Editorial:
CITES Technical and
At
the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, Decision 10.66
was adopted. Decision 10.66 charged the CITES Standing Committee
to undertake technical and political missions "with a view to identifying
additional legislative and enforcement measures that may be necessary to
stop the illegal trade in tigers and tiger parts and derivatives" (CITES
Decision 10.66). The Tiger Missions Technical Team visited nine tiger-range
states (Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the
Russian Federation, and Vietnam) and the primary tiger-consumer states
(Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States).
Political Missions on the Tiger's Behalf by Cynthia A. Botteron University of Texas-Austin The CITES Standing Committee Chairman Robert Hepworth of the United Kingdom stated, "Tigers are so highly endangered that they may soon be extinct in the wild. This tragedy can only be prevented if tiger range states do more to protect habitat and combat poachers, consumer states stamp out the market for tiger parts and derivatives, and rich countries help to fund tiger conservation efforts." To that end, the recommendations of the Standing Committee are wide ranging and numerous. First, techniques must be developed that can determine the presence of tiger parts in products advertising them. Second, Japan should be encouraged to pass legislation prohibiting the domestic market in tiger parts and derivatives. Third, a CITES Enforcement Task Force ought to be established, comprised of representatives from tiger-range and consuming nations, ICPO-Interpol, and the World Customs Organizations. Fourth, tiger-range states should be encouraged to develop and engage in bi- and multi-lateral enforcement agreements "to assist in targeting shipments and persons engaged in wildlife crimes." Fifth, that poachers and traders be more fully "interrogated" for information on trade routes. Finally, scientific studies must be undertaken to determine the efficacy of the tiger as a curative. The report of the Technical Mission is available on-line at: www.cites.org/CITES/english/e42-10-4.pdf. The political missions began in mid-January 2000. Rob Hepworth, Willem Wijnstekers, and John Sellar who headed up the Tiger Missions Technical Team visited some, but not all of the nations investigated by the Technical Missions team. It is hoped that the political missions team can persuade Japan to adopt legislation prohibiting the domestic market in tiger parts and to encourage both tiger-range and tiger-consuming states to increase budget commitments for habitat protection and law enforcement. The findings of the technical and political missions will be presented at COP 11 of CITES in Kenya, 10-20 April 2000. Many of the findings of the CITES' team are common parlance in the preservation and conservation policy community. The recommended solutions are largely an admonition to stay the course but to do it better. What purpose then, might this 'fact-finding' effort serve? "Facts" that support one's world view and agenda are the prize taken away by the victor in a policy battle. A claim that a crisis exists must be supported by 'facts' in order to be politically viable. Claims of success must too, be justified. Headlined in the 24 October 1999 New York Times was the assessment that "Tigers [surged] back from the brink." The story was a report of the findings of the September 1999 workshop of the Wildlife Conservation Society. The workshop, funded by Exxon and the U.S. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's 'Save the Tiger Fund', brought together nearly 40 tiger conservation professionals throughout the world. Contrary to the assessment made by CITES' Rob Hepworth, Dr. Joshua Ginsberg of the Wildlife Conservation Society concluded that "we are succeeding in saving the tiger" and "tiger conservationists are winning their battles." A "significant reduction in the illegal trade of tiger parts for traditional Chinese medicines" has occurred. We now have a conflict not over how to save a species, or whether or
not the species merits continued effort, but whether decades-long efforts
have succeeded to any measure. Crisis vs. Success (even if limited). 'Fact'
against 'fact'. I say, "Let the battle begin." Conservation and preservation
efforts for the tiger can only benefit from a well-informed, engaged debate
over the tiger's condition, the intensity of trade, and assessments of
the relative successes and failures of current programs.¨
CITES Asian
Regional Meeting
Concern
over illegal trafficking in endangered species of wildlife was the key
topic at the CITES Asian Regional Meeting held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia,
February 21-24. Hosted by Cambodia and underwritten by Saudi Arabia
and Japan, two nations very concerned over the conservation of wild flora
and fauna, the pre-COP 11 conference heard Cambodian officials express
grave descriptions of the difficulty that war-torn nation experiences in
discouraging illegal exploitation of that nation’s wildlife and habitat.
According to reports, illegal logging has destroyed nearly half of that
nation’s forests since 1970. Cambodia is the 140th member of CITES
and is seeking international help in enforcing its wildlife conservation
laws.¨
Targets Wildlife Traffic Editorial:
Aladdin's Lamp
by Eugene Lapointe
According
to the legend, it is somewhere in the Persian Gulf and, possibly on the
shores of the Caspian Sea, that the first of many Aladdin's Lamps, inhabited
by a Genie, was found. Upon my arrival in Iran, I was convinced that I
would quickly find a lamp, a genie and, I hoped, the fulfillment of my
three wishes.
