Provinces holding up ivory sale
2007-08-15 09:56
Cape Town - South Africa has received the go-ahead to sell its stockpiled elephant ivory stocks to Japan, but has not done so because it is waiting for provinces to tell government how much they have for sale.
"We are writing to the provinces to verify how much ivory... is in their possession, and come up with a total," Environmental Affairs Biodiversity and Heritage Chief Director Leseho Sello told MPs on Tuesday.
In June this year, a meeting of members of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) approved a once-off sale of ivory by South Africa.
It is understood the country stands to make R40m from the sale of 30 of the 50 tons of stockpiled ivory in the Kruger National Park alone.
Sello told members of Parliament's Environmental Affairs and Tourism portfolio committee that Japan was one of the countries approved by Cites as a buyer for the ivory.
"In terms of the agreement... the sale should be a once-off sale. So now we have to consider what is out there over and above the 30 tons... We can then have a total, and start engaging with Japan," she said.
Briefing the committee on the management of South Africa's fast-growing elephant population, she said culling - halted in the mid-nineties - remained an option of last resort for controlling the herds' numbers.
A scientific assessment on controlling elephant numbers was being undertaken on the department's behalf by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
A final report was expected at the end of the year, which would "inform" a broader research programme and provide a scientific basis for going ahead with either contraception or culling of elephants.
Sello told members that when it came to elephants, South Africa was a "pro-use" country.
"We don't believe in preserving or conserving elephants just to watch them," she said.
She later drew a distinction between African countries who made "non-consumptive use" of their elephant herds, and kept them for tourists to look at, and others, such as South Africa.
"Here (in South Africa), it's watching it and using it in any manner possible for the development and upliftment of communities."
Responding to questions from members, Sello was unable to say how many elephants there were in South Africa, how many there were in the Kruger National Park, what the park's elephant capacity was, and whether the numbers justified culling.
"If there is any possible way this information could be made available... that would be quite helpful," acting committee chairperson Daniel Maluleke told her dryly.
- SAPA