UN agrees to ban on ivory trade

(from: www. breakingnewsenglish.com)

The UN has agreed to approve a landmark nine-year ban on trading in ivory to stem a surge in poaching that is killing as many as 20,000 elephants annually. The agreement will go into effect after a one-off sale of stockpiles of ivory to Japan. Four southern African nations will sell their government-held stock of elephant tusks, although the exact amount is unknown.

Willem Wijnstekers, the Secretary General of the 171-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), reckoned as much as 200 tonnes of ivory might be heading to Japan. It will be made into personal stamps that are used in place of written signatures.

However, CITES was positive about the new deal. It said: "This African solution to an African problem marks a great step forward for wildlife conservation.… It is good news for the elephants and the people who live

alongside them."

The agreement ends an 18-year deadlock on the ivory trade and elephant poaching. The future of the world’s largest land mammal was at stake. There are only half a million of the majestic beasts left in the world and this number was falling due to sharp increases in hunting since the turn of the century.

Conservationists say elephant numbers are decreasing every year to satisfy illicit markets in China and Japan. African governments hope the one-off sale to Japan will reduce demand and the money raised will go into conservation programmes. However, China is up in arms over the agreement as it is excluded from the sale.

CITES refused a request by Beijing last week, saying: "We do not agree that they meet the criteria.” Customs officials will now be watching carefully to see if the trafficking of ivory reaches China.