The proposed sale of ivory from Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa: conditions and verification

Abstract

This paper is a critical review of the conditions and definitions, identifies the loopholes, and makes recommendations for improving verification and complicance' associated with the CITES CoP12 approval of the one-off sale of up to 60 tons of ivory from Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa subject to conditions set out by the CITES Standing Committee by May 2004. The authors conclude ' that the conditions and flawed since they do not allow for verification of trade controls in exporting countries or implementation of recommendations to improve law enforcement coordination', and that trade controls in prospective importing countries 'particularly Japan' are inadequate. They state 'Detailed guidelines on standarized controls are needed, on the the basis of which it is proposed that an independent review team verifies compliance'. The authors note the assessment the Monitoring Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) programme needs more time as does the linking of the MIKE with the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) programme so baseline data can be collected on elephant populations, poaching and illegal trade. Concludes that the time needed for baseline data collection 'precludes any ivory trade before 2005' and suggests this horizon could be pushed significantly further into the future. For a rebuttal see (Hunter & Milliken, 2004)