10 May 2007
Gland, Switzerland – Asian-run organized crime syndicates based in Africa are being implicated in the increase in illegal trade in elephant ivory, according to a new study by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network of WWF and IUCN-The World Conservation Union.
The study identified the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and Nigeria as the three nations most heavily implicated as the sources of ivory in this illegal trade.
TRAFFIC’s report is based on an analysis of almost 12,400 ivory seizure cases from 82 countries recorded since 1989 in the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) — the world’s largest database of elephant product seizure records.
“With myriad conflict zones, Central Africa is currently hemorrhaging ivory, and these three countries are major conduits for trafficking illicit ivory from the region to international markets, particularly in Asia,” says Tom Milliken, Director of TRAFFIC’s Africa programme and the principal author of the study.
The illicit trade is directly correlated to the presence of large-scale, poorly regulated domestic ivory markets in parts of Africa and Asia. These markets are in direct contravention of decisions adopted by Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), aimed at prohibiting unregulated domestic sale of ivory.
“Four years ago, CITES drew up an action plan for tackling these domestic ivory markets, but so far, it appears to have had little impact,” says Milliken.
One exception is Ethiopia, which has effectively clamped down on its domestic ivory market by implementing the plan.
“Ethiopia has set a fine example for other countries to emulate,” says Dr Susan Lieberman, Director WWF’s Global Species Programme. “It shows what other countries could do if only they had the political will to do it.”
Markets in China create a high demand for illicit ivory, which arrives either directly or through ports such as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Japan and Thailand are also important final destinations, whereas the Philippines mainly acts as a transit country linked to the major importers. Together, these seven countries and territories account for 62 per cent of the ivory recovered in the 49 largest seizure cases recorded by ETIS.
World-wide, the number of ivory seizures averages 92 cases a month, or three per day. Large-scale ivory seizures (of 1 tonne or more) have increased both in number and in size in recent years — from 17 between 1989 and 1997 to 32 between 1998 and 2006.
“This demonstrates greater sophistication, organization and finance behind the illegal movement of ever larger volumes of ivory from Africa to Asia,” says Dr Lieberman. “This is clearly a negative consequence of the ongoing globalization of African markets and economies.”
There has been significant improvement in law enforcement efforts and policing of local markets in mainland China, but ETIS records show that Chinese citizens have been arrested, detained or absconded in at least 126 significant ivory seizure cases in 22 African elephant range states.
“It is imperative that China reaches out to the growing Chinese communities in Africa with a clear message that involvement in illegal ivory trade will not be tolerated,” adds Milliken.
END NOTES:
• The establishment of ETIS was mandated under CITES in 1997 to monitor illicit trade in ivory and to assess whether any limited resumption of ivory trade would have negative impacts on elephant populations. Since its inception, ETIS has received funding from the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the CITES Secretariat and the European Union.
• The analysis was carried out with the assistance of the Statistical Services Centre of the University of Reading, UK.
• The TRAFFIC report will be a formal agenda item at the upcoming meeting of CITES Parties in the Hague, Netherlands, from 3–15 June 2007.
• Between 1989 and 1997, all elephant populations were listed in Appendix I of CITES, which imposed a global ban on international commercial trade in elephant products. Subsequently, CITES Parties have twice approved limited, conditional one-off sales of ivory from four southern African countries (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe) whose elephant populations have been transferred to Appendix II.
For further information:
Tom Milliken, Director
TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa
Tel: +263 4 252 533
E-mail: milliken@wwfsarpo.org
Joanna Benn, Communications Manager
WWF Global Species Programme
Tel: +39 06 84497 212
E-mail: jbenn@wwfspecies.org
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Zambia denies it has proposed sale of its ivory
UPDATED: 09:44, May 12, 2007
Zambia Friday denied that it has submitted a proposal to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) for the sale of its ivory. Director general Lewis Saiwana of the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) described as a misrepresentation the reports that it has submitted the proposal. He told a press briefing in Lusaka that his country has however supported the proposals by other countries in the region to benefit from the wildlife. He said Zambia's support is in line with the country's intention to offload its 28 tons of government-owned ivory stockpiles, which is in ZAWA custody.
