CITES Standing Committee releases Ivory stockpiles

CITES Standing Committee releases ivory stockpiles to Japan and makes mockery of system

(The Hague, Netherlands – 5 June 2007) – The Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has disregarded evidence of Japan’s poor record on regulating ivory trade and instead officially released 60 tonnes of stockpiled ivory for importation to that country.

“This decision is a disgrace in light of evidence that Japan clearly fails to meet the bar set by the CITES framework for such sales,” said Peter Pueschel, Program Manager for IFAW’s Protection of Wildlife from Commercial Trade program.

“The Standing Committee is disregarding this evidence just as it ignores that the 2.8 tonne seizure of contraband ivory in Osaka in August of last year never happened. This is slap in the face to CITES Parties who comply with CITES obligations.”

In 2002 at the 12th meeting of CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP) the sale of the 60 tonne stockpiles was approved but under conditions including the availability of baseline and comparative data from the Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants system (MIKE). It is widely accepted that MIKE is a long way away from achieving the information goals for which it was created.

But an investigative report released by IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare; www.ifaw.org) last week details significant loopholes in the Japanese system that allow illegal ivory derived from elephants poached in the wild to be laundered in astronomical sums into the legal domestic ivory market.

At the 54th meeting of the Standing Committee (SC) in October 2006, delegates and conservation organizations were caught off-guard by a last-minute decision recommending Japan as a trading partner for the stockpiles. This decision was made without the knowledge of the recent 2.8 tonne seizure of contraband ivory in Osaka, which the Japanese did not disclose until after the meeting of the SC.

Between August 2005 and August 2006, more than 26 tonnes of ivory were seized and customs officials estimate that 90% of contraband products pass over borders undetected. Meanwhile, the price of ivory has skyrocketed in the past decade, from US$500 per kilo in Japan in 1994 to its current record price of US$850 per kilo. The financial incentive to poach is the driving force behind the slaughter of at least 20,000 elephants annually, a situation that stands to impact on the balance of local ecosystems and communities’ ability to survive.

The 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES commences 3 June. Key proposals being discussed include a 20 year moratorium on the sale of ivory, the review of whale species, tiger farming and better protection for sharks.

ENDS

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