CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, ordered its toughest action yet against trade in elephant ivory on 18 March, when it demanded that all African nations ban domestic ivory sales. Previously, only international trade in ivory has been outlawed.
CITES put off a decision on whether to allow a one-off sale of stockpiled ivory from southern African states (New 杏吧原创, 20 March, p 10). But officials at a CITES standing committee meeting in Geneva concluded that the sale would not be safe while uncontrolled domestic trade in countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to provide cover for cross-border smuggling.
Environmentalists welcomed the tough action. 鈥淭hese domestic markets stimulate poaching and undermine the good conservation efforts of other countries where elephants are found,鈥� says Susan Lieberman of WWF.
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But campaigners condemned the decision at the same meeting to allow this spring鈥檚 hunt of the beluga sturgeon in the Caspian Sea to go ahead 鈥� despite growing fears that the fish, which produces the world鈥檚 best caviar, is close to extinction. CITES heard that nations around the Caspian had failed to enact rules agreed in 2001 to clamp down on illegal hunting. Nonetheless, it put off a retaliatory world ban on the caviar trade for at least another three months.