Recently Namibia and Botswana submitted a proposal to the 14th conference of parties to CITES to take place next month requesting for an amendment to the conditional sales to include other activities that will benefit conservation and rural livelihood. Saiwana said Zambian government's intention has nothing to do with the killing of elephants for the sake of obtaining ivory for sale. However, the ZAWA official said Zambia would place a notification to sale its ivory during the next CITES conference to be held in 2010.
Currently the country has a stockpile of 28 tons of ivory owned by the government and which came from elephants that either died naturally or were killed after they killed people, he said. The ZAWA director general said Zambia has a big role to play as the regional representative and as a party to the CITES. Saiwana said wildlife resources when used sustainably can add economic value of the nation and to the conservation efforts of the same wildlife resources. He said those countries with good management strategies should be rewarded and not punished for the weakness of others. Zambia has a population of 25,000 elephants, Zimbabwe about 100, 000, Botswana 108,000 elephants. "Southern Africa should be rewarded for the healthy populations of the African elephants coupled with good conservation ethics hence the outcry for a chance to accord an opportunity to benefit from the resources they are conserving," he said.
Source: Xinhua
Zambia Friday denied that it has submitted a proposal to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) for the sale of its ivory. Director general Lewis Saiwana of the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) described as a misrepresentation the reports that it has submitted the proposal. He told a press briefing in Lusaka that his country has however supported the proposals by other countries in the region to benefit from the wildlife. He said Zambia's support is in line with the country's intention to offload its 28 tons of government-owned ivory stockpiles, which is in ZAWA custody.
Recently Namibia and Botswana submitted a proposal to the 14th conference of parties to CITES to take place next month requesting for an amendment to the conditional sales to include other activities that will benefit conservation and rural livelihood. Saiwana said Zambian government's intention has nothing to do with the killing of elephants for the sake of obtaining ivory for sale. However, the ZAWA official said Zambia would place a notification to sale its ivory during the next CITES conference to be held in 2010.
Currently the country has a stockpile of 28 tons of ivory owned by the government and which came from elephants that either died naturally or were killed after they killed people, he said. The ZAWA director general said Zambia has a big role to play as the regional representative and as a party to the CITES. Saiwana said wildlife resources when used sustainably can add economic value of the nation and to the conservation efforts of the same wildlife resources. He said those countries with good management strategies should be rewarded and not punished for the weakness of others. Zambia has a population of 25,000 elephants, Zimbabwe about 100, 000, Botswana 108,000 elephants. "Southern Africa should be rewarded for the healthy populations of the African elephants coupled with good conservation ethics hence the outcry for a chance to accord an opportunity to benefit from the resources they are conserving," he said.
Source: Xinhua
Thursday, May 10, 2007
TRAFFIC RECOMMENDATIONS ON PROPOSALS TO AMEND THE APPENDICES TO CITES AT THE 14TH MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES (COP14)
CoP14 Prop. 4 [Botswana, Namibia] Maintenance of the populations of African Elephant Loxodonta africana of
Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe in Appendix, with the replacement of all existing annotations
with the following annotation:
“1) The establishment of annual export quotas for trade in raw ivory is determined in accordance with Resolution Conf.
10.10 (Rev. CoP12);
2) Trade in raw ivory is restricted to trading partners that have been certified by the Secretariat, in consultation with the
Standing Committee, to have sufficient national legislation and domestic trade controls to ensure that the imported ivory
will not be re-exported and will be managed in accordance with the requirements of Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev.
CoP12) concerning manufacturing and trade; and
3) The proceeds of the trade in raw ivory are to be used exclusively for elephant conservation and community
development programmes.”
1
Recommendation
This Proposal seeks to replace the current annotation governing trade in specimens of the four African Elephant
populations currently listed in Appendix II and seeks to establish annual commercial quotas for trade in raw ivory
subject to certain conditions. However, the Proposal fails to address the guidelines in Resolution Conf. 11.21 (Rev.
