Johannesburg (AFP)

Southern Africa seems ready to slam the door of the International Convention for the Protection of Protected Species (CITES) to sell its ivory stocks, against the advice of the rest of the world and wildlife advocates.

The battle between the two camps raged during the CITES meeting that ended this week in Geneva.

On several occasions, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, which host most of the world's pachyderms, have tabled motions to lift the ivory trade embargo for, say they, fund the protection of their elephants.

But they met each time with a categorical refusal of the other delegates of the 180 countries present.

Tanzanian Environment Minister George Simbachawene lamented, on behalf of the ten SADC countries, the victory of "the ideology of protection" at the expense of a "progressive, equitable, inclusive and scientific conservation strategy".

"It is time to question the benefits we derive from our membership of CITES," he threatened.

"CITES has long since passed its expiration date," his colleague from Botswana, Onkokame Kitso Mokaila, quipped, "you have to think about something else".

"We are re-evaluating our membership," said his Namibian counterpart Pohamba Shifeta, suggesting that SADC could meet by the end of the year to decide.

At the heart of the quarrel is the total ban on international ivory trade decreed by CITES in 1989 to protect elephants from the plague of poaching.

- Pay the protection -

The trafficking of ivory, highly prized by Asian medicine for its supposedly curative virtues, causes the death of 40,000 pachyderms each year, mostly African.

In the last ten years, their global population has shrunk by 110,000 to 415,000 specimens, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

So no question for almost all countries in the world, Western leaders, and wildlife NGOs to accept the slightest breach of the embargo.

Countries that host elephants or rhinos, also in the sight of poachers for their horns, are no longer satisfied.

Frustrated in the economic crisis, southern Africa wants to sell the ivory stock taken from her dead animals to finance a conservation policy she can no longer afford.

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa this week estimated $ 600 million worth of reserves in his country, neighboring Namibia and Botswana.

The "no" opposed to almost unanimity, including African countries, to its proposal in Geneva has made it out of its hinges.

"The Europeans have let all their animals disappear, but they want to impose rules on those who have managed to protect theirs," said Mnangagwa.

In contrast, wildlife advocates applauded the Geneva decision with both hands.

- 'We do not want their help' -

A lifting of the ban "would have increased the risks posed by poachers and traffickers on elephant populations," said AFP Mark Jones, the NGO Born Free.

In southern Africa, the front of the refusal of associations like his annoys more and more.

Tanzanian Minister Simbachawene mocked this week "the emotional complaints of NGOs telling some African countries how to do in exchange for their help". "But we do not need their help!", He said.

The dispute is not limited to the ivory trade alone.

Against the advice of the same African countries, CITES has also drastically limited the possibilities of selling elephants for zoos or leisure parks in Geneva.

Another bone of contention is the hunt for endangered species.

NGOs and European countries oppose it, while Southern African countries consider it necessary to control wild animal populations and limit the threats they pose to populations and their crops.

For these reasons, Botswana has just lifted a moratorium on elephant hunting in effect since 2014.

In Zimbabwe, more than 200 people have been killed by wildlife for five years, told AFP spokesman Tinashe Farawo.

"We must stop sentimentality," said Botswana's Minister Mokaila, "these are not just elephants and rhinos, but also the fate of (our) economies."

© 2019 AFP