TRAFFIC - WildlifeTrade; News - Zimbabwe moves to tighten ivory

Zimbabwe has tightened legislation governing the legal trade in ivory souvenirs

—The government of Zimbabwe has revoked the right of licensed domestic ivory traders to issue “Short Export Permits” at the time ivory products are legally purchased as souvenirs.
The move will stop abuse of the legal trade in ivory souvenirs.
“Zimbabwe believes in sustainable and legal wildlife trade, but we will not tolerate unscrupulous individuals who abuse the system”, said Mr Vitalis Chadenga, Director General of Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.
“We are committed to curtailing any illegal trade in ivory from our country and request the co-operation of the global community to help us achieve that objective.”
All Parties to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) have been asked not to authorize the import of ivory carvings when an individual presents a Short Export Permit from Zimbabwe.
Formerly, such Permits were supplied by Zimbabwe’s CITES Management Authority to licensed curio traders who could issue the document to souvenir buyers at the time of purchase.
CITES Parties have authorized such trade in ivory carvings from Zimbabwe for non-commercial purposes since 1997, when the country’s elephant population was transferred to Appendix II of the Convention.
But that decision did not allow trade in raw ivory, which was never intended to be covered by the Short Export Permit system.
However, documented cases have come to light whereby unworked elephant tusks were being illegally offered for import to a number of countries using Short Export Permits.
Now anyone wishing to take ivory carvings out of Zimbabwe will need to obtain an export permit from one of three CITES Management Authority offices in Harare, Bulawayo or Victoria Falls.
“TRAFFIC applauds the Zimbabwe government for this positive development,” said Tom Milliken, Regional Director of TRAFFIC’s programme for east and southern Africa.
“It’s the right thing to do and sends a clear message against illegal trade practices.”
Earlier this year, the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) report prepared by TRAFFIC on behalf of CITES Parties noted the Zimbabwe government had previously suspended trade in ivory products because of abuse of the regulatory system.
The rule changes were announced through an official Notification to all CITES Parties issued by the Convention’s Secretariat on 16 August (Notification No. 20010/024).
Zimbabwe has the third largest elephant population in Africa, with nearly 100,000 animals, according to the African Elephant Database of the IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group.
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TRAFFIC - Wildlife <b>Trade</b> News - Thai Customs seize four suitcases <b>...</b>

Customs officers display the 4 seized suitcases containing a total of 90 kg of ivoryIn yet another important ivory seizure at Suvarnabhumi International Airport this year, Customs officers have apprehended 90 kilogrammes of ivory from a passenger attempting to smuggle it into the country packed inside four large pieces of luggage.

The 62-year-old Malaysian national was stopped at International Arrivals on the 28th August after Suvarnabhumi Airport Passenger Control Customs Bureau officers found 16 pieces of cut ivory upon searching the man’s bags.
The suspect had arrived on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to Bangkok. The ivory was confiscated and the case is now under review by the Customs Department.
The latest seizure underlines the important role Customs officers play in the war on illegal wildlife trade.
The Thai Royal Customs has been at the helm of a string of headline-grabbing ivory seizures since late 2008. The department also made three huge seizures this year, netting two tonnes of ivory in February, 1.4 tonnes in April and close to 800 kilogrammes in July; all at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
“The Thai Royal Customs is committed to taking strong measures to ensure that proper legal import and export procedures under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora is adhered to at every check-point across the country especially Suvarnabhumi Airport,” said Mr. Ekalarp Rattanarut, Director of Suvarnabhumi Airport Passenger Control Customs Bureau.
Although Ethiopia has made strides addressing illegal trade in ivory in recent years, its airport in Addis Ababa remains a major transport hub through which contraband ivory continues to move.
China, for example, made 139 ivory seizures in 2009 alone from Chinese nationals coming from Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airways flights.
Thailand, together with Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, were identified as the three countries most heavily implicated in the global illicit ivory trade in the most recent analysis of the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS), the world’s largest database of elephant product seizure records.
ETIS is managed by TRAFFIC on behalf of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
“The Customs officers responsible for this ivory seizure in Thailand are to be commended, although the fact this trade continues illustrates that Thailand’s domestic ivory market remains a serious issue,” said Chris R. Shepherd, Deputy Regional Director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.
“Unless Thailand starts making ivory seizures in the marketplace, we fear its ivory trade will continue.”
“Airlines also need to be increasingly aware and vigilant in order to ensure they are not used and therefore implicated in the global ivory trade,” he added.
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