Namibia backs ivory sale plan by Zambia
NAMIBIA will back a proposal by Tanzania and Zambia to be allowed to conduct a one-off ivory auction, a top official in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism said yesterday, according to the Namibian.
“We will support Tanzania and Zambia’s proposal because it is in line with our philosophy of utilising our natural resources sustainably,” said Dr Kalumbi Shangula, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary.
Other African countries, led by Kenya and Mali, are expected to oppose the proposals at the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) in March.
Tanzania and Zambia are also calling for their elephant populations to be down-listed from Cites Appendix I, which prohibits all trade in animal and plant species, to Appendix II, which allows trade if it is monitored.
On Monday, British paper The Independent reported that Kenya, Mali and other African countries opposed to the ivory sales were sending representatives to Brussels this week to urge the European Union not to support Tanzania and Zambia’s proposals.
They fear that any resumption of ivory sales could lead to more African elephants being slaughtered by poachers.
Some conservationists argue that any ivory trade creates a market in which illegal poached ivory can be laundered, thus boosting demand for it.
If Tanzania and Zambia are allowed to have a one-off ivory sale, it would be the third since the world ban came into force in 1989, after the wholesale killing of elephants in the 1980s.
Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa were allowed to have one-off ivory sales after Cites was convinced that their elephant herds had increased due to their strict conservation measures.
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Its a good move. However i doudt if Zambia would qualify simply because we have not yet fulfilled the benchmarks we had been asked to meet a few years ago in order for us to qualify for the one off sale. For example our wildlife protection measures across the country are still weak. Fundamentally we do not even know the exact inventory of our species including elephants. How do we manage effectively what we do not know.
If ZAWA cant even protect its own areas.
Then what hope do the elephants have from poachers?
What hope does Zambia have of trying to state the Ivory they want to sell does not come from poachers?
Corruption in government will flow onto the animal kingdom with the population dropping majorly.
Protect your heritage and animal life in Africa.
Westerners don’t travel to come and see your governments.
They come for the unique animals that Africa has and should continue to look after.
Animals have equal rights to humans!
If you are going to try and make money from animals then FARM them in good conditions.
Crocodile meat here sells for $28 a kilogram(105,000kwacha per kilo).
All farmed meat like Kalimba Farms.
so they wud rather have the stocks destroyed that have them generate sum revenue for these wildlife conservation societies? doesnt make sense. these ma muzunguz wudnt have tolerated any afrikan country stoping them if it were them.