Delhi: The controversial auction of nearly 108 tonnes of stockpiled ivory (equivalent to about 10,000 dead elephants) from four African nations to bidders Japan and China, begins in a week.
Despite strong protest from conservationists, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) had earlier this year, approved this one-off sale, intended to generate revenues for the exporter countries- South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Moreover, to increase competition and thus prices, this year the CITES has also approved China as a bidder, in addition to Japan, the sole importer in the first stockpile sale held a decade earlier.
Conservationists feel that these decisions by CITES – the world’s authority on wildlife conservation, will negatively impact elephant populations and protection worldwide.
“Permitting such a sale provides illegal traders and poachers with an opportunity to launder illegal stock,” warns Ashok Kumar, Vice-chairman, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). “Elephant poaching may increase, to feed the continual demand from these two importer nations, also known to be part of the world’s largest illegal ivory trade.”
The apprehensions of wildlife conservationists are based on an established increase in elephant poaching in India during the run-up to the first stockpile sale to Japan in 1999. The number of known poaching cases shot up drastically in 1997, the year this sale was approved, reached its peak in 1998 and receded gradually post the sale in 1999. This has been recorded in the book titled ‘Tusker’ by Vivek Menon, Executive Director, Wildlife Trust of India.
Michael Wamithi, Program Director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s (IFAW – www.ifaw.org) Global Elephants Programme and former director of the Kenya Wildlife Service, asserted, “Throughout west and central Africa, isolated populations have actually been wiped out completely due to illegal hunting. We have no doubt that flooding the market with over 100 tons of ivory will put this endangered species in even further jeopardy.”
Reports from several African nations already indicate a spike in elephant poaching following approval of the sale by the CITES, affirming the long-standing fear of conservationists.
“Asian elephants could be equally at risk, if not more,” says Ashok Kumar, who along with the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, recently spearheaded the arrest of wildlife traders dealing in elephant parts in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
“Geographically nearer, illegal Asian elephant ivory would be cheaper and hence may be in greater demand. Moreover, Asian elephant ivory is preferred over African ivory for making hankos or signature seals, which form a major proportion of ivory use in Japan,” he added.
Several multiple tonne seizures have been made at Chinese ports in recent years. IFAW’s 2007 China ivory trade poll report had revealed the low awareness of the current ivory control system in China, and also citizens’ unwillingness to comply with the control framework. According to the report, among the 14.5 per cent that admitted to being consumers of ivory, 75.7 per cent would willingly violate the control system in order to obtain ivory at cheaper prices.
“This can fuel poaching of Asian elephants in countries like India and Nepal. We will be monitoring the developments,” said Kumar.
“It is an established concern that poaching of Asian elephants for ivory can have severe implications on elephant population by disbalancing the gender ratio, as only males (although not all) carry tusks,” he added.
African elephant was listed in the Appendix I of CITES in 1989, more than a decade after the Asian elephant. This effectively prohibited all international trade in elephants and their derivatives, including ivory. However, in 1997, certain populations of African elephants were down-listed to Appendix II, allowing trade with special permissions from CITES. The 108 tonne stockpile sale is an aftermath of this decision.
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Ivory sale may reopen with China as importer
