UN nod to ivory sale rings alarm for tuskers

‘‘This is a disaster for Asian elephants as their tusks will now have an easy alibi to be smuggled to countries like Japan and Korea,’’ said Vivek Menon, executive director, Widlife Trust of India (WTI).

In India, only 12,000 tuskers survive out of a total elephant population of 26,000. Recent raids in Hong Kong and Singapore have revealed a huge cache of Asian ivory.

Fearing a further increase in wildlife trade, Kenya and India had proposed continuation of a ban on international sale of African ivory. This proposal was not approved.

Trade in ivory was prohibited globally in 1989 after the number of African elephants plummeted to 600,000 from about 1.2 million in just over a decade. International trade was banned in another meeting of CITES held in April 2000 in Kenya and the poaching pressure declined.

According to countries lobbying for trade, much of the ivory that would be sold comes from elephants that have died naturally. The countries would receive around $2 million to $3 million each from the sales.

‘‘This constitutes an enormous victory for South Africa’s sustainable use policies in the international arena. It constantly argued that a scientific approach needed to be taken in wildlife management ,’’ South Africa’s Environmental Affairs Minister Valli Moosa said in a statement.

The chief demand for ivory comes from Japan where Asian ivory is preferred over African ivory. Only Asian elephant males carry ivory, unlike their African cousins.

This sale of African ivory will actually take place after 18 months after all safeguards have been put in place.

‘‘Poachers and traders do not read such fine print and as the news spreads, they take it as an indication that international ivory trade has re-opened. Killing of tuskers and stockpiling will begin very quickly since under the garb of legal trade much illegal ivory can be laundered,’’ said Ashok Kumar, director WTI.

China formally said last week that a one-time sale of ivory approved by CITES in 1997 led to increased smuggling of ivory.

Smuggling of African ivory to East Asia has nevertheless continued, possibly masterminded by Hong Kong dealers. Over six tonnes of African ivory were seized in Singapore in July on its way to the Far East. Another seizure of 3.3 tonnes took place in China in September.