The international trade of wild elephants from Africa will be drastically restricted

The World with AFP Posted on August 27, 2019 at 5:35 pm – Updated August 27, 2019 at 19:44

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The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) adopted a text on Tuesday, 27 August, strictly limiting the international trade of wild African elephants for captivity, zoos or elsewhere. The text was voted in plenary session of Cites with 87 votes in favor, 29 against and 25 abstentions, thus bringing together a two-thirds majority, necessary for its adoption.

A first version of the text had been adopted on 19 August, at the start of the Cites meeting, which is being held in Geneva until Wednesday, but this decision had aroused vigorous opposition from some countries. On Tuesday in plenary, the European Union presented an amended version of the text to reach a compromise. This new version, however, has given rise to very tense debates, as some countries, such as Zimbabwe, are opposed to it. It took a break of sitting before the text was adopted.

Sanctions mechanism

Originally presented by several African countries, it focuses on the international trade of living African elephants and defines what are the "Appropriate and acceptable recipients" for these animals. The paper concludes that the only places known to be able to accommodate wild-caught and protected African elephants are in situ conservation programs. on the African continent, in areas where elephants currently live or may have been present in the past. Zoos or recreational sites are excluded.

However, the document introduces the possibility of selling African elephants caught in the wild on the international market. "In exceptional circumstances", in the words of the text and in consultation with experts from Cites and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), or through temporary transfers in emergency situations. Created more than forty years ago, CITES sets the rules for the international trade of more than 35,000 wild fauna and flora species and has a mechanism that allows it to impose sanctions on countries that do not respect these rules. rules.

No lifting of ban for the sale of ivory

At the same time, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia called on the international community to partially lift the ivory trade embargo. This request, which would finance the protection of elephants according to these countries, was refused by Cites. "The fate of our wild animals is discussed in Geneva, a place unrelated to themZimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa has been quoted by the state-run daily as saying The Herald. The Europeans have let all their animals disappear, but they want to impose rules on those who have managed to protect theirs. "

Cites strictly banned in 1989 any trade in ivory, very popular in Asian countries, to protect elephant populations from poachers. In the last decade, the number of African pachyderms, mostly from the south of the continent, has shrunk by 110,000 to 415,000 specimens, according to IUCN. Some 40,000 African elephants are poached each year.

Victim of a severe economic crisis, Zimbabwe wants to sell the stocks it has accumulated over the years to fund its wildlife conservation efforts. Wildlife NGOs are categorically opposed.