Kenya Takes Firm Stand on Ivory Trade Ahead of CITES COP15 Meeting
Posted by webmaster in 
The Kenyan government has proposed changes in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) trade rules ahead of the forthcoming Conference of Parties meeting in March 2011 in Qatar.
Supported by several other African governments the Kenyan government hope to block any attempts by other countries to gain CITES endorsement of further legal ivory sales before at least 2028.
CITES CoP meetings occur every three years and changes to trade rules, through amendments to the CITES Appendices can have profound conservation implications for affected species. The listing of a species in Appendix I effectively prevents all commercial international trade, while those listed in Appendix II can be traded under special permit conditions.
Proposals for the CoP15 include species familiar in CITES debate, like the African Elephant, some that were rejected at the previous meeting (CoP14) in The Hague, Netherlands in June 2008 and a number of new issues for consideration by member countries.
Kenya’s proposal is guaranteed to elicit controversy as it aims to put an end to the currently approved legal export of carved ivory items from Namibia and Zimbabwe by tourists. In conflict with this proposal are requests from Zambia and Tanzania to transfer their African Elephant populations from Appendix I to Appendix II in order to allow one-off sale of government-owned ivory stockpiles.
“The conflicting aims of the Kenyan-led and Tanzania / Zambia proposals are certain to create tension and deep divisions,” said Steven Broad, Executive Director of TRAFFIC International. “We hope that a satisfactory conclusion can be reached that serves the best interests of conservation and that the discussion does not detract from the key problems causing the poaching of elephants, such as the lack of control over illegal domestic ivory markets.”
Even with the consensus agenda being fronted, Kenya with her supporters are likely to maintain their stance explaining that the CITES decision to allow the one-off sale of ivory was not well supervised and has led to the death of other species like rhinos, buffalos and antelopes. Investigations show that killers of elephants take everything in their wake. Since January 2009, Kenya has lost 125 elephants through poaching but most of the poached ivory has been recovered by Kenya Wildlife Service through security operations.