CoP13) which state: “for species transferred from Appendix I to II subject to an annotation that specifies the types of
specimen included in the Appendix, specimens that are not specifically included in the annotation shall be deemed to be
specimens of species included in Appendix I and the trade in them shall be regulated accordingly”. As a result, it
appears that the effect of this Proposal, if accepted, would be that other elephant specimens—including those currently
eligible for trade—would be regarded as specimens of species included in Appendix I. Amending the Proposal to
resolve this apparent impact would constitute an expansion of the scope, something disallowed under the CoP Rules of
Procedure.
It is premature to establish annual commercial export quotas for raw ivory, as called for in Resolution Conf. 10.10, since
the MIKE (Monitoring Illegal Killing of Elephants – one of the CITES elephant monitoring systems) baseline has not
yet been established. This was a key condition envisaged by the Parties when a one-off sale for specimens from three
elephant populations in Appendix II at CoP12 was agreed in 2002. Further analysis of ivory seizure data in ETIS
(Elephant Trade Information System – the other CITES monitoring system) will, for the third time, demonstrate an
increasing trend in illicit trade in ivory since the mid-1990s. This trend is most directly correlated to unregulated
domestic ivory markets and, so far, the CITES action plan to curtail such markets in Africa appears to have failed to
achieve any significant positive results so far.
REJECT
CoP14 Prop. 5 [Botswana] Amendment of the annotation to the population of African Elephant Loxodonta
africana of Botswana to read as follows:
“For the exclusive purpose of allowing in the case of the population of Botswana:
1) trade in hunting trophies for non-commercial purposes;
2) trade in hides for commercial purposes;
3) trade in leather goods for commercial purposes;
4) trade in live animals for commercial purposes to appropriate and acceptable destinations (and as determined by the
national legislation of the country of import);
5) trade annually in registered stocks of raw ivory (whole tusks and pieces of not more than 8 tonnes) of Botswana
origin owned by the Government of Botswana for commercial purposes only with trading partners that have been
certified by the Secretariat, in consultation with the Standing Committee, to have sufficient national legislation and
domestic trade controls to ensure that the imported ivory will not be re-exported and will be managed in accordance
with the requirements of Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP12) concerning manufacturing and trade; and
6) trade in registered stocks of raw ivory (whole tusks and pieces of not more than 40 tonnes) of Botswana origin owned
by the Government for commercial purposes on a one-off sale immediately after the adoption of the Proposal. Botswana
will trade only with trading partners that have been certified by the Secretariat, in consultation with the Standing
Committee, to have sufficient national legislation and domestic trade controls to ensure that the imported ivory will not
be re-exported and will be managed in accordance with the requirements of Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP12)
concerning manufacturing and trade.”
Recommendation
Botswana has at least a quarter of Africa’s elephant population, and an impressive conservation record. This Proposal
does not seek to change the current inclusion of Botswana’s elephant population in Appendix II with respect to hunting
trophies and trade in hides, but does seek to expand the scope of trade in leather goods and live animals to allow
transactions for commercial purposes, introduce annual quotas for raw ivory (in line with the requirements of
Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP12)) and provide for another one-off conditional sale of not more than 40 tonnes of
stockpiled raw ivory.
Trade in elephant hides and leather items is essentially a by-product of management action and sport hunting, and there
is no evidence to suggest that such trade drives the illegal killing of elephants. There is therefore no reason to oppose
trade in leather goods for commercial purposes. Trade in live animals is not a threat to the Botswana population, nor to
the species as a whole, but there are wider conservation concerns which need to be taken into consideration. Given
recent research developments on elephant genetics and taxonomy, including the possibility of recognizing two or more
elephant species in Africa, the IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group has agreed guidelines for governing the
translocation of elephants within their historical range to prevent genetic mixing and achieve long-term genetic
viability. Clarification is needed as to whether Botswana intends to follow such guidelines in future transactions of live
animals.
