Posted on 20 June 2013
| Manila, Philippines - Authorities in the
Philippines tomorrow are expected to destroy
more than five tonnes of seized elephant
ivory accumulated through enforcement actions.
The ivory tusks are
set to be crushed using road rollers. The
move is aimed at sending a strong signal
that the Philippines is taking firm action
against the illegal ivory trade, and will
also remove any possibility of the country’s
ivory stockpiles leaking back into illegal
trade.
In 2007, TRAFFIC drew
world governments’ attention to the leakage
of ivory from government held stockpiles
in the Philippines, through a presentation
to the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora (CITES) of the results of an analysis
of global ivory seizure records contained
in the Elephant Trade Information System
(ETIS).
ETIS is the world’s
foremost database of elephant product seizures,
providing insights into all aspects of the
illicit ivory trade. TRAFFIC has managed
ETIS on behalf of parties to CITES since
1989 and today contains more than 18,000
cases.
The ETIS analysis in
2007 notes “the largest ivory seizure ever
made in the Philippines, possibly as much
as 3.7 tonnes of raw ivory in 2006, subsequently
disappeared from the custody of Manila customs
under corrupt circumstances.”
“While destroying ivory
puts it out of temptation’s way, an essential
element of such an act is that the stockpiles
are fully and transparently audited so that
it is clear what ivory is being taken out
the system and where it originated—only
then can outside observers have real confidence
in the integrity of the ivory removal,”
said Dr Colman O Criodain, WWF’s wildlife
trade policy analyst.
Following the announcement
about the ivory destruction, TRAFFIC contacted
the Protected Area and Wildlife Bureau in
the Philippines and was informed an ivory
audit would be taking place, with other
agencies including the National Bureau of
Investigation present.
“Ivory is known to have
disappeared from a number of government-held
stockpiles worldwide, so it is vital that
proper protocols are established and adhered
to during ivory destruction events, such
as independent verification that the quantity
of ivory destroyed corresponds to what was
audited,” said O Criodain.
TRAFFIC also understands
the ivory will be DNA analysed—to obtain
information on its geographical origin.
TRAFFIC and WWF fully support the move to
introduce routine forensic analysis of large-scale
ivory seizures, which was agreed by governments
in March this year, at the Conference of
the Parties to CITES.
In 2007, ETIS analysis
highlighted the role of the Philippines,
both for its domestic ivory trade and for
the role of the country as a transit point
for ivory originating from Africa or elsewhere
in Asia and en route to markets in China.
The analysis identified
the Philippines as one of the “major transit
points in the illicit trade,” and also noted
“a new carving industry producing religious
sculptures and artefacts has recently been
identified in the Philippines that may be
linked to an export trade to Italy, the
Holy See and perhaps other destinations.”
Overall, the situation
in the Philippines was described by TRAFFIC
in 2007 as “most worrying”.
In the most recent ETIS
analysis, presented to CITES parties in
March this year, the Philippines was among
the nine countries and territories identified
as being most heavily implicated in major
illegal ivory trade flows. These nine are
now required to submit action plans to improve
their implementation of CITES ivory trade
requirements. This obligation was directed
at China and Thailand as end-use markets,
Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong and Viet
Nam as transit countries/territories, and
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as ivory source,
transit or exit points in Africa.
“Everyone should be
clear that the pulverisation of seized ivory
in no way removes the Philippines’ obligation
under CITES to submit ivory action plans,
which in the interests of transparency should
have their non-sensitive details made public,”
said O Criodain.
Dr Chris Shepherd, Acting
Director for TRAFFIC’s South-east Asia Programme
added: “It is heartening to see the Philippines’
authorities take the issue of ivory trade
seriously—it sends a strong message to other
countries in the region—notably Thailand,
whose Prime Minister publicly committed
the country to end their ivory trade, and
Malaysia, who have also indicated their
intention to destroy seized ivory stockpiles,
that concerted international action is urgently
needed.”
Worldwide, the political
will to address the illegal trafficking
of wildlife goods is gaining momentum. Earlier
this week, leaders of the G8 countries meeting
at Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, issued
a communiqué noting their commitment
to tackle the issue. Their statement reads:
“We will also take action to tackle the
illegal trafficking of protected or endangered
wildlife species.”
+ More
Orphan rhino settles
into new home
Posted on 20 June 2013
| Two months after a rhino calf was rescued
by WWF staff and concerned residents, the
vulnerable animal is thriving in a specially-built
enclosure within India's Manas National
Park. The little greater one-horned rhino
was only a few weeks old when its mother
was gunned down by poachers for her horn.
At the time of its rescue
the calf's survival was not assured, but
thanks to the efforts of a dedicated rehabilitation
team he may someday be able to return to
the wild.
There are only about
3,200 greater one-horned rhinos remaining
and many have been killed in recent years
to meet increasing demand for rhino horn,
which is believed to have magical curative
properties.
“We are happy that the
rhino calf is doing well in its enclosure,"
said Suresh Chand the Chief Wildlife Warden
of India's Assam province. "The calf
is a symbol of hope now for the rhinos of
Manas and we will do our utmost to ensure
that it survives to adulthood and can eventually
be released from the enclosure to join the
free ranging ones in the park.”
The calf is hand fed
eight times per day by dedicated keepers
under the supervision of a team of veterinarians,
park officials and members of WWF-India’s
rhino team who monitor his condition on
a daily basis.
The Assam Forest Department
is planning to bring into enclosure another
orphan rhino, which is currently living
in a rescue centre in India's Kaziranga
National Park, so that the two similarly-aged
calves can keep each other company.
In a ray of hope for
the species, two greater one-horned rhino
calves have been born in Manas over the
past month. But officials are gravely concerned
about their safety in the wake of increased
poaching attacks. Four rhinos have been
killed in the park since it was re-populated
with rhinos through translocation in recent
years. Across the Assam province, 16 rhinos
have been gunned down to meet consumer demand
for rhino horn primarily coming from Viet
Nam.
WWF is working with
Indian law enforcement officials to ensure
that rhinos are given the best possible
protection in the parks where they live.
We are also taking the message to Viet Nam
by asking 62 million mobile phone subscribers
to "say no to rhino horn".
