Environmental Investigation Agency says...

Campaign Update: 05 April 2007

THE ELEPHANT DEBATE AT COP14: THE NEED TO THINK BIG

As the elephant debate heats up for COP14 and the one-off ivory sales loom, levels of illegal ivory trade continue to rise, prompting new calls for the adoption of an holistic approach to elephant conservation and ivory trade

 In June 2007, the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP14) to CITES (Conference on the International Trade in Endangered Species) takes place in The Hague, the Netherlands. The meeting promises to be wrought with contention over the ivory trade issue, as Botswana, Namibia and South Africa seek the final go-ahead to sell their ivory stockpiles to CITES-approved trading partners. In addition, all three countries have submitted new proposals in a bid to further relax current restrictions on international trade in ivory and other elephant products.

At present, only Japan has been approved as a designated buyer, subject to the provision of a satisfactory progress report on the implementation of their domestic ivory trade controls at the next CITES Standing Committee meeting. This takes place immediately prior to COP. The only other outstanding condition of the ivory stockpile sales related to the submission of MIKE (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants) data from a number of Asian sites. This was reportedly submitted at the end of 2006, making it extremely likely that the sales will be given the go ahead at the forthcoming meeting.

China is also seeking approval as a designated buyer and, although the CITES Secretariat highly commended China’s new domestic trade laws in 2005, they have so far refrained from recommending them as a trading partner. China is lobbying hard for this decision to be overturned, anxious not to be excluded from the imminent sales.

All this is taking place against a backdrop of a steady increase in global levels of illegal ivory trade. According to EIA’s records, since the last COP in October 2004, over 32 tonnes of ivory has been seized in more than 150 incidents worldwide, representing in excess of 5,000 poached elephants. Of these, the vast majority have been intercepted en route to South East Asia, where market demand for ivory continues to flourish. A recent report by Professor Samuel Wasser of the University of Washington in Seattle states that between August 2005 and the same month in 2006, over 23 tonnes was seized alone. Enforcement agencies typically put the percentage of ivory seized over that which goes undetected at between 10-20%, which means that the true number of elephant being poached is far greater.

A second emerging and equally alarming trend relates to the increase in the quantities of ivory being seized in individual incidents. Since 2005, there have been at least seven seizures of between 1.8 and 6 tonnes of ivory (listed below). Not only does this indicate the existence of significant black markets in South East Asia, including China and Japan, it also implies the presence of sophisticated and well-resourced criminal networks, responsible for procuring, trafficking and – in many cases - laundering the illegal ivory onto legal markets. Demand for ivory in South East Asia is increasing, with a kilogram reportedly now fetching up to USD $750 in China. Clearly, ivory trafficking is a highly profitable business and, given the current low detection rates and lack of enforcement, the incentive to stop is virtually non-existent.

Large seizures since 2005

September 2005: 6,000kg of ivory seized in the Philippines on a shipping container reportedly originating from Zambia; the vessel had departed from Tanzania
May 2006: 1,800kg seized in China
May 2006: 3,900kg intercepted in Hong Kong SAR on board a ship from Cameroon
May 2006: 4,000kg confiscated in Zimbabwe, allegedly destined for China
August 2006: 2,800kg seized in Japan on board a ship from Malaysia
July 2006: 3,060kg intercepted in Taiwan, originating from Tanzania
July 2006: 2,158kg confiscated in Taiwan, again originating from Tanzania

EIA believes that the forthcoming ivory sales only threaten to exacerbate the current negative situation. Botswana, Namibia and South Africa were granted permission to sell their ivory stockpiles (20, 10 and 30 tonnes respectively) in 2002 having demonstrated to the satisfaction of the CITES parties that their elephant populations are healthy and well protected. According to the data provided, elephant numbers in these countries have grown dramatically in recent years, so much so that Botswana and South Africa have recently mooted the possibility of reintroducing culling as a means to control population levels.

However, it is clear from the increasing reports of poaching and ivory seizures that the international illegal trade continues to pose a serious threat to elephants worldwide. This is particularly true of those occurring in countries other than Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, which are often poorly resourced and unable to provide the necessary levels of protection. For example, the forest elephants of Central and Western Africa are currently being hit hard by poaching, as once remote areas of habitat are progressively opened up to logging and road-building activities. The limited availability of data makes the full impact of this trend difficult to quantify, but a new report by Steven Blake et al (available at www.biologyosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=getdocument&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0050111) succinctly illustrates the precarious situation faced by such forest dwelling pachyderms.

The current situation suggests the need for a holistic, pan-African and long-term approach to elephant conservation and the ivory trade issue, rather than one which focuses on the status of distinct national populations (elephants are migratory animals so, apart from those living in fenced wildlife areas, frequently transgress international boundaries anyway). Such an approach is reflected in the proposal submitted by Kenya and Mali to COP14. This calls for a 20-year moratorium on all ivory trade in order to allow sufficient time to assess any impacts of the forthcoming sales, particularly in terms of poaching and illegal trade. Needless to say, their proposal will be vehemently opposed by the pro-trade lobby, and may even be perceived as too ‘extreme’ by some of the more moderate parties, including the EU. In addition, the CITES Secretariat has already stated that a 20-year ban would be impossible to guarantee, as parties are permitted to submit amendments to proposals at any time.

Nonetheless, what is certain is that current international trade regulations and global enforcement capacity is not enough to deter illegal traders and prevent thousands of elephants from being killed every year to feed the increasing market demand for ivory. And this demand is only likely to be stimulated further by the forthcoming sales, placing an added strain on the already limited resources of those countries struggling hardest to protect their elephants from the poacher’s gun.

EIA will be attending COP14 in June in order to lobby against any further relaxation of the ivory trade ban. Look out for further updates on the website nearer the time.