Illegal ivory trade persists
2005-06-27 08:50
Geneva - Unregulated markets are continuing to trade ivory openly throughout Africa, an international wildlife monitoring network said ahead of a meeting on Monday at the organisation regulating the global trade in elephant tusks.
The network run by the environmental group WWF and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) called on the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) to toughen plans for a clampdown on domestic ivory markets.
Up to 12 000 elephants were needed to supply local ivory carvers every year and "virtually all of the ivory is from illegal, unsustainable sources" the network, Traffic, said in a statement.
International trade in ivory has been banned since 1989, following a massive surge in illegal poaching that cut down elephant populations sharply in the 1970s and 1980s.
Another plan by elephant range states to sharply restrict internal sales of ivory carvings has also been undermined in other African countries, according to the monitoring network.
It called on a meeting of the standing committee of Cites from Monday in Geneva to extend that plan.
Call to suspend wildlife trade with Mozambique
Some 10 000 ivory products, equivalent to between 310 and 875 elephants, were found on markets in Egypt — which has no indigenous elephant population — in March and April, Traffic said.
About 80% of seizures of illicit ivory in Egypt in recent years has come from Sudan, it added.
The environmental agencies also called for a suspension of all wildlife trade with Mozambique unless the country takes steps to control ivory markets, including in the duty free shops of Maputo airport.
"Mozambique has ignored numerous opportunities to stop this violation of Cites but continues to allow illegal ivory trade with impunity," said Tom Milliken of Cites.
"It's time to take decisive action and send a real message," he added.
As elephant populations recover in Africa, Namibida has called for limited ivory exports from nations where populations have been well-managed.
Kenya failed to secure a tougher 20-year moratorium on ivory trading at a Cites conference last October.