As a major CITES conference approaches in September, countries remain deeply divided over how best to fight the growing global trade in ivory – legalise it or ban it, writes Legalbrief Environmental. Brussels is under attack after nearly 30 African states said they were ‘appalled’ by its decision to oppose a comprehensive global ban on the trade in illegal ivory.

According to a report on the Conservation Action site, EU member states, the largest exporters of legal ivory, are being urged to back demands for a total ban on the trade. This comes ahead of a COP17 (17th Conference of the Parties) meeting in Johannesburg from 24 September to 5 October, which will decide if elephants can be provided with the maximum level of protection, therefore helping to end the illegal trade in ivory. This is said to be among the largest source of revenue for terrorist groups in Africa.

The African Elephant Coalition (AEC) – a coalition of 29 African states – has presented its proposals, which include a global ban, to CITES and recently met senior EU officials in Brussels to build support for its campaign. However, on 1 July, the EU announced that it opposes a comprehensive global ban on the ivory trade. It would be better to encourage countries with growing elephant numbers to ‘sustainably manage’ their populations, it says.

AEC is warning of a mass extinction on the continent within 25 years, unless elephants are given an Annex I CITES listing, which would ban any future domestic ivory trade, the report states.

Full report on the Conservation Action site

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Meanwhile, Vietnam, already a major source of demand for illegally poached rhino horn, is fast becoming a major market for illegal ivory. The amount of ivory on sale in Vietnam has increased by more than 600% in the past eight years, according to a new report by leading ivory trade researchers Lucy Vigne and Esmond Martin.

According to a Sunday Tribune report, the researchers found 242 retail outlets with 16 099 pieces of ivory openly displayed for sale in Ho Chi Minh City and Ban Ma Thuot, and in villages in the north near the Chinese border. This ivory is largely made up of small carvings and other pieces of worked ivory, according to the report which states that raw ivory does not appear to be part of the retail trade in ivory that feeds demand in China.

Vietnam has become the main route for the smuggling of ivory and other wildlife products into China, the study notes. As a result of China’s tougher stance on ivory poaching, which has also included tighter surveillance regimes at major ports and airports, Vietnam’s trade has increased, the study concluded.

Full Sunday Tribune report (subscription needed)

Study

Cambodia is emerging as a key transit route to Vietnam and China for illegally acquired African ivory. Cambodian customs last week seized more than 600kg of illegal ivory in a container packed with maize that had languished unclaimed at a port for two years after being shipped from Africa. According to a News24 report, the haul was made after officials decided to open the container, which had been left at the south-western port of Sihanoukville weeks after a crackdown on ivory smuggling in 2014.

‘The shipment arrived at the port more than two years ago... but nobody has come to claim it,’ Kin Ly, head of the port's customs office, is quoted in the report as saying. ‘The elephant tusks were hidden underneath sacks of corn,’ Kin Ly said, adding that the ivory had been shipped from Africa and was destined for a third country. He was unable to name the country or provide an estimate of how much the tusks were worth, the report states.

Full News24 report

The Kisutu Magistrate's Court last week adjourned an ivory smuggling case facing Chinese national Yang Feng Glan, dubbed ‘Queen of Ivory’, to 11 August. According to a report on the allAfrica site, Resident Magistrate Respicius Mwijage adjourned the case after State Attorney Simon Wankyo, for the prosecution, informed the court that the investigation is still incomplete.

Glan and her co-accused, Salvius Matembo and Manase Philemon, were arraigned on 7 October last year and charged with several counts including smuggling ivory worth R33 805 617 between 1 January, 2000 and 22 May, 2014. The accused was allegedly involved in the smuggling and trading of 706 elephant tusks weighing 1 889 kg without a licence from the Director of Wildlife, the report states.

Full report on the allAfrica site