Poachers are slaughtering hundreds of African elephants every year to get their hands on black market ivory, and illegal raw ivory trade has been taking place right under the Zimbabwean government’s nose - until now. By enforcing an international agreement, the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Zimbabwe has revoked the right of export licenses. According to the African Elephant Database of the IUCN/SSC (International Union for the Conservation of Nature/Species Survival Commission) African Elephant Specialist Group, the elephant count in Zimbabwe totals to about 100,000, the third largest elephant population in Africa. Since the ban by CITES in 1990, Zimbabwe is one of the few countries allowed to participate in controlled ivory trade. In the mid-1990’s, the growing elephant population became a justification for governmental authorities and environmentalists to continue the ivory trade in order to improve the living standards of the poor.
The head of US delegation, Todd Willens, told BBC News, "939 active poaching camps were observed in a north-eastern state in Zimbabwe, representing a six-fold increase in poaching activity since 2001.” Despite this, nothing was done by the US or any other delegation. Zimbabwe believes that the tourist trade is the best tactic for regulating and protecting the elephant herds. Whether tourism has unintentionally encouraged poaching is a still a topic of debate, as CITES has a difficult time collecting truthful facts from various government agencies.
Before the government adopted its new restrictions, along with CITES enforcement, they issued Short Export Permits which allowed for the controlled export of worked ivory out of Zimbabwe. The holder was required to receive the endorsement of a customs officer. When the African elephant was transferred to Appendix II of the Convention’s list of over-exploited species in 1997, this led to the authorization of the trade of ivory carvings solely for non-commercial purposes. However, the Short Export Permit did not cover the trade of raw ivory. Recently government investigation has shown that the system has been abused, and raw ivory was being disguised as souvenirs.
The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority immediately took action and set new restrictions in order to further protect Zimbabwe’s elephants. The Management Authority director general Mr Vitalis Chadenga said to allafrica.com, “Zimbabwe believes in sustainable and legal wildlife trade, but we will not tolerate unscrupulous individuals who abuse the system. We are committed to curtailing any illegal trade in ivory from our country and request the co-operation of the global community to help us achieve that objective.” Now anyone wanting to carry out ivory carvings from the country is required to apply through one of the three Zimbabwean CITES management authority offices located in Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls where they can obtain a CITES export permit.
An international, wildlife trade monitoring network, TRAFFIC, oversees the trade in wildlife plants and animals to help protect the destruction of the planet’s flora and fauna. Tom Milken, the regional director of the program in eastern and southern Africa told allafrica.com, “TRAFFIC applauds the Zimbabwe government for this positive development. It's the right thing to do and sends a clear message against illegal trade practices.”
Written: Fall 2010
For more information on CITES: http://www.cites.org/
For more information on TRAFFIC: http://www.traffic.org/
For more information on CITES: http://www.cites.org/
For more information on TRAFFIC: http://www.traffic.org/
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