Zimbabwe: government campaign to lift the international embargo on the sale of ivory
A savannah elephant in Africa.
(Illustrative image) © AP - Jerome Delay
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The subject will be debated at an international elephant summit which opens on Monday, May 23, 2022, at Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.
Nearly 14 countries have been invited.
Zimbabwe says it is looking for funds to finance its parks and deal with the elephant population which is growing dangerously according to the authorities.
They think that the prosperity of his herds deserves a reward.
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With our regional correspondent in Johannesburg
,
Romain Chanson
Zimbabwe feels punished for managing its elephant populations well and
is therefore seeking compensation
.
They would be 100,000 pachyderms, double what is sustainable, according to Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for national parks in Zimbabwe.
“
People can come and see with their own eyes the extent of the damage caused by the animals, the anger this causes among the communities, who do not benefit from it.
We simply say that the population must be able to benefit from it
,” he explains.
Zimbabwe has more than 130 tonnes of ivory, horns and tusks combined.
The government has visited its stocks with European diplomats.
Objective: convince them to lift the embargo.
"
It's science-backed, but sometimes people only listen to their emotions when making decisions.
Most of the ivory we have comes from naturally dead animals.
When they die we recover the ivory.
Seizures of ivory from poaching represent only 10%.
Let's make money with it!
To support our communities and for the population to benefit from this resource fallen from Heaven
,” adds Tinashe Farawo.
The ivory reserves, kept in a vault, are estimated at 600 million dollars.
For Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, this would fund national parks for twenty years.
Open Pandora's box?
Currently, the sale of ivory is authorized exceptionally and in a very controlled manner by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Lifting the embargo on the sale of ivory, adopted in 1989, would be a false good solution, according to Phillip Kuvawoga, director of the habitat conservation program at the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
“
We have no scientific evidence that would show that opening up ivory for sale would support the protection and sustainable management of wildlife.
There is always a fear that the money generated will not be used as intended.
Don't touch elephant tusks and instead think about other mechanisms to add value to your ivory stockpile, like a museum or something like that...I think dumping that ivory on the international market could have repercussions that put endangering the survival of the species in the world.
If you do, you risk opening Pandora's box without knowing if the traffickers will seize this opportunity
.
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To read also
: in Zimbabwe, an NGO tries to block the sale of 30 elephants to China
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