News from CITES

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CITES CONFERENCE WRANGLES OVER EASING WHALE MORATORIUM

 

NAIROBI 11 April 2000 Sapa-DPA

The CITES conference on protecting endangered species saw wrangling Tuesday

over a Norwegian and Japanese attempt to ease the moratorium on whaling

worldwide.

 

Delegates at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

(CITES) meeting in Nairobi were to decide on whether to continue observing

decisions taking by the International Whaling Commission, which imposed the

moratorium in 1986.

 

Severing the link between the two bodies' decisions would " mean two

controlling bodies that would talk past each other instead of using their

synergic effect, " said Julian Bauer of the Eco Terra International

environmentalist group.

 

This and other groups including Greenpeace staunchly oppose the bid by

Norway and Japan to relax the ban on hunting minke and grey whales.

 

Representatives of ten non-governmental organizations and lobby groups at

the conference also opposed a call by some African countries for some trade

to be allowed in ivory.

 

Will Trevers, chief executive of Born Free Foundation, a conservation group,

told journalists in Nairobi independent research in southern African

countries showed an increase in ivory poaching following a limited sale

granted to Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana.

 

Speculation of a resumption of trade in ivory had in fact resulted in the

slaughter of between 300-400 elephants, he said.

 

Differences over ivory trade had dominated Monday's opening of the ten-day

international conference on the protection of endangered species of flora

and fauna.

 

Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi, in his opening address to the 11th CITES

conference, appealed for a total ban in ivory trade until elephant poaching

can be controlled.

 

Unlike Kenya, other African nations want some trade to be allowed. India has

backed Kenya's plea for a complete ban in ivory trade.

 

The conference is due to consider proposals affecting controls or trading

bans on 62 species, including the Indian tiger, the bottlenose dolphin, the

rattlesnake and the Korean ginseng.

 

 

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