Politics threatens African wildlife

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) conference ended with alot of speculation as to the future of this important convention. Despite the fact that every country sends scientific experts to provide technical back up for proposals, there was a heavy role of politics as the 171-nation CITES met to review its lists of tens of thousands of threatened species. The elephant ivory trade debate has always divided African states, this year the deadlock was solved with the first ministerial-level meeting at a CITES conference.The ministers were credited with breaking an 18-year deadlock over the sale of ivory by southern African countries, and allowed a one-time sale of accumulated tusks to Japan, the only authorized buyer. They brokered a compromise, In exchange for the sale it was also agreed that elephant and ivory issues would be taken off the CITES agenda for nine years. Hardly worth celebrating as a victory for elephants, 9 years is only one fifth of an elephants life time. One only has to wonder what the ministers were actually trading in the closed door negotiations.

The conference ended in disappointment for environmentalists. Conservationists said trade considerations overwhelmed scientific criteria in many instances, with countries still voting in favor of short-term economic growth.
USA and Japan were less powerful this year which is good, but China, an importer of tropical timber and a major investor in Africa, was at the center of several contentious issues, but its record was mixed. In one of the more significant showdowns, it failed to block a resolution urging it to maintain a 1993 ban on the sale of tiger parts for traditional medicine and warning it to rein in its program of breeding tigers. Check out more on

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/16/europe/EU-GEN-Netherlands-Endangered-Species.php
http://www.cites.org/