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THE HAGUE— In a dramatic
decision that threatens to undermine global elephant conservation,
delegates to the 55th Meeting of the Standing Committee to the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) today
confirmed Japan as an approved trading partner for ivory sales first
agreed in a controversial 2002 decision by the CITES Parties.
But in a testy and sometimes fractious debate, China was not granted
the same favored trading status.
The CITES Secretariat determined that
Japan's internal ivory market controls were sufficient,
despite the serious concerns of several African nations including
Kenya, Mali and Ghana. A number of African elephant range states
representatives expressed their belief that the decision of the
Standing Committee will be seen by poachers and international organised
criminal syndicates as a green light to increase their deadly
activities.
In its submission to the Committee,
China stated that granting parity with Japan would create healthy
competition, increase prices, and deliver greater financial benefits to
ivory exporting countries. Numerous countries objected to
China's request and the Standing Committee was split 50:50 in an
unprecedented vote. Switzerland, the depository government of CITES,
was unwilling to cast a deciding vote and the motion to approve China
was not carried.
"Elephants and many African and Asian
elephant range states have every reason to be fearful”
said Will Travers, CEO of the Born Free Foundation and Chair
of the Species Survival Network. "Today's decision belies the reality
of what is happening on the ground across the globe with respect to
elephant poaching and illegal ivory trade. Tens of thousands of
Africa's elephants are being poached each year, thousands of kilos of
illegal ivory are being regularly intercepted, and sales of unregulated
ivory traded over the internet are disturbingly high. Perhaps
most concerning is the fact that poaching pressure is likely to fall
most intensely on those countries least able to resist and law
enforcement officers are losing their lives. It’s
unconscionable.”
John Sellar, the CITES Secretariat's
Senior Enforcement Officer inexplicably indicated that increased legal
trade might result in decreased poaching, a counterintuitive scenario
inconsistent with historical fact. The 1989 international ivory trade
ban brought about a dramatic decline in poaching and the price of
ivory. Subsequent “one-off” stockpile sales and
proposals to reopen trade have been closely connected to rises in
poaching, illegal ivory interceptions, and the rising price of ivory
such that some experts suggest things are as bad today as at any time
in the last 20 years.
"This sets a bad precedent.
Sponsors of the proposals to allow further trade in elephant ivory that
will be considered by the full 14th Meeting of the Conference of the
Parties to CITES in the next two weeks will undoubtedly
rejoice in Japan's new trading status; meanwhile, many African and
Asian elephant Range States, together with conservationists
representing tens of millions of people across the globe will enter
into the next 14 days of negotiations with a sense of foreboding' said
Mary Rice, Senior Elephant Campaigner with the Environmental
Investigation Agency. “It's deja vu... it could
be the bloody ivory trade of the 1980s all over
again.”
For
more information contact:
Adam
M. Roberts, Press
Officer,
In The Hague: 06-5213 6798
Globally: 1-202-445-3572
E-mail: press@ssn.org
WORLD FORUM CONVENTION CENTRE
10, Churchillplein NL-2508 THE HAGUE
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