The establishment of annual export quotas for raw ivory is premature before a MIKE baseline is established and whilst
the ETIS analysis shows an escalating illegal ivory trade. However, an extension to the previously agreed conditional
2
one-off sale of a specified volume of recently stockpiled raw ivory from legal sources would not present a significant
risk provided such ivory was incorporated into the still-pending one-off sale agreed at CoP12.
ACCEPT, if the proponent:
- withdraws the request for an annual quota of raw ivory;
- specifies that any trade in live animals will be carried out with due regard to available international
conservation guidelines on translocation of African Elephants
- commits to undertaking the additional one-off sale of raw ivory in conjunction with the sale agreed at
CoP12.
CoP14 Prop. 6 [Kenya, Mali] Amendment of the annotation regarding the populations of African Elephant
Loxodonta africana of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa to:
a) include the following provision:
“No trade in raw or worked ivory shall be permitted for a period of 20 years except for:
1) raw ivory exported as hunting trophies for non-commercial purposes; and
2) ivory exported pursuant to the conditional sale of registered government-owned ivory stocks agreed at the 12th
meeting of the Conference of the Parties”; and
b) remove the following provision:
“6) trade in individually marked and certified ekipas incorporated in finished jewellery for non-commercial purposes for
Namibia.”
B. Amendment of the annotation regarding the population of Zimbabwe to read:
“For the exclusive purpose of allowing:
1) export of live animals to appropriate and acceptable destinations;
2) export of hides; and
3) export of leather goods for non-commercial purposes.
All other specimens shall be deemed to be specimens of species included in Appendix I and the trade in them shall be
regulated accordingly.
No trade in raw or worked ivory shall be permitted for a period of 20 years.
To ensure that where a) destinations for live animals are to be appropriate and acceptable and/or b) the purpose of the
import is to be non-commercial, export permits and re-export certificates may be issued only after the issuing
Management Authority has received, from the Management Authority of the State of import, a certification to the effect
that: in case a), in analogy to Article III, paragraph 3 (b) of the Convention, the holding facility has been reviewed by
the competent Scientific Authority, and the proposed recipient has been found to be suitably equipped to house and care
for the animals; and/or in case b), in analogy to Article III, paragraph 3 (c), the Management Authority is satisfied that
the specimens will not be used for primarily commercial purposes.”
Recommendation
This Proposal by Kenya and Mali aims to introduce a 20-year moratorium on trade in raw or worked ivory from the four
countries whose elephant populations are currently listed in Appendix II, with exceptions for the CoP12-approved oneoff
sale of raw ivory from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa (as well as hunting trophies from those three countries,
but not Zimbabwe). The Proposal also aims to repeal part of the current annotation which permits Namibia to export
ekipas (a type of traditional ivory carving) and Zimbabwe to export worked ivory products for non-commercial
purposes. The Convention permits any Party to propose amendments to the Appendices, enabling Parties to respond to
changing situations, hence TRAFFIC considers it neither appropriate nor legally tenable to limit the rights of Parties to
submit Proposals at subsequent meetings of the Conference of the Parties. Furthermore, the Proposal would result in
more stringent conditions being applied to elephant populations that do not meet the conditions for inclusion in
Appendix I than for those elephant populations that are presumably of higher conservation concern and listed in
Appendix I.
REJECT
CoP14 Prop. 7 [United Republic of Tanzania] Transfer of the population of African Elephant Loxodonta africana
of the United Republic of Tanzania from Appendix I to Appendix II with an annotation that reads as follows:
“For the exclusive purpose of allowing:
1) trade in registered stocks of raw ivory in whole tusks and pieces;
2) trade in live specimens for non-commercial purposes to appropriate and acceptable destinations;
and
3) trade in hunting trophies for non-commercial purposes.”
Outcome: Proposal has been withdrawn
Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe in Appendix, with the replacement of all existing annotations
with the following annotation:
“1) The establishment of annual export quotas for trade in raw ivory is determined in accordance with Resolution Conf.
