Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 2 • Number 15 • 10th October 2002
Increased Illegal Trade in Ivory Linked to November CITES Meeting?
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On 26 September Chinese custom officials found a major shipment of illegal ivory at Waigaoqiao Port. The shipment, which came from Mombasa, Kenya contained 3.6 ton of illegal ivory, hidden under wood boards. The Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) believes that, although the shipment came from Kenya, the ivory does not stem from poached Kenyan elephants, but rather that Kenya has only been used as a transit point. KWS reports that over 16 tons of African ivory has been seized this year, which is the largest volume ever. Conservation groups fear that this increase is linked to the 12th Conference of the Parties to CITES, which will be held in November 2002. In the lead up to the COP several African countries have filed proposals to reopen legal ivory trade by allowing the export of specific quantities. WWF and African conservation groups are concerned that if these proposals were approved at the COP meeting, the illegal trade in ivory would increase, regarding the discovery in China as an example of this. They therefore urge countries to instead support a proposal from India and Kenya, which would protect all African elephant populations, as they would be listed under Appendix I of CITES. Most African elephant populations have been listed under Appendix I of CITES, which prohibits all trade of elephants or their parts. However elephants in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa are listed under Appendix II of CITES, which allows the countries to trade a limited certified amount of ivory. Dr Kahumbu, CITES coordinator for the Kenya Wildlife Service said:” If the ivory trade re-opens [after the CITES meeting], there will be a greater incentive to poach and deal in ivory”.
ICTSD reporting; “Tons Of Illegal African Ivory Seized In China,” ENS, 1 October 2002.
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