Elephant numbers are declining significantly throughout Africa and Asia. We have been battling intensified poaching and trafficking since the ivory auctions in 2008, yet every year, at least 20,000 African elephants continue to be poached for their ivory, including in Southern Africa. Bold international action is needed to save this iconic animal from becoming extinct in many parts of its range, within the decade.
Appeal for international support to halt the decline of the elephants
Ahead of the 18th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES CoP18), to take place in Geneva, 16-28 August, the 32-member[1] African Elephant Coalition (AEC), is appealing to the international community to support our proposals to end the threat from the ivory trade and stop the slaughter of elephants across Africa.
We strongly oppose attempts to re-open the ivory trade and any further national downlistings to Appendix II under any circumstances.
CoP Proposals – the AEC calls on all Parties to the CoP to:
- Support the proposal to list all African elephants in CITES Appendix I as a necessary precautionto prevent their on-going decline, including in southern Africa where poaching is increasing (AEC proposal CoP 18 Prop 12)[2]
- Reject theproposal to amend the annotation for Appendix II-listed African elephant populations to allow trade in raw ivory to verified trading partners (proposal by Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe CoP 18 Prop 11)
- Reject the Zambian proposal to downlist its national elephant population since it meets criteria for Appendix I and poaching and illegal trade continue in Zambia (CoP 18 Prop 10)
Working Documents – the AEC calls on all Parties to the CoP to:
- Support the closure of all commercial domestic ivory markets, to prevent laundering and end the trade threat (AEC Proposal CoP 18 Doc. 69.5)
- Support improved management and reporting on ivory stockpiles to prevent leakage into trade (AEC proposal CoP 18 Doc 69.4)
- Support the revision of Resolution Conf. 11.20 (Rev. CoP17) on theinternational trade in live African elephants and definition of the term ‘appropriate and acceptable destinations’ to enhance welfare and limit trade to in situ conservation programmes or secure areas in the wild within the species’ range (AEC proposal CoP18 Doc. 44.2)
We would also like to emphasise the importance of closing all domestic ivory markets, as proposed by the AEC in Doc. 69.5, to prevent the laundering of illegal ivory and shifting of markets to other countries. The current resolution provides loopholes that are being exploited to keep major markets open.
The AEC calls on the international community and Parties to CITES to take account of increasing scientific evidence of the threat posed to elephant populations by continued poaching and trafficking. Legal and illegal trade in ivory are clearly linked and there is growing international consensus that domestic ivory markets should be closed and demand reduced. We must protect African elephants from extinction in the wild and maintain them in their natural habitat for future generations to come.
Contact details:
AEC Ministers:
Hon Najib Balala EGH
Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife, Kenya
Co-Chair, African Elephant Coalition
M. Batio BASSIERE
Ministre de l’Environnement, de l’Economie Verte et du Changement Climatique, Burkina Faso
Alternate Co-Chair, African Elephant Coalition
AEC Secretariat:
www.africanelephantcoalition.org
Dr. Patrick Omondi, OGW
Co-Chair, African Elephant Coalition
Director Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)
Tel: (+254) 73 9085276
Email: info@africanelephantcoalition.org
M.Benoit Doamba
Alternate Co-Chair, African Elephant Coalition
Directeur de la Faune et des Ressources Cynégétiques, Organe de gestion CITES pour le Burkina Faso
Tel: (+226) 76 66 33 02 / (+226) 70 09 71 77
Email:
benoitdoamba@hotmail.com
[1] Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Comoros, Congo Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, The Gambia, Togo, Uganda.
[2] Proposal to transfer Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe’s populations of Loxodonta africana (African elephant) from Appendix II to Appendix I, leading to the end of the African elephant’s split-listing.
