, spent six years with Bradford City before joining Burton.
He started 43 of 46 league matches in the Brewers' maiden season in the Championship, only missing their final three because of an arm injury.
However, manager Nigel Clough decided not to offer a new contract and said he preferred to start the new season with 36-year-old Stephen Bywater, the Englishman who had been second choice most of the last campaign.
Clough told his club website he wanted "to move into a different direction with a different kind of goalkeeper".
Meanwhile, Daly has reaffirmed his desire to become Hearts' new permanent head coach.
The former striker has been in interim charge since Ian Cathro was sacked days before the start of the Premiership campaign.
Daly says a win over Motherwell on Saturday would help his cause but stressed that the decision should not be taken on the basis of only one game.
"It puts us in a position where we have done a good job." he said of himself and fellow coaches Liam Fox, Austin MacPhee and Paul Gallacher.
Daly says he understands that some Hearts fans may have problems in accepting another "rookie" manager but pointed out that Cathro's predecessor, Robbie Neilson, was a success.
"The previous manager was a young manager, his first managerial job and it was difficult for him," he conceded.
"I have been in the game at a professional level 20 years. Yes, 10% of that is in coaching the rest is playing the game.
"I have a decent understanding of what's expected on the football pitch and how to win games."


The belief employers don't want to hire someone with a gap in their CV is the biggest barrier to some women returning to work, a group of MPs has been told.

The All Party Parliamentary Group on women and work calls for companies with more than 250 staff to put better programmes in place for returners.
It says existing "returnship" schemes rarely help women on lower incomes.
The MPs were examining reasons why women find difficulties in returning to work after a career break.
They cited the cost of childcare and the lack of a clear way back as key obstacles to returning to work.
Their report called for employers to take more note of the caring responsibilities of employees and to give the "sandwich generation" more help.
"Spending time at home with children or looking after elderly parents does not make women or men less capable and it should not be a deterrent when wanting to go back to work at the appropriate time", said the committee's co-chair, Flick Drummond.
In recent years, a number of companies have started introducing schemes to support senior women returning to work after a break.
Returnship programmes may include a three to six month paid internship, mentoring and coaching to improve confidence.
Dominie Moss, who recently founded the Return Hub, which submitted evidence to the parliamentary report, believes the benefits to employers of such schemes are clear: "It's an opportunity to repopulate the talent pipeline at mid- and senior levels.  And what you get is highly engaged and highly motivated people."
Ms Moss does have some enquiries from men, but the vast majority are from women, she says, as they are more likely to have taken time out of work to look after their family or to move abroad with a partner.
Despite these programmes being in their infancy, she says there is "significant demand" from employers for this "lost talent pool" of professional women who are looking for new positions.
The report from the parliamentary group on women and work recommended that all employers with a workforce of more than 250 people, across diverse sectors, should develop return to work policies for those coming back after an extended career break.
It also called on employers and the government to extend the geographical scope of returnship schemes, as most of them are currently based in London.


There is a refreshing impatience about the new chief executives leading the game of golf.

Within a week of European Tour boss Keith Pelley making clear he wants to fight slow play, his counterpart at the R&A, Martin Slumbers, was holding a St Andrews conference on the issue.
There is broad agreement that the sport needs to speed up and it seems the authorities appreciate the tone can be set by the professional game.
There were a number of fascinating revelations emerging from the two-day Royal and Ancient pow-wow hosted by the governing body's head of rules David Rickman.
It was revealed that 24 slowcoaches have been penalised shots in the history of the European Tour, among them Severiano Ballesteros, Jamie Donaldson and Nicolas Colsaerts.
There have been no such penalties imposed in the last two years though which is being interpreted as a sign that the message is getting through.
However the Masters and US Open winner Jordan Spieth nearly fell foul of slow play rules during the third round of this year's Open at St Andrews.
The young American and playing partner Sergio Garcia were told to speed up by referee Kevin Feeney after falling out of position with the rest of the field.
"Sergio made an effort," the European Tour official revealed. "On the ninth tee I said 'thank you Sergio for your efforts, but Jordan you have made no effort whatsoever, so you are on the clock'."
The intervention had the desired effect in every sense. "When he was on the clock, Jordan went birdie, birdie, birdie and he came over and thanked me after saying it was effectively the kick he was needing," Feeney added.
There are, though, several players who employ different modes depending on whether they are being timed. As soon as officials turn their attention elsewhere they slip back to their more familiar sluggish ways.
This is not only selfish but a form of cheating and it is why I would like to see referees with every group at top professional events.
There is surely enough money in the game to pay for the officials and, if not, find a watch sponsor to pay for them because they would play a vital role in timekeeping.
Swift rulings would allow matches to continue without delay with those decisions being final, just as in other sports. There should be no time for second opinions to arrive on a buggy while you are trying to entertain and engage millions of viewers.
Scottish Ryder Cup player Stephen Gallacher told the conference that he would like to see a system of random spot checks on timings.  He says it would "create a little bit of fear."
He also revealed that he has played in America with a golfer who carries a cheque book with him so that he can pay the fines he is happy to collect.
Whenever I have discussed slow play with leading stars and officials there is strong agreement that the imposition of scorecard penalties is the only way to create an effective deterrent.
Players develop pre-shot routines that leave nothing to chance. This is often down to the influence of mind coaches who seek to create the ideal mental state for every shot.
They are given trigger points at which they turn on their game faces.  This might be the moment they put on their golf glove - a first move in an elaborate routine designed give them the best chance of hitting the perfect shot.
Never mind that they could have slipped on their glove while walking down the fairway and be ready to hit as soon as it becomes their turn.
This is a bugbear of Ryder Cup winner Ian Poulter and former world number one Luke Donald has also been outspoken against rivals who manage their on-course time inefficiently.
But there are many ways in which golf can speed up.  Gallacher questioned why golfers should be allowed five minutes to find lost balls. "Why can't it be three minutes?" he asked.
The way courses are presented has a role to play. There is a macho belief among players at all levels that deep rough and penal setups make for great golf when nothing is further from the truth.
Aside from breeding a one dimensional "hack and hope" form of the game it makes for a miserable time spent searching for balls rather than enjoying the game.
Quoted in the Scotsman newspaper, Stuart McColm, the course manager at the Castle Stuart course near Inverness, said: "We shouldn't be pounding on people hitting bad shots.
"A good course architect thinks how to keep you in the game rather than walking with a golf ball in your pocket."
There are plenty more aspects to be considered. The prevalence of "green books" to assist reading putting surfaces does nothing for the pace of play.
Ultra-fast greens make putting more treacherous and time consuming than it should be. Limit the distance golf balls fly and courses can be shorter, taking less time to walk.
Outlawing the practice of caddies lining up their players should be among rule changes aimed at making the game more time friendly.
Should we be required to take the flag out of the hole for putts on the green? Why penalise someone for hitting the flag with a shot from on the putting surface? Why not make it simpler to play ready golf?
What about making it easier to play out of turn to keep the game moving?
These were among the many questions that were put forward at the Time for Golf conference at the home of the game last week.
It was the first such gathering to tackle this issue for 12 years and it will result in a pace of play manual being published next spring.
Along with the European Tour's avowed intention to eradicate slow play, it is another encouraging step in the right direction.