CITES- Press release Ivory sales get the go-ahead

July 17, 2008

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Ivory sales get the go-ahead*

Geneva, 16 July 2008 – Today, the CITES Standing Committee (which oversees

the implementation of CITES between the major conferences) has given the

go-ahead to the one-off sale of ivory that was agreed in principle in June

2007. Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are now authorized to

make a single sale of a total of 108 tons of government-owned ivory. The

following quantities of raw ivory have been approved: Botswana: 43,682.91

kg, Namibia: 9,209.68 kg, South Africa: 51,121.8 kg, and Zimbabwe: 3,755.55

kg.

The Committee also agreed to designate China as an importing country. Japan

had already been allowed to import ivory in 2006. Both countries stated that

they would closely monitor their domestic markets.

All the proceeds of the sale are to be used exclusively for elephant

conservation and local communities living side-by-side with elephants.

" The Secretariat will closely supervise this sale and evaluate its impact on

elephant population levels throughout Africa. We will continue monitoring

the Chinese and Japanese domestic trade controls to ensure that unscrupulous

traders do not take this opportunity to launder ivory from illegal origin " ,

said the Secretary-General of the Convention, Mr Willem Wijnstekers.

CITES banned the international commercial ivory trade in 1989. In 1997,

recognizing that some southern African elephant populations were healthy and

well managed, it permitted Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe to make a one-time

sale of ivory to Japan totalling 50 tons. This sale took place in 1999 and

raised some USD 5 million for elephant conservation.

Legal sales of ivory derive from existing stocks gathered from elephants

that have died as a result of natural causes or from problem-animal control.

Today the elephant populations of southern Africa are listed in Appendix II

of the Convention (which allows commercial trade through a permit system),

while all other elephant populations are listed in Appendix I (which

prohibits all imports for commercial purposes).

*Note to journalistes:* For more information, contact Juan Carlos Vasquez at

+41 22 917 81 56 or +41 79 378 65 40 or juan.vasquez.

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