Illegal ivory trade fuelled by ekipas, says new report

A REPORT exposing illegal ivory trade in Namibia has been released by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF).

In August 2006 and April 2007, DSWF visited Namibia to investigate the ivory trade. It followed a controversial decision in 2004 by CITES – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species – to allow Namibia to export specialised ivory jewellery called ekipas on condition that the trade is strictly controlled.Only ekipas set in finished jewellery and accompanied by special certificates could be exported on a “not for resale” basis.Namibia reassured CITES that ekipas would only be made of ivory from Namibian elephants that had died naturally and that the industry would benefit local communities.DSWF found that the promised control scheme had not been implemented.In fact, no evidence was found on either visit of any controls over ivory trade in Namibia, in breach of the CITES treaty.In their absence, an uncontrolled trade directed at tourists in all types of ivory ekipa from unknown and probably illegal sources has arisen.Owners of upmarket jewellery shops and middlemen are reaping most of the profits of the ekipas market, not local communities.During its two surveys, DSWF counted over 2 000 ekipas openly for sale in shops and markets in three tourist centres in Namibia.Most were loose and not mounted into finished jewellery.Larger numbers were found for sale in 2007 than in 2006, particularly in street markets where prices were found to have dropped, indicating that the market is expanding.DSWF’s investigators were advised to smuggle the ekipas out or to misdeclare them, or that exports are legal and don’t need CITES permits.Some shops displayed news articles headlined ‘CITES okays trade in ekipas’ as evidence that the trade had been legalised.This new market, the report says, appears to have emerged shortly before 2004, when Namibia gained export approval from CITES, and has expanded considerably since then.DSWF estimates that, in the last three years, thousands of new ekipas have been manufactured and sold to tourists.In addition, ekipas are being manufactured in other countries and smuggled into Namibia, either as finished products or blank discs, which are easier to smuggle than ivory tusks.According to retailers and traders, ekipas from Angola, Congo, Kenya and Zambia are entering the Namibian market.DSWF photographed ekipas said to be from three of these countries – all had designs quite distinct from each other and from ekipas claimed to be from Namibia.New designs not seen in 2006 were found in 2007, indicating that the market is diversifying.”Carvers and ivory traffickers from other countries are cashing in on Namibia’s market.Illegal trade has been fuelled by the CITES decision and elephants in other countries are dying to supply ekipas.What has happened in Namibia represents a microcosm of what will happen on a much larger scale if ivory trade is opened up,” warned Rosalind Reeve of DSWF.Two respected Namibian jewellers who refuse to sell new ekipas because of uncertainty over their origin, believe that most of it is from poached elephants.Most shop owners buy ekipas directly from traders who come in with bags full and don’t know their source.Middlemen involved in trafficking, interviewed in April 2007, described how raw ivory was being smuggled regularly into Namibia from Zambia and Angola hidden in sacks of food or concealed under car seats and delivered to carvers in Rundu on the border with Angola or Okahandja, north of Windhoek.Namibia, along with Botswana, is spearheading a campaign to open up the ivory trade at the forthcoming CITES conference in The Hague in June.Both countries are strongly opposed to a proposal by Kenya and Mali for a moratorium on international ivory trade for the next 20 years.Kenya and Mali have also petitioned CITES to revoke Namibia’s permission to export ekipas.It followed a controversial decision in 2004 by CITES – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species – to allow Namibia to export specialised ivory jewellery called ekipas on condition that the trade is strictly controlled.Only ekipas set in finished jewellery and accompanied by special certificates could be exported on a “not for resale” basis.Namibia reassured CITES that ekipas would only be made of ivory from Namibian elephants that had died naturally and that the industry would benefit local communities.DSWF found that the promised control scheme had not been implemented.In fact, no evidence was found on either visit of any controls over ivory trade in Namibia, in breach of the CITES treaty.In their absence, an uncontrolled trade directed at tourists in all types of ivory ekipa from unknown and probably illegal sources has arisen.Owners of upmarket jewellery shops and middlemen are reaping most of the profits of the ekipas market, not local communities.During its two surveys, DSWF counted over 2 000 ekipas openly for sale in shops and markets in three tourist centres in Namibia.Most were loose and not mounted into finished jewellery.Larger numbers were found for sale in 2007 than in 2006, particularly in street markets where prices were found to have dropped, indicating that the market is expanding.DSWF’s investigators were advised to smuggle the ekipas out or to misdeclare them, or that exports are legal and don’t need CITES permits.Some shops displayed news articles headlined ‘CITES okays trade in ekipas’ as evidence that the trade had been legalised.This new market, the report says, appears to have emerged shortly before 2004, when Namibia gained export approval from CITES, and has expanded considerably since then.DSWF estimates that, in the last three years, thousands of new ekipas have been manufactured and sold to tourists.In addition, ekipas are being manufactured in other countries and smuggled into Namibia, either as finished products or blank discs, which are easier to smuggle than ivory tusks.According to retailers and traders, ekipas from Angola, Congo, Kenya and Zambia are entering the Namibian market.DSWF photographed ekipas said to be from three of these countries – all had designs quite distinct from each other and from ekipas claimed to be from Namibia.New designs not seen in 2006 were found in 2007, indicating that the market is diversifying.”Carvers and ivory traffickers from other countries are cashing in on Namibia’s market.Illegal trade has been fuelled by the CITES decision and elephants in other countries are dying to supply ekipas.What has happened in Namibia represents a microcosm of what will happen on a much larger scale if ivory trade is opened up,” warned Rosalind Reeve of DSWF.Two respected Namibian jewellers who refuse to sell new ekipas because of uncertainty over their origin, believe that most of it is from poached elephants.Most shop owners buy ekipas directly from traders who come in with bags full and don’t know their source.Middlemen involved in trafficking, interviewed in April 2007, described how raw ivory was being smuggled regularly into Namibia from Zambia and Angola hidden in sacks of food or concealed under car seats and delivered to carvers in Rundu on the border with Angola or Okahandja, north of Windhoek. Namibia, along with Botswana, is spearheading a campaign to open up the ivory trade at the forthcoming CITES conference in The Hague in June.Both countries are strongly opposed to a proposal by Kenya and Mali for a moratorium on international ivory trade for the next 20 years.Kenya and Mali have also petitioned CITES to revoke Namibia’s permission to export ekipas.