Posted on 02 March
2010
Gland, Switzerland - The release of six
alleged rhino poachers from custody two
weeks before a meeting of the largest wildlife
trade convention is emblematic of the chronic
lack of political will to enact enforcement
efforts required to save this endangered
species.
A Zimbabwean court last
week granted bail to six men arrested at
Bubye Valley Conservancy, home to Zimbabwe’s
largest remaining rhino population, in connection
with rhino poaching. Charges included illegal
possession of firearms and illegal possession
of a rhino horn.
The incident, part of
a surge in rhino poaching in Zimbabwe and
South Africa, is made worse by a lack of
enforcement support in Zimbabwe in particular.
As 175 countries prepare
to meet to for the 15th Conference of the
Parties to the Convention on the International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES CoP 15) in Doha, on March
13, the increased poaching of rhinos and
trade in rhino horns—compounded by failed
enforcement efforts—is threatening to undermine
conservation successes to date.
Most rhinos are listed
in the Convention’s Appendix I, which bans
trade in their parts for commercial purposes.
Countries participating in the CITES convention
have been tasked with combating illegal
trade in rhino horn.
“Zimbabwe’s failure
to live up to its obligations to CITES is
unacceptable and has caused its already
endangered rhino population to decline,”
said Colman O’Criodain, Wildlife Trade Analyst,
WWF International. “The time has come for
the CITES Parties collectively to decide
how to address this failure.”
This incident, coming
so soon after Zimbabwe was specifically
urged by the CITES Secretariat to tighten
up its law enforcement to protect rhinos,
will reduce Zimbabwe's ability to defend
its wildlife management policies at the
forthcoming CITES conference
Last year, rhino poaching
worldwide hit a 15-year high due to increased
demand for rhino horn. A recent report by
TRAFFIC and IUCN, the International Union
for the Conservation of Nature, showed that
since 2006, 95 percent of the poaching in
Africa has occurred in Zimbabwe and South
Africa. The report also showed that the
conviction rate for rhino crimes in Zimbabwe
is only three percent.
WWF and TRAFFIC urge
Zimbabwe, South Africa and all CITES Parties
to uphold the commitments they have made
as signatories to the Convention and dramatically
improve law enforcement, including investigation
of poaching incidents and prosecution of
rhino crimes.
“Rhino poachers are
currently operating in an environment where
they are allowed to break the law without
appropriate consequences,” said Steven Broad,
Executive Director of TRAFFIC. “This kind
of ineffective law enforcement increasingly
undermines the success of more than a decade's
work of bringing rhinoceros populations
in southern Africa back up to healthy levels.”
Most rhino horns leaving
southern Africa are destined for medicinal
markets in southeast and east Asia, especially
Vietnam, where demand has escalated in recent
years.
+ More
WWF welcomes US backing
for Atlantic bluefin tuna international
trade ban
Posted on 03 March 2010
Washington, D.C. – WWF welcomes today’s
announcement that the United States government
will vote for a ban on international commercial
trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna during a
meeting of the largest wildlife trade convention
later this month.
Joining a growing list
of supporting countries, the U.S. announced
today that it would vote to list the Atlantic
bluefin tuna on Appendix I of the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES).
An Appendix I listing
would ban all international commercial trade
in Atlantic bluefin tuna, giving this endangered
species a chance to recover.
“The U.S. has a vested
interest in this issue, as a fishing nation
of Atlantic bluefin tuna – so if the U.S.
can see the bigger picture and back the
international trade ban proposal for the
long-term survival of a species and a fishery,
all countries can and should do so,” said
Dr Sergi Tudela, WWF tuna expert.
In addition, the U.S.
is not asking for any conditions or delays
of the ban unlike France and the European
Commission.
“WWF now urges EU member
countries to follow the US lead and drop
any conditions in their own backing for
the international trade ban, and calls on
all CITES members to support the Appendix
I proposal at the Doha Conference of the
Parties. The time to save Atlantic bluefin
tuna is now, and with a concerted global
effort, we can do this,” said Dr Tudela.
The proposal to list
Atlantic bluefin tuna on CITES Appendix
I was submitted by the Principality of Monaco
in October. The listing proposal is backed
by countries including main Mediterranean
fishing nations France and Italy as well
as the European Commission and Parliament.
Atlantic bluefin tuna
is at serious risk of commercial extinction
because of decades of unsustainable and
illegal fishing in the Mediterranean Sea,
driven by demand from Japan’s luxury seafood
markets.
Latest official estimates
suggest 36,282 tonnes of Atlantic bluefin
tuna were caught in 2008, over four times
the amount scientists say can be taken while
allowing exhausted fish stocks to recover.
It is believed the real catch figure may
be well above this.
The 15th Conference
of the Parties to the Convention on the
International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP 15) will
take place March 13-25 in Doha, Qatar.
The Convention is an
international agreement between governments
that aims to ensure that international trade
in specimens of wild animals and plants
does not threaten their survival in the
wild.
+ More
WWF welcomes Caribbean
Spiny Lobster fishing ban
Posted on 03 March 2010
Central America, 1 March 2010 – For the
first time in Central America Caribbean,
Spiny lobster fishing will be banned from
the region’s waters during the species’
reproductive season, raising hopes for more
responsible fishing practices in the region.
Of all the fishing resources
in this region, spiny lobster (Panulirus
argus) is the most important income source
for a large number of coastal communities,
especially as it fetches high market prices.
The species is intensively
fished from Belize to Panama and compared
with other sea food products, it is considered
a high valued dish. Both market demand and
prices are ‘high end’, fuelling its overexploitation.
Lobster fishery has
been the backbone of the fishing economy
in Central America for over 100 years, but
recently the dwindling catch has worried
both the government and fishermen.
“WWF celebrates this
first regional closed season and is proud
to have been part of this joint effort’
said Bessy Aspra, WWF Fisheries Officer.
“This regional closed
season is an important step for the protection
of the most valuable fishing resource in
the region, but it is also a clear sign
of the regional and national commitment
with the conservation of marine ecosystems.”
The ban will be in place
from the beginning of March until the end
of June.
WWF works with governments,
the private sector and fishermen in order
to ensure the viability of lobster populations
and to help implement better, more sustainable
fishing practices. Scientific studies on
ecosystem based fisheries management are
also conducted, helping reach policy decisions
such as the regional ban on lobster fisheries.
This ban responds to
the Fisheries and Aquaculture Integration
Policy and the ordinance OSP-02-09 for the
“Regional Regulation of Caribbean Lobster
Fishing (Panulirus argus)”, issued by the
Organization for Central American Fisheries
and Aquaculture Sector (OSPESCA) and signed
by the governments of the isthmus on May
21 2009.
