African
States Call For Renewed Ban On Ivory Trade
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
|
Delegates
from a dozen African countries pressed yesterday for
a renewed international ban on the ivory trade, saying
that the recent easing of restrictions could devastate
elephant populations |
Leaders of national wildlife and hunting agencies said at
the conclusion of a two-day conference in Paris that in
addition to fearing for the animals' future, they wanted
to reduce the number of deadly battles between game reserve
guards and poachers seeking to kill the elephants for their
tusks.
The tusks are a sought-after good, used
for everything from aphrodisiacs to buttons.
"There is an absolute demand for the
halt to ivory sale," said Bernard Perty, spokesman
for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which hosted
the conference.
The delegates, most of them from west and
central African states, were meeting to draw up a common
position ahead of October's meeting of the U.N. Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES).
Specific proposals included more national
protections for the elephants and their habitats, international
involvement in censuses and promotion of eco-tourism as
an economic alternative to hunting.
The ivory trade was reduced dramatically
in 1989 with the passage of a global ban, but the CITES
secretariat lifted the ban on some southern African countries
with large elephant populations amid claims that the animals
were destroying the environment.
Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe,
none of which were represented at the Paris conference,
have partially renewed their ivory trade since 1997.
Some nations are concerned that a reopening
of the trade could lead to more poaching, particularly troublesome
because poachers are becoming better armed and more aggressive
in their tactics, the delegates said. Dozens of people have
been killed in clashes between poachers and guards in the
last few years.
While the global elephant population stabilized
after the 1989 ban, it is still far below the 1.2 million
estimated in 1980. Africa has between 300,000 and 500,000
of the pachyderms, while Asia has fewer than 50,000 (Associated
Press/News24.com, June 30).
Published in UN Wire . http://www.unwire.org/
Copyright - National Journal Group – Year 2004