My first wish, to find inspiration, was quickly fulfilled, but not as expected. My friend, Nasser – a genie in his own right, but not of the kind inhabiting a bottle – who accompanied me throughout my trip into Iran, told me : «In Iran, we have long come to understand that our relationship with sturgeons requires that we care to use and we use to care ». The care, knowledge, technology and dedication committed to the preparation of caviar (sturgeon eggs) require to be seen in order to be believed. From the time the nets are set, to the time of air shipment abroad, a full range of experienced fishermen, health experts, scientists, hygienists, medical doctors, processors, controllers, controllers of the controllers, packagers, graders, cleaners, admistrators, etc., combine their efforts to produce what is probably the finest food product in the world. The care given to the use of the various species of sturgeon is such that Iran can obtain the best possible price for its production of caviar. While it does not represent as great an income generator, the production of meat from sturgeons is treated with similar high attention. The use of sturgeons generates the much-needed funding required to care for the species. Without exception, the totality of the income resulting from the sale of caviar, is turned back to the conservation of not only sturgeons, but of other «commercially important fish» such as the White Fish. The caviar income finances the operations of the Scientific Institute and its 60 researchers who work on all sturgeon species. The same holds true for the 170 scientists and experts working in the Propagation and Rearing Complex which releases 25 million small sturgeons every year. The complexity of this operation is such that a dedicated kitchen produces a special food for the minuscule worms needed for the young sturgeons to develop natural feeding habits, in the ponds, prior to their release. The caviar income has been recently used to compensate and relocate some 5,000 fishermen who once caught white fish with gilnets. This relocation was undertaken in order to eliminate the bycatch of sturgeons. These funds, generated by the international sales of caviar, also finance the reintroduction programme of two main species of fish. Both aspects of the practical application of «using to conserve and conserving to use» sturgeons in Iran, are undertaken with maximum care. But I am a very credulous and stubborn Westerner. Having found only the realisation of my first wish, I decided to buy a lamp anyway before departure from Iran (having been unable to find one on the shore of the Caspian Sea). I saw one lamp that was opend and the merchant explained to me that «the bottle being opened, the genie was gone, but wherever the genie was, he/she will remain mine forever, if I bought the lamp… at a reduced price». I now have my Aladdin Lamp… and if you ever see my Genie, please ask her/him to fulfill my two remaining wishes : One that the Iranian Model quickly expands to the other countries sharing the Caspian Sea and its fish resources, and Two, that the Management Philosophy of Iran (as applied to sturgeon species) finds its application to other species in other parts of the world, for the benefit of humankind and all other living species. Sincere thanks to my Iranian friends for their lessons of devotion,
commitment and modesty.¨
Enforcement
Committee:
If the Front
Door is Locked, Try the Back Door
Trying
to establish a CITES enforcement working group, network or committee is
a long story; one well documented in the Secretariat’s comments accompaning
Doc. 10.29 submitted by the United States of America for consideration
at COP10 that proposed the establishment of a working group on illegal
trade in CITES specimens. That attempt, as its predecessors at earlier
meetings, failed at COP10 when Committee II decided by a vote of 45 against
and 35 in favour to reject the principle of establishing such a working
group.
As reported in the Special Edition 09/98 of IWMC Conservation Tribune, the United States Department of the Interior, « respectfully proposed that the CITES Secretariat establish a working group for law enforcement ». That suggestion came via. a letter to Mr John Sellar, Deputy Enforcement Officer, CITES Secretariat, and signed by Mr Thomas M. Riley, Deputy Chief Officer of Law Enforcement, dated 18 June 1998. IWMC concluded that the officials of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service involved in the drafting of the letter certainly will never be recognized for their cleverness if they truly believed their attempt to cicumvent decisions of the COP would to go unnoticed ? IWMC never heard about any follow up to the respectul US proposal, although it knows that a Secretariat official wrote to at least one enforcement officer of a CITES Party in favour of the establishment of such a working group or committee. Since then, IWMC was wondering how the issue would come up again and, to some extent, was surprised that no proposal to that effect was on the provisional agenda of COP11. Now we know why. With Notification to the Parties No 2000/013 of 31 January 2000, the Secretariat has communicated seven vacancy announcements for professional positions available in the Secretariat issued by UNEP. Application 00-09 refers to a Legal Liaison Officer for the Enforcement Assistance Unit of the Secretariat. Among various functions, this officer, as stated in the application, will «Co-ordinate the activities of the CITES Enforcement Task Force ». How should this be understood ? Do UNEP, and/or the Secretariat, entities
that should have been involved in drafting of the application, consider
that a task force is not a working group or a committee, etc, and, therefore,
that they are not bound by any of the decisions of the Conference of the
Parties? Are they not aware of repeated decisions taken by the COP? Or
do they also expect that their attempt to cicumvent such decisions will
remain unnoticed? The questions remain open but we have little doubt that
the Parties that objected to the establishment of such a body will find
the proper answers.¨
Member of
Parliament questions
A
single sentence uttered by a Member of Kenya’s Parliament captured the
tragic imbalance in priorities not only affecting certain aspects of the
social landscape of that nation but also many conservation issues confronting
delegations to CITES’ COP 11 scheduled later this year in Kenya. During
a demonstration to force the government to stop the slaughter of humans
in the Laikipia and Nyandarua districts, Mr. Orengo, a Member of Parliament
was quoted in the Daily National as saying “If an elephant dies here 50
policemen surface at the scene, but when a person is killed you don’t see
any of them.Ӭ
Kenya's Priorities PETA/Extreme
NGOs Shift
Ingrid
Newkirk, cofounder of the ultra-extreme animal rights group, People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), has again set the agenda for extreme
animal NGOs in shifting her group’s focus from anti-fur to anti-leather.
