UN conservation meeting kills Tanzania proposal to sell its ivory stock over poaching concerns

Tanzania proposal for ivory sale fails

DOHA, Qatar — A U.N. conservation meeting has rejected a proposal by Tanzania to weaken an ivory ban so it can sell its ivory stocks, over criticism from conservationists that they are not doing enough to crackdown on poaching.

Tanzania requested that it be able to lift the ban on the sale of ivory from its elephants and dispose of some 200,000 pounds (90,000 kilograms) of ivory. It noted in its proposal that its elephant population has risen from about 55,000 in 1989 to almost 137,000, according to a 2007 study.

But opponents led by the United States, the European Union and several African countries say the country has not done enough to combat poaching and the illegal trade in ivory. A similar proposal from Zambia will be considered later in the day

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Tanzania and Zambia on Monday requested a U.N. conservation meeting to weaken the ban on African ivory so they can sell off their own stocks, despite criticism that they are failing to crack down on rising incidents of poaching.

A counter proposal at the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species by Kenya and six other African countries is to halt what limited international trade in ivory is currently allowed and declare a 20-year moratorium on any attempts to relax international trade controls on African elephant ivory.

Ivory sales have in recent years been among the most contentious proposals at CITES and this time around African countries, and even some environmental groups, are divided. The ivory would be sold to China and Japan, the only countries permitted by CITES to purchase it.

TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring group, tracks ivory seizures and found that poaching and smuggling to markets mostly in Asia has risen steadily since 2004. They blame weak law enforcement in Africa and growing demand for ivory products like chopsticks and ivory jewelry mostly in China, Thailand and other Asian countries.

“TRAFFIC is concerned about the prospects of further ivory sales given the current high levels of elephant poaching and the continued lack of action against illegal domestic ivory markets in parts of Africa and Asia,” said Steven Broad, executive director of the wildlife trade monitoring conservation group TRAFFIC’s executive director.

Africa elephants have seen their numbers drop in the past 40 years by more than to 600,000 mostly due to poaching. A global ban on the ivory trade in 1989 briefly halted their slide. But conservationists said that poaching now leads to the loss of as many as 60,000 elephants each year. Without intervention, the elephants could be nearly extinct by 2020.

Tanzania is asking to sell almost 200,000 pounds (90,000 kilograms) of ivory. It noted in its proposal that its elephant population has risen from about 55,000 in 1989 to almost 137,000, according to a 2007 study.

Zambia, meanwhile, wants to sell 48,000 pounds (21,700 kilograms) of ivory. Zambia says its elephant population of 27,000 is steadily increasing.

Tom De Meulenaer, the elephant expert for CITES, said last week the organization endorsed a conclusion by a panel of experts that Zambia had conservation measures in place to allow the sale, while Tanzania had poaching in several parts of the country and remained a transit point for illegal raw ivory shipments.