Africa
is in the throes of another horrific elephant extermination. Demand for ivory in China
is flourishing as never before and is driving the illegal killing of elephants. Conservation groups believe poachers
are killing off tens of thousands of elephants a year.
The one-off sale of legal ivory harvested from elephants culled
in Southern Africa endorsed in 2008 by the parties the Convention in
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) may have triggered unbridled demand
among the Chinese. Trade monitoring information collected by the Elephant Trade
Information System (ETIS) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) have
shown that the majority of ivory now on sale in China comes from illegal
sources.
Moreover,
there is growing evidence that poaching increases in elephant-rich areas where
Chinese construction workers are building roads. In 2012, more than 150 Chinese
citizens were arrested across Africa, from Kenya to Nigeria, for smuggling
ivory. According
to the Kenya Wildlife Service, 90% of ivory seized at Kenya's airports implicates
Chinese citizens.
Jane
Goodall, the foremost conservationist of our time, has made an impassioned plea
for a worldwide ban on the sale of ivory to forestall the imminent extinction
of the African elephant.
Here is a snippet of what is evidently an unconscionable catastrophe.
Today only 6,000 elephants are left in the wild in eastern Congo,
down from approximately 22,000 before the civil war. In December 2012 a Tanzanian MP declared
that poaching was out of control with an average of 30 elephants killed
everyday. In southern Sudan the elephant population, estimated at 130,000 in
1986, has crashed to 5,000. Chad, home to 15,000 elephants in 1979, has less
than 400 left. Last year poachers killed at least 360 elephants in Kenya, up
from 289 in 2011. We all recall the massacre last month of family of 11
elephants in Kenya’s Tsavo East National Park.
China’s
fabled economic boom has created a vast demand for ivory products, pushing the price
to unprecedented levels, $1,000 for just less than half a kilogram, on the
streets of Beijing. China presents a vibrant and unfettered market for ivory
bookmarks, rings, cups, combs and chopsticks. Experts believe that up to 70% of
illegal ivory flows through China.
Iain Douglas-Hamilton, a leading authority on
the African elephant, believes that with an estimated value of $7.8 – $10
billion per year, illegal wildlife trade is the 5th largest illicit
transnational activity globally.
INTERPOL
and the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice have
both recognized the increasing involvement of organized crime syndicates in
wildlife crime. In December 2012, 24 tonnes of ivory was seized in Malaysia.
This and other seizures of large ivory consignments is clear evidence that a
well-oiled criminal network now underwrites illegal ivory trade. It is
inconceivable that hundreds of kilograms of tusks could be moved across the
globe without the help of corrupt government officials.
Poaching and ivory trade has become dangerously
militarized. Similar to blood diamonds from Sierra Leone or Angola, ivory is
the new conflict resource in Africa. Conflict, weak enforcement and corruption
have made it possible to trade for ivory for weapons. According to reliable
accounts, Africa’s most pernicious groups are killing elephants and trading
ivory to buy weapons to perpetrate atrocities.
Organized crime syndicates are now believed to be linking up
with rebel movements such as the Lord’s Resistance Army, Al-Shabaab and the
Janjaweed to obtain and move ivory through conflict zones and international
ports, with the aid of corrupt state officials. Syndicates carry out detailed planning, have significant
financial support, understand and utilize advanced information technology.
In comparison with other forms of transnational crime, the risks
and penalties associated with the illegal poaching and trafficking of wildlife
are small. For instance, four Chinese men who pleaded guilty in a Kenyan court
to smuggling ivory worth $24,000 were fined $340 each last month. If unchecked
the unbridled demand for ivory could exterminate the African elephant, exacerbate
existing conflicts in Africa and foment new conflict. Tackling the demand for
ivory must be a global priority.
As
the epicenter of illegal ivory demand, China must understand that its global leadership derives not
from the scale of its wealth or military power but from its moral courage to
stand up against international crime. It behooves China to declare an
indefinite unilateral moratorium on ivory imports.
The
40th Anniversary of CITES on March 3rd 2013 and the 16th
meeting of the Conference of the Parties to be held in Bangkok is a chance to send
strong and clear messages on combating the illegal trade in wildlife. But
seriously, the very idea of killing and trading in high value wildlife as an
incentive for conservation is morally reprehensible.
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