01 June 2007
Trafficking in Elephant Ivory Rising Alarmingly
Ahead of CITES meeting, parties look for solutions to save elephants
Washington – Illegal ivory trafficking will figure prominently in the upcoming 14th Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Conference of the Parties (CITES-CoP) after recent, huge seizures of contraband ivory and a proposal for legal sales. Conservationists say poaching of African and Asian elephants is escalating, and urge greater regulation and enforcement in international and domestic markets.
Although a score of nations with African elephant ranges want a total ban on ivory sales, Botswana and Nam ibia propose annual sales quotas for themselves, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Those states, with the possible exception of Zimbabwe, have successful management programs that sustain healthy elephant populations.
The United States actively promotes conservation of iconic species such as elephants, tigers, rhinoceros and whales and has opposed annual export quotas. It supported a one-time sale of ivory from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa approved at the 12th CITES-CoP in 2002, if specific conditions were met: creation of an international monitoring system for elephant populations and controls on import and export of ivory. These conditions have not yet been met.
"We will be paying close attention in the meeting of the African elephant range states that will take place before the Conference of the Parties," Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior Todd Willens said. "We want to work closely with range states to come up with the right course of action for the elephants," he said, reflecting U.S. concern about the impact of ivory sales in a May 25 statement. The United States questions Zimbabwe's inclusion in the quota proposal, after reports of poaching and insufficient protection for elephants. Willens leads the U.S. delegation to CITES.
"We will work to ensure that Asian elephants are considered," he said, urging "enhanced law enforcement" and "better compliance with CITES requirements for trade control and reporting of illegal activities." Asian elephants are particularly at risk because their ivory is prized for its hardness. It is much in demand in Japan for carving hankos, or signature seals.
China and Japan are top markets for illegal ivory, according to a 2007 TRAFFIC study based on 12,400 ivory seizure cases since 1989 in the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS). TRAFFIC is a network jointly run by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) to monitor the global wildlife trade.
There is evidence of "large scale, highly organized, well-financed" and sophisticated crime rings "on the level of the illicit drug trade," according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) international conservation official Mark Ruggiero. "It really is a drastic change over what we've seen five or 10 years ago, and it's alarming to us," he told USINFO.
The TRAFFIC study says Asian-run, Africa-based syndicates are implicated in increased illicit ivory trafficking, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and Nigeria the major sources. "With myriad conflict zones, Central Africa is currently hemorrhaging ivory," TRAFFIC Africa director Tom Milliken said in a press release on the study.
There are also indications these syndicates deal with various terrorist militias operating in conflict zones, according to U.S.-based International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) program manager Peter Pueschel. IFAW opposes any legal sales of elephant ivory, maintaining that approval of the one-time sale, which has yet to take place, was a mistake. "We believe very strongly that it had an impact, that it did actually lead to an increase in poaching, and increase in smuggling," he told USINFO.
The CITES-mandated ban of ivory sales in 1989 successfully curbed ivory trafficking for years. "In some areas it almost disappeared, in terms of poaching for ivory," Pueschel said. But domestic unregulated markets kept the trade alive.
"We see now by the number of large-scale seizures, that there has been a dramatic increase," particularly since 2000, he said. Since the last CITES-CoP meeting in 2004, 40 tons of ivory were seized in large shipments, with 26 tons of it seized within the last year, Puschel said, adding that law enforcement agencies estimate seizures account for only about 10 percent of the total amount trafficked.
Pueschel said alternative income sources are critical to keep elephants from extinction. "Tourism is one of the biggest income getters" in Africa, a good reason to stop poaching wildlife, he said. Tourists want to see wildlife, "and they particularly want to see elephants." Profits from the ivory trade are miniscule in comparison to tourism, he said.
USFWS also seeks solutions, using the African and Asian Elephant Conservation Funds -- congressionally established grant programs -- as instruments for strategic actions. These include technical and financial assistance to regional law enforcement and conservation agencies. USFWS funds research and networks extensively with larger organizations. "We are small in terms of total dollars but focused and rapidly responsive," Ruggiero said.
The CITES-CoP will convene in The Hague, Netherlands, June 3-15. CITES is an international, intergovernmental agreement to protect endangered wildlife. Currently 171 countries are parties to the agreement.
A press release on the study is available on the TRAFFIC Web site.
For additional information on U.S. policy, see Environment.
