Ivory markets on borrowed time after United Nations agrees resolution to shut down trade
Hong Kong is one of the world’s biggest transit hubs and markets for contraband ivory, although the government plans a full ban by the end of 2021
The United Nations on Sunday called for the shutdown of all legal domestic ivory markets as it looks to combat poaching and put pressure on countries that continue to trade in elephant tusks.
Member states of the UN’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, known as CITES, agreed on a resolution that calls for legislative, regulatory and enforcement measures to be taken to close legal domestic ivory markets around the world.
When there are legal markets for ivory it creates an opportunity for laundering of ivory into the country
“Today saw a historic moment towards tackling the illegal ivory trade that is killing 20,000 to 30,000 African elephants each year,” said WWF-UK chief adviser on species, Heather Sohl.
Legal ivory markets, such as those in China and Japan, are often accused of fuelling elephant poaching because illegal ivory is sometimes sold through them. Hong Kong is one of the world’s biggest transit hubs and markets for contraband ivory, although the government announced this year that it planned to take steps towards a full ban by the end of 2021. Conservation groups, though, have urged Hong Kong to bring forward a total ivory ban to 2018.
“When there are legal markets for ivory it creates an opportunity for laundering of ivory into the country,” said Wildlife Conservation Society vice president of international policy and head of delegation, Sue Lieberman.
Elephant numbers have continued to decline as poaching surges, with Africa’s elephant population falling around 20 per cent between 2006 and 2015, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said in a report.