Newkirk, seen by many in the NGO community as the visionary leader for
both the environmental and animal NGO movements, has set her sights on
the United States’ second largest clothing chain, The GAP whose “Everyone
in Leather” ad campaign proved highly successful.
from Fur to Leather The move is nothing new. Traditionally the NGO community plays follow
the leader in developing campaign themes. Newkirk and PETA fired the opening
shots at the biomedical research community in the early 1980s. Its list
of targets includes the meat, poultry, milk and fishing industries, fast-food
restaurants, fur, zoos, rodeos, in short, any human endeavor involving
interaction of any sort with animals. Pushing its agenda from fur to leather
is a natural progression in PETA’s plan to insert its ideology into mainstream
public policy making and thinking. Newkirk is the author of the animal
rights anthem: a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.¨
Anti-Fur
Extremists Plan March
Borrowing
the inflated terminology of the socially volatile ‘60s, anti-fur groups
announced plans for “a day of action” against Norway’s traditional seal
harvest. Led by the Dutch extremist group, Bont voor Dieren, the
petulant protesters hope to gather supporters to prance about Norwegian
embassy and consulate buildings in the United States and Europe on March
7 to express their intolerance of cultural diversity.
Protest Against Norway Activities in the United States are being coordinated by JP Goodwin
and his Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT). Goodwin claims demonstrations
in eight cities are confirmed but is looking for bodies willing to pound
the pavement in that major center of fur retail outlets: Miami, Florida.¨
Lack of
Ice Promises No Lack of
Canada’s
annual harp seal hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence could be the scene of
intense confrontations between anti-fur demonstrators and the legal seal
hunters thanks to the lack of ice in the Gulf this year. Traditionally
the hunt occurs on ice flows far off shore. The ice free conditions suggest
the hunt will take place closer to shore aiding freer access by protestors.
Seal Hunter Confrontations Despite the presence of an estimated four to five million harp seals
in Canadian waters and a government harvest limit of 275,000 adults (killing
baby harp seals is illegal), animal groups like the International Fund
for Animal Welfare (IFAW) relish any chance to disrupt, condemn and demand
an end to the hunt. While they claim to abhor the killing of any
seal for any reason, these same groups are thrilled at the millions of
dollars in donations the hunt generates for their coffers.¨
Fishermen
Care About Whales Too
Publications
of environmental and animal rights NGOs are often filled with congratulatory
photos of concerned members of the public rallying to save stranded whales.
Those same groups more often than not have harsh words for the men and
women who make their living and feed the world fishing from the sea characterizing
them as uncaring. Nothing could be further from the truth. Fishermen
and police from China’s village of Beigang, in the Hainan province, labored
for more than four days before freeing a 15-tonne whale of unknown species
stranded on a sandbar off China’s southern coast. During the ordeal,
the fishermen even constructed a makeshift tent to protect the whale from
the sun’s scorching rays. Unlike many so-called animal groups, the fishermen
did not solicit donations to repay themselves for their efforts.¨
World Whaling
Group helps Inuits and
For
decades, a coterie of powerful, economically dominant former whaling nations
imposed a worldwide whaling moratorium and barred whaling cultures around
the globe from preserving their cultural identity and consuming their traditional
diet of whale. Today, thanks to the efforts of the World Council of Whalers
(WCW), whaling cultures are again taking important steps to revive their
ancient whaling heritage. The people of the South Pacific Island kingdom
of Tonga are a case in point.
Tongans Share Hunting Skills Tongans were prohibited from whaling by the Australian government in
1978. With the passage of time, Tongan whaling skills waned. Thanks to
talks begun between Tongans and Inuit whalers at a recent WCW meeting,
Tongans will soon be relearning whale hunting skills from Nunavut’s Inuit
whalers who took a bowhead whale in 1998. Before that date, the Inuit themselves
were kept from whale hunting for more than 50 years.¨
General Information
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