Elephants In The Dust

IVORY SEIZURES

The illegal trade in ivory has demonstrated a pronounced upward trend since 2007. Il- licit ivory trade activity and the weight of ivory behind this trade are now roughly three times greater than it was in 1998. When these findings from the Elephant Trade Infor­ mation System (ETIS) are considered together with the results of the CITES MIKE Programme, it can be argued that elephants are facing their most serious conservation crisis since the 1989 trade ban was imposed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Elephant Trade Information System

ETIS statistics indicate that Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania are currently the major exit points for illicit ivory. Representing a major shift to Indian Ocean seaports, 16 (47 per cent) of the 34 large-scale ivory seizures that occurred between 2009 and 2011 were exported from these two nations. South Africa has also recently emerged as an exit point for ivory from the African continent. The two primary final destinations for this illicit trade are China and Thailand. Along the way, Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia, the Philippines and Viet Nam serve as ma- jor transit countries. These nine countries and territories are presently linked in the illicit ivory trade chains of greatest con- cern. An additional ten countries and territories are recognised by ETIS as areas of concern as they are also sources of ivory, transit points or domestic ivory markets. These include Cam- eroon, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda and Taiwan. All along the trade chains represented by these countries and territories, organised criminal syndicates, often of Asian ori- gin, are an active force undermining international and national regulations that prevent trade in ivory. Corruption and weak governance structures exacerbate the deteriorating situation. The following section provides a summary of the most recent report of ETIS to the
16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES. The objectives of ETIS, which has been man- aged and operated by TRAFFIC since 1997, are:

1. Measuring and recording levels and trends, and changes in levels and trends, of illegal hunting and trade in ivory in ele­ phant range States, and in trade entrepôts; 2. Assessing whether and to what extent observed trends are related to changes in the listing of elephant populations in the CITES appendices and/or the resumption of legal inter- national trade in ivory; 3. Establishing an information base to support the making of decisions on appropriate management, protection and en- forcement needs; and 4. Building capacity in range States.

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