10.10 (Rev. CoP12);
2) Trade in raw ivory is restricted to trading partners that have been certified by the Secretariat, in consultation with the
Standing Committee, to have sufficient national legislation and domestic trade controls to ensure that the imported ivory
will not be re-exported and will be managed in accordance with the requirements of Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev.
CoP12) concerning manufacturing and trade; and
3) The proceeds of the trade in raw ivory are to be used exclusively for elephant conservation and community
development programmes.”
1
Recommendation
This Proposal seeks to replace the current annotation governing trade in specimens of the four African Elephant
populations currently listed in Appendix II and seeks to establish annual commercial quotas for trade in raw ivory
subject to certain conditions. However, the Proposal fails to address the guidelines in Resolution Conf. 11.21 (Rev.
CoP13) which state: “for species transferred from Appendix I to II subject to an annotation that specifies the types of
specimen included in the Appendix, specimens that are not specifically included in the annotation shall be deemed to be
specimens of species included in Appendix I and the trade in them shall be regulated accordingly”. As a result, it
appears that the effect of this Proposal, if accepted, would be that other elephant specimens—including those currently
eligible for trade—would be regarded as specimens of species included in Appendix I. Amending the Proposal to
resolve this apparent impact would constitute an expansion of the scope, something disallowed under the CoP Rules of
Procedure.
It is premature to establish annual commercial export quotas for raw ivory, as called for in Resolution Conf. 10.10, since
the MIKE (Monitoring Illegal Killing of Elephants – one of the CITES elephant monitoring systems) baseline has not
yet been established. This was a key condition envisaged by the Parties when a one-off sale for specimens from three
elephant populations in Appendix II at CoP12 was agreed in 2002. Further analysis of ivory seizure data in ETIS
(Elephant Trade Information System – the other CITES monitoring system) will, for the third time, demonstrate an
increasing trend in illicit trade in ivory since the mid-1990s. This trend is most directly correlated to unregulated
domestic ivory markets and, so far, the CITES action plan to curtail such markets in Africa appears to have failed to
achieve any significant positive results so far.
REJECT
CoP14 Prop. 5 [Botswana] Amendment of the annotation to the population of African Elephant Loxodonta
africana of Botswana to read as follows:
“For the exclusive purpose of allowing in the case of the population of Botswana:
1) trade in hunting trophies for non-commercial purposes;
2) trade in hides for commercial purposes;
3) trade in leather goods for commercial purposes;
4) trade in live animals for commercial purposes to appropriate and acceptable destinations (and as determined by the
national legislation of the country of import);
5) trade annually in registered stocks of raw ivory (whole tusks and pieces of not more than 8 tonnes) of Botswana
origin owned by the Government of Botswana for commercial purposes only with trading partners that have been
certified by the Secretariat, in consultation with the Standing Committee, to have sufficient national legislation and
domestic trade controls to ensure that the imported ivory will not be re-exported and will be managed in accordance
with the requirements of Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP12) concerning manufacturing and trade; and
6) trade in registered stocks of raw ivory (whole tusks and pieces of not more than 40 tonnes) of Botswana origin owned
by the Government for commercial purposes on a one-off sale immediately after the adoption of the Proposal. Botswana
will trade only with trading partners that have been certified by the Secretariat, in consultation with the Standing
Committee, to have sufficient national legislation and domestic trade controls to ensure that the imported ivory will not
be re-exported and will be managed in accordance with the requirements of Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP12)
concerning manufacturing and trade.”
Recommendation
Botswana has at least a quarter of Africa’s elephant population, and an impressive conservation record. This Proposal
does not seek to change the current inclusion of Botswana’s elephant population in Appendix II with respect to hunting
trophies and trade in hides, but does seek to expand the scope of trade in leather goods and live animals to allow
transactions for commercial purposes, introduce annual quotas for raw ivory (in line with the requirements of
Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP12)) and provide for another one-off conditional sale of not more than 40 tonnes of
stockpiled raw ivory.
