CITES: Ivory sales get the go-ahead

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Link: http://www.cites.org/eng/news/press_release.shtml

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

 

Ivory sales get the go-ahead

 

 

The Hague, 2 June 2007 - The Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has approved exports of

elephant ivory from Botswana (20 tons of ivory), Namibia (10 tons) and South

Africa (30 tons).

 

The exports were agreed in principle in 2002 but were made conditional on

the establishment of up-to-date and comprehensive baseline data on elephant

poaching and population levels.

 

Today's meeting of the CITES Standing Committee (which oversees the

implementation of CITES decisions between the major conferences) determined

that this condition has been satisfied and that the exports may proceed.

 

" The CITES Secretariat will closely supervise these new exports and monitor

future trends in elephant poaching and population levels throughout Africa.

By basing future decisions on reliable field data, CITES can develop an

approach to elephant ivory that benefits States relying on elephants for

tourism as well as those seeking income from elephant products in order to

finance wildlife conservation, " said the Secretary-General of the

Convention, Mr Willem Wijnstekers.

 

CITES banned the international commercial ivory trade in 1989. Then, in

1997, recognizing that some southern African elephant populations were

healthy and well managed, it permitted Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe to

make a one-time sale of ivory to Japan totalling 50 tons. This sale took

place in 1999 and amounted to some USD 5 million.

 

In 2004, requests by several southern African States for annual ivory quotas

were not accepted by the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the Convention.

Legal sales of ivory derive from existing stocks gathered from elephants

that have died as a result of natural causes or problem-animal control.

Today the elephant populations of southern Africa are listed in Appendix II

of the Convention (which allows trade through a permit system), while all

other elephant populations are listed in Appendix I (which prohibits all

imports for commercial purposes).

 

The long-running global debate over elephants has focused on the benefits

that income from ivory sales may bring to conservation and to local

communities living side-by-side with large and sometimes dangerous animals,

weighed against concerns that such sales may increase poaching. The baseline

data will make it possible to determine objectively what impact future ivory

sales may have on elephant populations and poaching.

 

In a related but separate decision, the Standing Committee has also decided

that Japan has established sufficiently strong domestic trade control

systems to be granted the status of trading partner allowed to import the

approved ivory.

 

*Note to journalists:* For more information, see www.cites.org, and in

particular the Standing Committee meeting documents at

http://www.cites.org/eng/com/SC/55/E55-10-2.pdf and

http://www.cites.org/eng/com/SC/55/E55-10-1.pdf and the 2002 agreement on

ivory at www.cites.org/eng/cop/12/Adopted_Amendments.pdf (pages 5 to 8), or

contact Juan Carlos Vasquez at + 31 6 10615136 or Vasquez or

Fatma Gordon at + 31 6 22 293 372.