International Trade in Endangered Species Convention, Doha, The Ivory Battle

An Ivory trade battle has arised between Kenya& Tanzania and Zambia to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Doha) to "downlist" the status of elephants so that the two can sell stockpiled ivory on the open market.

Kenya has opposed this position and has enlisted the support of the United States and the European Union to push its opposition to lifting the ban on ivory trade. Kenya and 22 other like-minded African countries argue that lifting the ban would open a floodgate for poaching that could decimate the African elephant.As an indication of how seriously Kenya is taking the matter, President Kibaki has exempted the minister for Forestry and Wildlife, Dr Noah Wekesa, from the recent blanket travel ban imposed on ministers and their assistants.
These last few days, a team of Kenyan technocrats led by Mr Patrick Omondi, the head of species conservation and management at the Kenya Wildlife Service, has been camping in the US, lobbying for support from the world's most influential government.Kenya and Mali co-chair the Africa Elephant Coalition (AEC) which comprises 37 elephant range states. Twenty three of them are opposed to the ivory trade.

The proximity of Tanzania to Kenya, both sharing the Mara-Serengeti elephant range, explains partially why the latter is so aggressive in the campaign. Mr Omondi argues that since elephants carry no passports, they cross the border freely.
Debate in Doha is expected to be vicious and furious, with Botswana having fired the first salvo at the weekend.
Tanzania wants to be allowed to sell 90 tonnes of ivory, while Zambia is looking to dispose of nearly 23 tonnes. The two states are supported by the 13-member Southern African Development Community bloc, to which they belong. They are also supported by Japan and China.( The Tanzania-Japan-China connection is rather questionable dont you think?...smh am just saying...)

Although Kenya and her allies may count on powerful local and overseas European groups, which have huge commercial interests in the local tourism sector, they are not leaving anything to chance.
The 23 countries argue that despite a nine-year ivory trade ban, poaching has been on a steady increase, including in Tanzania and Zambia, but pro-sale groups claim elephant herds have recovered significantly.

Last week the anti-poaching group claim to have hard evidence that indeed poaching is still occurring in Tanzania. The study by researchers at the University of British Columbia published in the Science journal said that Tanzanian petition should be denied, it has been carried out by researchers from the United States, Norway, Kenya, Cameroon, the United Kingdom, Tanzania and Canada.


Their DNA-based research indicates that Tanzania and Zambia, the two countries petitioning to downlist their elephants, are among the most significant sources of, and conduits for, illegal ivory in Africa