Trade in elephant hides and leather items is essentially a by-product of management action and sport hunting, and there
is no evidence to suggest that such trade drives the illegal killing of elephants. There is therefore no reason to oppose
trade in leather goods for commercial purposes. Trade in live animals is not a threat to the Botswana population, nor to
the species as a whole, but there are wider conservation concerns which need to be taken into consideration. Given
recent research developments on elephant genetics and taxonomy, including the possibility of recognizing two or more
elephant species in Africa, the IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group has agreed guidelines for governing the
translocation of elephants within their historical range to prevent genetic mixing and achieve long-term genetic
viability. Clarification is needed as to whether Botswana intends to follow such guidelines in future transactions of live
animals.
The establishment of annual export quotas for raw ivory is premature before a MIKE baseline is established and whilst
the ETIS analysis shows an escalating illegal ivory trade. However, an extension to the previously agreed conditional
2
one-off sale of a specified volume of recently stockpiled raw ivory from legal sources would not present a significant
risk provided such ivory was incorporated into the still-pending one-off sale agreed at CoP12.
ACCEPT, if the proponent:
- withdraws the request for an annual quota of raw ivory;
- specifies that any trade in live animals will be carried out with due regard to available international
conservation guidelines on translocation of African Elephants
- commits to undertaking the additional one-off sale of raw ivory in conjunction with the sale agreed at
CoP12.
CoP14 Prop. 6 [Kenya, Mali] Amendment of the annotation regarding the populations of African Elephant
Loxodonta africana of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa to:
a) include the following provision:
“No trade in raw or worked ivory shall be permitted for a period of 20 years except for:
1) raw ivory exported as hunting trophies for non-commercial purposes; and
2) ivory exported pursuant to the conditional sale of registered government-owned ivory stocks agreed at the 12th
meeting of the Conference of the Parties”; and
b) remove the following provision:
“6) trade in individually marked and certified ekipas incorporated in finished jewellery for non-commercial purposes for
Namibia.”
B. Amendment of the annotation regarding the population of Zimbabwe to read:
“For the exclusive purpose of allowing:
1) export of live animals to appropriate and acceptable destinations;
2) export of hides; and
3) export of leather goods for non-commercial purposes.
All other specimens shall be deemed to be specimens of species included in Appendix I and the trade in them shall be
regulated accordingly.
No trade in raw or worked ivory shall be permitted for a period of 20 years.
To ensure that where a) destinations for live animals are to be appropriate and acceptable and/or b) the purpose of the
import is to be non-commercial, export permits and re-export certificates may be issued only after the issuing
Management Authority has received, from the Management Authority of the State of import, a certification to the effect
that: in case a), in analogy to Article III, paragraph 3 (b) of the Convention, the holding facility has been reviewed by
the competent Scientific Authority, and the proposed recipient has been found to be suitably equipped to house and care
for the animals; and/or in case b), in analogy to Article III, paragraph 3 (c), the Management Authority is satisfied that
the specimens will not be used for primarily commercial purposes.”
Recommendation
This Proposal by Kenya and Mali aims to introduce a 20-year moratorium on trade in raw or worked ivory from the four
countries whose elephant populations are currently listed in Appendix II, with exceptions for the CoP12-approved oneoff
sale of raw ivory from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa (as well as hunting trophies from those three countries,
but not Zimbabwe). The Proposal also aims to repeal part of the current annotation which permits Namibia to export
ekipas (a type of traditional ivory carving) and Zimbabwe to export worked ivory products for non-commercial
purposes. The Convention permits any Party to propose amendments to the Appendices, enabling Parties to respond to
changing situations, hence TRAFFIC considers it neither appropriate nor legally tenable to limit the rights of Parties to
submit Proposals at subsequent meetings of the Conference of the Parties. Furthermore, the Proposal would result in
more stringent conditions being applied to elephant populations that do not meet the conditions for inclusion in
Appendix I than for those elephant populations that are presumably of higher conservation concern and listed in
Appendix I.
