Five will present these to the forthcoming meeting of CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) to be held in Santiago, Chile, from 3 to 15 November 2002.

The proposals include applications to CITES for permission to trade portions of their stockpiles of ivory internationally and the granting of small annual quotas.

Representatives of the six countries discussed the socio-economic impact of their proposals at meetings held in Johannesburg on 19 and 20 August and convened by a leading conservation NGO - the IWMC World Conservation Trust.

Eugene Lapointe, president of IWMC and former secretary general of the CITES Convention, stressed that the requested quotas represent only a fraction of the ivory resulting from the natural mortality of elephants.

"The proceeds of the sales of this precious natural resource will have a major effect on boosting funds available for conservation and rural development. They will enable local communities to benefit directly from a resource that is, after all, part of their own heritage.

"Governmental and non-governmental institutions should not be allowed to ignore and flout the rights of these impoverished communities any more than they should be allowed to infringe the sovereign rights of independent states in their conservation programmes.

Mr. Lapointe added that the countries making the proposals have effective wildlife management systems in place that have resulted in significant natural increases in elephant numbers.

"Economic development can only begin where there is access to resources. The Southern African countries possess a rich resource in bio-diversity, which should be used in a sustainable manner for the benefit of present and future generations.

"In the final analysis, conservation is about integrating three inter-linking sets of interests: quality of the environment, access to economic development, and respect for social custom and traditions.