Zim takes ivory ban fight to Netherlands
FinGaz

Staff Reporter

FEARING a ban on ivory trade would worsen the foreign currency crisis facing
the country, Zimbabwe will next month take its lobby to the Netherlands
where opponents, who accuse the country of opening game areas to poachers,
are digging in their heels.

Leading the campaign against trade in ivory are Kenya and Mali, who are
arguing that trade in ivory will escalate poaching of elephants on the
continent.
George Pangeti, the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority chief executive
officer, said the authority, one of the major revenue centres for the
country, was ready to fight Zimbabwe's case in the Netherlands.
Outlawing ivory trade would cost Zimbabwe between US$100 million and US$120
million at a time when the country's economic fortunes have taken a turn for
the worst.
With inflation hovering above 3 700 percent, the highest in the world,
Zimbabwe has battled crippling foreign currency shortages for seven years
blamed on government mismanagement of scarce national resources.
The government denies the charge and lays the blame squarely on targeted
economic sanctions imposed by the United States of America and the European
Union.
Kenya and Mali, said to have won the support of many members of the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora (CITES), whose meeting is scheduled for next month, also have the
support of the rich animal rights and environment lobby, which is expected
to rally behind the proposed ban.
They will formally present their proposals and arguments for the ban at the
CITES meeting in the Netherlands.
Environmental and animal rights lobby groups have prepared dossiers to
support the ban. These include cases of increased elephant poaching in
Zimbabwe's game areas as well as the reckless slaughter of the beasts by
poachers, some of whom are alleged to be conniving with well-connected
politicians owning vast tracts of game areas in the country.
Kenya and Mali want a ban on both raw and manufactured ivory trade.
Environment Minister, Francis Nhema, told The Financial Gazette that the
country would fight to retain its right to ivory trade, saying its
conservation policies were among the best on the continent.
"It is imperative for us to keep fighting and all stakeholders in this issue
should join hands in the fight," Nhema said.
He said Zimbabwe could lose billions of dollars in potential revenue from
ivory sales if the ban came into force.
He accused Kenya of fronting a political agenda against Zimbabwe.
"We know that the ban is not a brainchild of Kenya. We are certain that
there is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that is behind the proposed
ban," Nhema said without revealing the identity of the NGO.
Zimbabwe is battling an overpopulation of elephants, with an estimated
annual population growth rate of five percent.
A recent survey conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature showed that
Zimbabwe's elephant population stood at more than 100 000, against a
carrying capacity of 47 000.
Hwange National Park alone has an elephant population of about 45 000.