8 countries submit plans to curb illegal elephant ivory trade

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines and seven countries submitted to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) secretariat national action plans for curbing the illegal trade in elephant ivory.

The Philippines, China, Kenya, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, Tanzania and Vietnam were identified as the primary source, transit and import countries of ivory.

The action plans that these countries submitted to the CITES secretariat contain specific activities in the areas of legislation and regulations, national and international enforcement, outreach and public awareness.

The plans were requested by the CITES Standing Committee as a response to the dramatic rise in the number of elephants poached for their ivory.

Data gathered by CITES-led program MIKE (Monitoring Illegal Killing of Elephants) showed that about 17,000 elephants were illegally killed in 2011 and the situation did not improve in 2012 as actual figures for last year may be much higher.

CITES said illegal killing of elephants for their ivory is increasingly involving organized crime and, in some cases, well-armed rebel militias.

Unknown amounts of poached ivory were believed to be exchanged for money, weapons and ammunition to support conflicts in several African countries.

Significant poaching incidents recently occurred in Cameroon (Bouba N’Djida National Park), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Garamba National Park) and the Central African Republic (Dzanga-Ndoki National Park).

The eight countries are requested to take urgent measures to execute their action plans before July 2014 when the CITES Standing Committee will review the implementation.

The CITES secretariat will provide the Standing Committee with its evaluation of the activities conducted by each country and recommend measures to intensify efforts in critical areas.

“Full implementation of the landmark decisions that CITES member states adopted by consensus last March to combat wildlife crime, together with the complementary decisions taken by the CITES Standing Committee, is key to winning the fight against illegal wildlife trade,” said CITES secretary-general John Scanlon.

He also said that the CITES secretariat will continue to support member states in their efforts and to rally further political and financial support to assist them with on-the-ground implementation.

Two more groups of countries that need to adopt measures against illegal ivory trade have also been identified.

The first group – comprising Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Mozambique and Nigeria – will need to develop and start implementing similar national action plans to combat illegal trade in ivory this year.

The CITES Secretariat will also seek clarification from Angola, Cambodia, Japan, Laos, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on how they control the illegal ivory trade.

With 176 member states, the CITES is one of the world’s most powerful tools for biodiversity conservation. It regulates international trade in close to 35,000 species of plants and animals to ensure their survival in the wild.