Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 4 • Number 5 • 19th March 2004
Ivory Trade Again Under Discussion at CITES
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At the initiative of Kenya, the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), convening in Geneva from 15-19 March, is discussing whether to revert a decision from 2002 allowing South Africa, Namibia and Botswana to make one-off sales of their ivory stock piles (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 21 November 2002). Kenya, supported by eight other African countries, claims that the three countries have not enforced the required monitoring and registering systems nor the necessary domestic laws to protect elephants. The Standing Committee will discuss whether CITES should withdraw the approval based on fears that the one-off trade might trigger increased poaching of elephants and increased illegal trade of ivory. The amount of illegally traded ivory was recently assessed in a new report “Elephants on the High Street” by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which showed that the UK is one of major sources of illegal ivory entering the US — despite its sophisticated control system. Furthermore, authorities in China confiscated over 1,300 pounds illegal ivory in southern China. The CITES Standing Committee is currently also considering whether to impose sanctions on Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti and Nigeria, where CITES authorities have found widely available ivory products on local markets.
“Kenya Leads Campaign Against One-Time Ivory Sales,” UNWIRE, 8 March 2004; Kenya Asks for Southern African Ivory Sale Freeze, REUTERS, 8 March 2004; “IFAW And 7 African States Opposed to Ivory Trade,” ENN, 7 March 2004; “Illegal Ivory trade booming in Britain,” REUTERS, 1 March 2004; “UN Body Considers Action Over Ivory Trade,” REUTERS, 19 March 2004.
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