Will elephants survive another ban on Ivory Trade?

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Today, 11 African countries endorsed a 20-year ban on ivory trade at the 14th Conference of Parties to CITES held in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Nairobi.  Mali, Togo, Cote D'Ivoire, Burundi, Rwanda, Nigeria, Southern Sudan, Sierra Leone, Congo Brazzaville and Chad supported a halt on ivory trade proposed by Kenya and Mali during the 14th Conference of Parties to CITES. Despite attending, Uganda did not endorse the ivory trade ban.

The debate on the benefits and dangers of ivory trade is not yet resolved. Illegal poaching continues to affect African elephants. A 2007 report says the continental elephant population is between 472,269 and 689,653. This figure is approximately 10-20 per cent of what it was in the 1930s and 1940s. Such sad data prompted countries attending CITES conference to propose a new 20 year ban on ivory trade.  They believe this ban would allow the most threatened elephant populations to regain their viability.  It would also curb the illegal ivory trade and protect the endangered elephants. 

However, a trade ban announcement is not enough. A similar ban on international commercial ivory was proposed in 1989 by CITES.  It procured little results as it was lifted several times. Some countries like Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana then claimed to have enough elephant population to make a "profit".

In 2002, CITES agreed to partially lift the ban on ivory trade. It did so on condition that the Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) system established an up-to-date and comprehensive baseline data on poaching and population levels. CITES also set up ivory export quotas which allowed the export of 30 tonnes from South Africa, 20 tonnes from Botswana and 10 tonnes from Namibia. Japan imports a big portion of this ivory for its hanko industry. But in 2004, requests by several southern African countries for annual ivory quotas had to be turned down due to the rapid decline in elephant population.

In 2006, the Zakouma elephant slaughter in Chad eliminated 97 percent of the original 300,000 African elephant population.  Later that year, deficient monitoring of poaching forced another suspension of ivory exports. It then halted the export of 60 tonnes of ivory from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) tries to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. It is administered by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). It will hold the 7th Dialogue Meeting of the African Elephant Range States at The Hague, Netherlands. between May 30 and June 1, 2007.

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