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Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) have given permission for Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa to export 60 tonnes of stockpiled ivory to Japan. Other African nations are displeased by the decision, saying that it will encourage poaching.
The stockpiled ivory comes from elephants that died of natural causes. All three countries have agreed to deposit the revenue from the sales into trust funds for elephant conservation. On Sunday, the CITES Standing Committee, meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, gave Botswana permission to sell 20 tonnes of stockpiled ivory, Namibia 10 tonnes, and South Africa 30 tonnes. CITES bans trade in some endangered species and regulates trade in others.
The three countries were among several that wanted the trade ban lifted so that they might sell their stockpiled ivory. Both Botswana and Namibia have large African elephant populations, and are pushing for limited sales of ivory in the future as well. These countries argue that elephant populations have grown since the ivory ban came into effect, and that revenue from the sales could fund elephant conservation and protection measures. In addition, they believe that an official ivory trade would be much less dangerous than the already-flourishing illegal trade in the elephant product.
Other African countries argued that resuming ivory trade would spur increased poaching and could severely endanger the African elephant species. Several international conservation outfits have also opposed moves to reconsider the ban.
CITES banned commercial trade in African ivory in 1989. Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe were permitted to make a one-time sale of 50 tonnes of ivory to Japan in 1997 after proving that elephant populations were adequately managed.
Parties to the treaty have been debating the recently authorised sale of the 60 tonnes of stockpiled ivory for years. The sale was approved in principle in 2002, but was tied to conditions related to elephant poaching in the exporting countries and Japan’s ability to prove that it could prevent the re-exportation of ivory. The Standing Committee has now decided that these conditions have been met, allowing the transaction to proceed.
China’s request to become a trading partner for the registered stockpiles of African elephant ivory was denied.
The Conference of the Parties to CITES will continue through 15 June.
ICTSD reporting; “CITES allows ivory sale,” BOTSWANA PRESS AGENCY, 5 June 2007; “Conference on protection of world species in The Hague,” THE EUROPEAN WEEKLY, 7 June 2007; “Ivory takes centre stage at species meeting,” NZZ ONLINE, 4 June 2007; “CITES agrees to ivory sale,” ASSOCIATED PRESS, 2 June 2007; “CITES permits 60 tons of elephant ivory to be sold,” ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS SERVICE, 4 June 2007.
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