Posted on October, 04 2002

Gland, Switzerland - Following the release of new reports highlighting the existence of an ongoing significant illegal trade in ivory, WWF is calling on governments to take urgent action to end the illegal international trade in ivory by clamping down on domestic ivory markets. The reports were released in Geneva today by the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS), established by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and managed by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network of WWF and IUCN. The reports find that there is a correlation between the presence of large-scale, unregulated domestic ivory markets in several countries and the illegal trade in ivory. They also underline that the four most important countries found to be sources or destinations for large volumes of illegal ivory are China, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Thailand. Other key players include Cameroon, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Uganda, as well as several other countries in Africa and Asia. WWF believes that improved law enforcement and capacity are the key to closing illegal ivory markets, and is calling on governments to take urgent action to address this issue. "These domestic markets are driving the poaching of thousands of elephants each year, both in Africa and Asia," said Dr. Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF's Species Programme. "WWF appreciates the hard work of TRAFFIC in bringing to light this major conservation issue, and is now looking to governments to urgently and seriously address these domestic markets and the illegal international ivory trade in Africa and Asia." The release of the TRAFFIC reports comes as governments prepare for a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) between 3 and 15 November, in Santiago, Chile. While CITES does not regulate domestic markets, WWF believes that there are none the less a series of steps governments could take to reduce the threats to elephants from the illegal ivory trade. In particular, WWF is calling for increased funding for enforcement and capacity building, both in the field to combat poaching and at airports and border ports to stop smuggling; increased capacity building; more efforts from countries with these domestic markets to close loopholes and shut down markets; efforts by countries with these domestic markets to increase public awareness and reduce demand for ivory; and recognition by Government Aid Agencies of the vital connections between poverty, corruption, poaching, and these illegal markets. WWF also urges governments at the CITES meeting to specifically consider decisions and actions to address the current threats to elephants. In particular, WWF would like to see steps taken to deal with the status of the Asian elephant, which, with an estimated population between 30,000 and 50,000 is by far the most endangered species of elephant. For further information: Matthew Davis WWF Species Programme Tel.: +44 1483 412 572 E-mail: mdavis@wwf.org.uk Kyla Evans Head of Press, WWF International Tel.: +41 22 364 9550 E-mail: kevans@wwfint.org