Tanzania seeks lifting of ban on ivory trade
By The Citizen Reporter and Agencies

October 22, 2009

Tanzania's appeal for the lifting of the ban on ivory trade is set for hearing in Qatar early next year.

Documents seen ahead of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting indicate that Tanzania and Zambia would ask that the ban be lifted, a move that is likely to be met by stiff opposition from countries opposed to the trade in trophies.

The two countries want to be allowed to sell controlled quantities, mainly of elephant tusks, with Tanzania arguing in its proposal that its elephant population has "considerably increased" from 55,000 in 1989 to 136,753 in 2006.

According to the documents, the country said that a one-off sale of its ivory stocks could fund anti-poaching activities.

"In recent years, the government's treasury allocated less money to anti-poaching activities mainly due to the economic crisis which is also affecting Tanzania.

"The adoption of this proposal would therefore be crucial for improving financial support to the Wildlife Protection Fund to further control poaching and other illegal activities in the country," Tanzania is quoted as adding.

Natural Resources and Tourism minister Shamsa Mwangunga could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The country's point of view is, however, likely to raise questions over its commitment to fighting poaching and protecting endangered species.

The country was recently in the news over two tonnes of elephant tusks worth over Sh4 billion that were smuggled from Dar es Salaam to Manila in the Philippines where customs officials impounded them. Several suspects have appeared in court over the haul.

Another large consignment of elephant and rhino trophies believed to have originated in Tanzania was also recently impounded in Kenya where authorities are pushing for a total ban of such trade.

Last November, a one-off auction of stockpiled ivory in four southern African countries raised $15.4 million Sh20 billion) for elephant conservation. The sale of 102 tonnes of government-owned ivory stocks in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe fetched an average of $157 (Sh200,000) per kilogramme.

Chinese buyers, who were linked to the haul discovered in Philippines, bought the bulk of the tusks.

During the CITES meeting, Asian demand for Ivory, bluefin tuna and sharks� fins will also come under scrutiny. The proposals to restrict or ban international trade in those three products are due to be studied.

Monaco has tabled a ban for trade in tuna, while the European Union and the United States have proposed limits on the global trade of several shark species, the documents showed.

The consumption of sharks' fins, a Chinese culinary delicacy, is expected to be among key issues on the table at the Qatar meeting, officials said.

The US and Palau had put in proposals to restrict international trade in white tip sharks and hammerhead sharks, while the European Union has proposed protecting porbeagle sharks, also known as Lamna nasus.

According to the proposal put to CITES, bluefin tuna stocks are so fragile that the species should be classified as being at threat of extinction.

Meanwhile, the Natural Resources and Tourism ministry and the Tanzania Hunting Operators Association (Tahoa) have passed a resolution imposing restrictions on lion hunting.

While the killing lions that are at least five years old will be tolerated, younger lions will not be exportable and will incur a $5,000 penalty and lead to loss of licence.