Gabon to burn ivory stocks as elephant poaching surges

By: ED STODDARD

JOHANNESBURG – The central African nation of Gabon was to burn its government stockpiles of ivory yesterday against the backdrop of a surge in the killing of elephants and rhinos across the continent to meet surging Asian demand.

Conservation group WWF and TRAFFIC, which monitors the global wildlife trade, said in a statement, the tusks and carvings were to be set alight by Gabon’s President, Ali Bongo, after they had been subjected to an independent audit to ensure none had been pilfered for illegal sale.
Gabon is the first country in its neighbourhood to publicly destroy its ivory, following a path blazed over two decades ago by the east African nation of Kenya.
The independent audit of its stockpiles is significant after wildlife groups reported that Zambia lost 3 tons of ivory from government storage last week while Mozambique had 1,1 million tons stolen in February.
“If not managed properly, ivory stockpiles in the hands of government suddenly ‘gets legs’ and move into illegal trade. Gabon’s actions effectively keep the ivory out of the way of temptation,” said Tom Milliken, TRAFFIC’s ivory trade expert.
The audited ivory Gabon was to torch weighs in at 4 825 kg, including tusks and almost 18 000 worked or carved items.
The illegal slaughter of elephants and rhinos is on the rise, an unsavoury aspect of Asia’s scramble for African resources, driven by the growing purchasing power of the region’s newly affluent classes.
In South Africa, over 250 rhinos have been killed so far this year alone, to meet demand for the animal’s horn, which is worth more than its weight in gold. More are being killed each week now than a decade ago, on an annual basis.
A record number of big ivory seizures were made globally in 2011 and the trend looks set to continue in 2012 as elephant massacres take place from Congo to Cameroon.
Trade in rhino horn is strictly prohibited while that for ivory is mostly illegal, although CITES allows worked ivory to be sold in Zimbabwe and Namibia. In 2008, CITES also allowed South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe to hold one-off auctions of ivory stockpiles.
Some conservationists argue for a blanket ban to remain in place on the grounds that “dirty” ivory can get laundered with the legal supply.
–Nampa-Reuters

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