I have just received this note from John Jackson of Conservation Force:

FYI - CITES CoP15

Both the Tanzania and the Zambia elephant proposals to down list were rejected today, Monday, March 22. Both were amended to narrower scope. Both received a majority but not the required 2/3rd vote. One or both may be brought up again on the last day.

Eish, sorry to hear it and let's hope it gets bought up and meets a more favourable reception on the last day!

Steve,

It is quite sickening, we can only hope that reason will prevail on the last day but it doesn't look too good. At least the battle was taken to the antis.

International CSOs petition Zambia, Tanzania’s bid to lift ivory trade ban

By Kabanda Chulu in Kitwe
Mon 22 Mar. 2010, 04:00 CAT



INTERNATIONAL Civil Society Organisations have warned the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) not to accept the proposal by Zambia and Tanzania to lift the ban on ivory trade because it will result in the extinction of elephants.

Tanzania and Zambia are lobbying the CITES for special exemptions from the ban on killing endangered elephants for ivory so that proceeds could be used to finance game management and wildlife conservation, which they claim to be too expensive to fund.

But Kenya and Mali together with other institutions are leading an effort to block this proposal by Tanzania and Zambia to change the endangered species status of elephants and sell off stockpiles of ivory.

In a petition comprising over 500,000 signatures from around the world that will be presented at the ongoing CITES meeting in Doha, Qatar, the NGOs led by AVAAZ, stated that there was need to uphold the ban on ivory trading and save whole populations of these magnificent animals.

It stated that as long as there was demand for ivory, elephants were at risk from poaching and smuggling and signing a petition was the only chance to protect them and crush the ivory criminals' profits.

“This proposal by Tanzania and Zambia will send a clear signal to the ivory crime syndicates that international protection is weakening and it is open-season on elephants. Our best chance to save the continent’s remaining elephants is to support African conservationists and we only have days left and the UN Endangered Species body only meets every three years hence we are calling on people to sign this petition to protect elephants,” it stated.

Over 20 years ago, the CITES passed a worldwide ban on ivory trading.

Poaching fell and ivory prices slumped. But poor enforcement coupled with ‘experimental one-off sales’, like the one Tanzania and Zambia are seeking, drove poaching up and turned illegal trade into a lucrative business since poachers can launder their illegal ivory with the legal stockpiles.

“Now, despite the worldwide ban, each year over 30,000 elephants are gunned down and their tusks hacked off by poachers with axes and chainsaws. If Tanzania and Zambia are successful in exploiting the loophole, this unpleasant trade could get much worse and we have a one-off chance this week to extend the worldwide ban and repress poaching and trade prices before we lose even more elephant populations,” it stated. “Across the world’s cultures and throughout our history elephants have been revered in religions and have captured our imagination. But today these beautiful and highly intelligent creatures are being wiped out.”

On Tuesday, Zambian tourism and environment minister Catherine Namugala defended the proposal, saying it would enable the country use benefits accruing from the sale of elephants for national development.

Namugala said the application to down list Zambia’s elephant population would have no negative impact on elephants.

“Zambia’s proposal to down list the elephant population is based on findings of a comprehensive assessment that showed that commercial trade would not be detrimental to the survival of the elephant,” Namugala said.

Some 1,500 persons representing over 170 government, non- governmental groups, businesses and indigenous peoples are attending the triennial conference of the CITES.

Officially opening the meeting, CITES Secretary-General Willem Wijnstekers said governments had achieved many conservation successes during the 35 years of the CITES treaty but called for increased political support to meet the new challenges.

“We do not want to risk letting down the developing world in its struggle to ensure that trade in wild fauna and flora is conducted legally and sustainably,” Wijnstekers said.

The proposal by Zambia and Tanzania, which was filed on November 17, 2009, seeks to ‘transfer the population of the African elephant, from Appendix I to Appendix II’ of CITES.

Because Appendix I species are considered to be ‘threatened with extinction,’ and trade is only permitted in exceptional circumstances.

However, if the African elephant is moved to Appendix II, species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but could be if trade is not controlled since avenues for trade will likely be opened up.

AVAAZ is an international civic organisation that promotes activism on issues such as climate change, human rights, and religious conflicts.

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/T.../r37gh6/-/index.html


Tanzania's bid for ivory sale was also rejected.

