Sales of ivory reviewed in South Africa: elephant watchers - www.oastweek.com
Selling ivory internationally is illegal without an
export permit or re-export certificate granted by CITES
JOHANNESBURG, (Xinhua) -- The sale of ivory is to be reviewed next month, the organization Space for Elephants (SEF) said in a statement in Johannesburg on Tuesday, local media reported.
A bulk sale of about 100 tons of Southern African ivory to some Asian countries was approved in 2008 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
SEF said that following that one-off legal sale in November 2008 by Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, there had been a “notable upsurge in worldwide seizures of illegal ivory”.
It said the illicit trade in elephant tusks, which had been increasing in volume since 2004, showed a sharp upward surge in 2009.
SEF cited data from the Elephant Trade Information to show that said the volume of illegal ivory seized had doubled from 2008 to 2009. SEF said the sale of ivory is to be reviewed.
“The sale of ivory is to be reviewed by CITES at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP15) in Doha in March, “ it said.
Selling ivory internationally is illegal without an export permit or re-export certificate granted by CITES.
According to the South African Press Association, SEF said Tanzania and Zambia had submitted proposals for a one-off sale of their ivory stockpiles to CITES.
“ Tanzania wants to sell 89,848 kilograms of its stockpile, while Zambia is looking at 21,692 kilograms as well as raw hides.” SEF said it was strongly opposed to the resumption of any trade in elephant ivory, which, it maintains, “creates an illegal market”.