REJECT
CoP14 Prop. 7 [United Republic of Tanzania] Transfer of the population of African Elephant Loxodonta africana
of the United Republic of Tanzania from Appendix I to Appendix II with an annotation that reads as follows:
“For the exclusive purpose of allowing:
1) trade in registered stocks of raw ivory in whole tusks and pieces;
2) trade in live specimens for non-commercial purposes to appropriate and acceptable destinations;
and
3) trade in hunting trophies for non-commercial purposes.”
Outcome: Proposal has been withdrawn
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
SADC does not support ban on ivory trade
Southern Africa: SADC Environment Ministers Plot Strategy
Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
April 30, 2007
Posted to the web May 1, 2007
Thato Chwaane
With environmental degradation threatening international peace, food security and over all economic development, southern African ministers met in a bid to thrash out remedial measures. Southern African Development Community (SADC) acting executive secretary Toao Caholo said in Gaborone that the region had no choice but to face the issues head on. Speaking at the first meeting of the SADC ad hoc committee of ministers responsible for the environment and sustainable development held at Boipuso Hall over the weekend, Caholo said there was pressure on the environment manifested in the form of land degradation, global, water contamination and other forms of environmental problems. He said 50 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the region was derived from primary products, which included fisheries, forestry, wildlife, mining and agriculture. He said these had sustained the region for generations but with an estimated 230 million people there had been a rise in demands and services. He said SADC proponents saw regional integration and cooperation on the environment and natural resources as part of a solution to the problems. He said they needed to collaborate in managing the environment and embrace the Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) approach.
Delegates at the meeting unanimously urged SADC member states to support the proposals from the region on sustainable utilisation of elephants and products during the upcoming Convention on the International Trade In Endangered Species (CITES) meeting. They called on the region to oppose the counter proposal of Kenya and Mali for a 20-year ban on trade in live elephants and elephant products. They said member states should oppose the proposal by Kenya to repeal the annual hunting quotas for black rhinos allocated to Namibia and South Africa during the previous CITES meeting. Ministers also endorsed the SADC Elephant Conservation and Management Strategy as a tool for supporting the conservation and utilisation of elephant populations.
Ministers and officials attending the meeting came from Angola, host country Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The meeting was partly meant to monitor progress and provide direction on SADC's environmental and sustainable development issues.
Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
April 30, 2007
Posted to the web May 1, 2007
Thato Chwaane
With environmental degradation threatening international peace, food security and over all economic development, southern African ministers met in a bid to thrash out remedial measures. Southern African Development Community (SADC) acting executive secretary Toao Caholo said in Gaborone that the region had no choice but to face the issues head on. Speaking at the first meeting of the SADC ad hoc committee of ministers responsible for the environment and sustainable development held at Boipuso Hall over the weekend, Caholo said there was pressure on the environment manifested in the form of land degradation, global, water contamination and other forms of environmental problems. He said 50 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the region was derived from primary products, which included fisheries, forestry, wildlife, mining and agriculture. He said these had sustained the region for generations but with an estimated 230 million people there had been a rise in demands and services. He said SADC proponents saw regional integration and cooperation on the environment and natural resources as part of a solution to the problems. He said they needed to collaborate in managing the environment and embrace the Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) approach.
Delegates at the meeting unanimously urged SADC member states to support the proposals from the region on sustainable utilisation of elephants and products during the upcoming Convention on the International Trade In Endangered Species (CITES) meeting. They called on the region to oppose the counter proposal of Kenya and Mali for a 20-year ban on trade in live elephants and elephant products. They said member states should oppose the proposal by Kenya to repeal the annual hunting quotas for black rhinos allocated to Namibia and South Africa during the previous CITES meeting. Ministers also endorsed the SADC Elephant Conservation and Management Strategy as a tool for supporting the conservation and utilisation of elephant populations.
Ministers and officials attending the meeting came from Angola, host country Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The meeting was partly meant to monitor progress and provide direction on SADC's environmental and sustainable development issues.
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