IWMC World Conservation Trust - 2nd Symposium on Sustainable Use of Wildlife Resources

IWMC - World Conservation Trust
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SUSTAINABLE USE

2nd Symposium
Journal of
Sustainable Use
Introduction

Table of Contents
I Ceremonial
II Terrestrial
Resources
 Successful
 Initiatives
III  Aquatic Resources
IV Issues of Relevance

Outcome of the Re-opening
of a Limited Trade in Ivory
Mr. Jaques Berney (biography)
IWMC Executive Vice-President
President of IWMC-CH

Three meetings after the Conference of the Parties to CITES decided to transfer the African elephant from Appendix II to Appendix I (Lausanne, 1989), in using a pseudo-amendment proposed by the delegation of Somalia and in opposition with most of southern African range States, the populations of Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe were returned to Appendix II at CoP10 (Harare, 1997). This however was assorted with extremely strict conditions and the trade in raw ivory was limited to the export to Japan of government stockpiles of ivory on an experimental basis.

The four countries concerned took the strict and constraining measures to meet the conditions imposed on them and, in spite of all efforts, often based on the spreading of misinformation, from some Parties and a number of NGOs opposed to any trade in elephant products, the CITES Secretariat and the Standing Committee authorized the experimental trade. All operations, placed under strict control by the Secretariat, went perfectly well from the start to the end.

We may consider that the main outcome of the re-opening of this limited trade is the demonstration that CITES can work. In such circumstances, nothing should prevent further trade to take place. The countries concerned should be allowed to continue to trade in ivory and, therefore, should be either granted further export quotas or authorized to establish export quotas themselves, in accordance with Resolution Conf. 10.10. This should also incite the Conference of the Parties to adopt a similar position with regard to other species, the status of which may be compared to that of the African elephant and which produce specimens of high commercial value.

Notwithstanding the success of this experimental trade, the opposition remains strong and it is obvious that if it should not be able to achieve a return of the African elephant to Appendix I, because of the requested two-thirds majority votes, it will at least use its best endeavour to gather the one-third minority votes necessary to prevent the adoption of new quotas for the three range States mentioned above and the transfer of other populations to Appendix II.

Consequently, the vigilance of all those in favour of the sustainable use of species like the African elephant is certainly needed to counter the efforts of the opponents but also to ensure that the care taken to achieve the experimental trade be not reduced and to avoid the repetition of errors made in the past, which contributed to the Lausanne decision. 

  

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