Maybe this is redundant, but I heard on BBC radio this morning that Kenya is proposing freezing the current rules in place for 20 years.

Page last updated at 15:34 GMT, Monday, 22 March 2010


Ivory bids fall on poaching fears
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News



Seizures of ivory have risen markedly in recent years

The UN's wildlife trade organisation has turned down Tanzania's and Zambia's requests to sell ivory, amid concern about elephant poaching.

The countries asked the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting to permit one-off sales from government stockpiles.

The ivory trade was banned in 1989, but two sales have since been granted to nations showing effective conservation.

Kenya withdrew a bid to ban sales for 20 years, after finding little support.

Most conservation groups were delighted that the Tanzanian and Zambian bids were turned down.

"This is a real victory for elephants," said Jason Bell-Leask, director of Southern African operations with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw).

Others argued that the real issue facing African elephants was poaching, not the occasional legal sale.

"While the issue of whether sales should be allowed to proceed or not has dominated much of the discussions here... the key driving force behind the ongoing elephant poaching is the continued existence of illegal domestic ivory markets across parts of Africa and Asia," said Steven Broad, executive director of Traffic, the body charged with monitoring the illegal wildlife trade.


Eugene Lapointe, IWMC World Conservation Trust
Traffic's latest report shows that poaching and smuggling are rife in West Africa in particular, with several Asian nations complicit in smuggling.

Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Thailand are picked out as the worst offenders.

Organised crime syndicates are increasingly involved in the lucrative trade.

"Poaching and illegal ivory markets in central and western Africa must be effectively suppressed before any further ivory sales take place," said Elisabeth McLellan, species programme manager with WWF International.

Rejection slips

An expert report released on the eve of the CITES conference raised concerns about the extent to which organised crime rings are involved in Tanzania's poaching and smuggling operations.

Although commending the national wildlife services for their "professional" approach, it noted signs of a declining commitment to law enforcement and a lack of co-ordination between wildlife and customs services.

Traffic also noted that almost half of the ivory in the government's stockpiles - which would have been the source for the ivory sales - was of unknown origin.

CITES EXPLAINED
Threatened organisms listed on three appendices depending on level of risk
Appendix 1 - all international trade banned
Appendix 2 - international trade monitored and regulated
Appendix 3 - trade bans by individual governments, others asked to assist
"Uplisting" - moving organism to a more protective appendix; "downlisting" - the reverse
Conferences of the Parties (COPs) held every three years
CITES administered by UN Environment Programme (Unep)
As a result of this, it recommended rejecting Tanzania's bid. Similar misgivings also led to a recommendation to reject the Zambian proposal.

Both countries also failed in bids to switch their elephants from CITES Appendix One to Appendix Two, which would have permitted trades under certain restrictions.

The vote on the Zambian proposal was extremely close, and Zambia may seek to re-open the issue on Thursday, the conference's final day.

A number of conservation and animal welfare groups say the one-off ivory sales ensure there is an ongoing market into which crime rings can sell poached ivory, although the data is hard to interpret.

However, Eugene Lapointe, president of the IWMC World Conservation Trust and a former CITES secretary-general, said the one-off sales generated revenue that under CITES rules had to be ploughed back into elephant conservation.

"The situation is simple: prohibition plus poverty causes poaching," he said.

"Where people are given incentives to conserve, elephant stocks increase and poachers are put out of business."

The last legal sale - in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe - took place in 2008.

Over the weekend, the CITES meeting in Doha, Qatar also turned down a bid to ban trade in red and pink corals from the Mediterranean Sea.

Conservation groups say the corals - which are used in jewellery - are threatened with local extinction if extraction continues.

Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

Sooooooooo,

Illiterate poachers can find a ready market for illegal ivory and way to get it out of the country really easily.
Why don't these two countries just go ask the high govt official in charge of the smuggling in their respective countries and arrange to have them quietly move it. Make casts and show that if asked.

Rich

quote:

But Kenya and Mali together with other institutions are leading an effort to block this proposal by Tanzania and Zambia to change the endangered species status of elephants and sell off stockpiles of ivory.

Don't know about Mali but at one time Kenya's corrupt government was funding ivory poaching and it's officials getting filthy rich off the illicit ivory sales. Might they have some non-altruistic motives in keeping other nations from selling ivory and downlisting their elephants?

Come to think of it... I've had my fill of Kenyans lately... both the foreign and domestic versions!