Botswana breaks ranks with neighbours on ivory trade ahead of UN meeting
President Ian Khama will be joining Kenya and other African nations seeking to snuff the trade out completely
GABORONE — Botswana, home to the world’s largest elephant population, will break ranks with its southern African neighbours and not support bids at the next UN conference to allow sales of ivory, its president says.Trade in ivory will take centre stage at the meeting of the UN’s Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) in Johannesburg from September 24 to October 5.Environment Minister Edna Molewa said on Tuesday the Southern African Development Community would take a united stand and support Namibian and Zimbabwean proposals to be allowed to sell ivory, a coveted commodity used for carving and jewellery. But Botswana President Ian Khama has said his nation will not support loosening restrictions on the trade."We’re opposed to that.... We need to keep elephants on Appendix I so that there’s no trade in ivory," he said in an interview. Animals listed on Cites’ Appendix I are afforded the highest level of protection and global trade in products derived from the...
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