CoP17 rejects move to tighten trade restrictions on African elephant
Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa told CoP17 delegates that the proposal did not meet the scientific requirements of Cites and thus should not be passed
COP17, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), has turned down a proposal to further tighten commercial trade restrictions on all populations of African elephant. The co-proposal by 13 countries to list the entire population of African elephant in Botswana, Namibia, SA and Zimbabwe on Appendix I, was rejected by the countries at the conference. The proposal would have banned the commercial trade of all elephant by-products including hair, hide and ivory. Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa told delegates at the conference on Monday that the proposal did not meet the scientific requirements of Cites and for that reason should not be passed. The minister said a major portion of Africa’s elephants was in the Kruger National Park, which had experienced a 4% increase each year over the past 10 or so years. Surprisingly, Botswana made the appeal to support the proposal stating that it was the only...
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