South Africa will make three proposals at the upcoming Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) conference, including the contentious sale of 30 tons of ivory. The other two proposals would focus on the Cape Parrot and the Aloe thorncroftii, the environmental affairs and tourism department said on Thursday.
There has been much debate in South African environmental circles on the sale of the ivory, which many believe will lead to an increase in the illegal trade of elephants tusks.
The department and SA National Parks (SANParks) told reporters in Johannesburg one of the main reasons the country was pushing for the sale of the ivory was that money was needed to fund elephant programmes. South Africa also needed to buy more land to extend its current nature and game reserves.
The country is going to ask the Conference of Parties to Cites to amend the annotation attached to the Appendix II listing of the South African population of the African elephant. This will allow for the sale of the Kruger National Park’s (KNP) 30 tons of ivory stocks.
South Africa is also proposing that it be allowed to sell two tons of ivory per annum. This ivory will come from elephants which have died naturally in the KNP and will take place 18 months after the initial sale.
SANParks chief executive Mavuso Msimang said on Thursday the KNP alone had more than 10 000 elephants. There are over 13 500 elephants in the entire country. Msimang told reporters if Cites gave the go-ahead, the money from the sale would be used to fund a number programmes. These included financing the elephant management programme and the country’s anti-poaching units.
Asked what the country’s move would be if Cites turned down the proposal, he said South Africa would continue to push for the sale. ”We must get this thing (proposal) approved… If it does not happen, we will continue to try and convince people to support the proposal,” Msimang said.
”If someone wants to buy our ivory and burn it, we will sell it, because believe you me, we need the money.”
On concerns that the illegal trade of ivory would increase through the sale, Sonja Meintjes, the assistant director of trade and regulation in the department, said all steps would be taken to ensure this did not happen.
She said South Africa would not sell its ivory to a country that did not have its trade controls in place as demanded by the Cites Secretariat.
Msimang said there had been no discussions yet on which country the ivory would be sold to. Since the trade of ivory was banned in 1989, South Africa’s elephant population has increased drastically. The country is now of the view that the mammal is no longer endangered.
Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe also want to be allowed to sell their ivory legally. South Africa expects to make about R20-million from the sale.
On the Cape Parrot, South Africa will propose the transfer of the country’s parrot from Appendix II to Appendix I. Species that are not necessarily in danger of extinction but which could become so if trade in them is not strictly regulated fall under Appendix II. Appendix I species are those threatened with extinction that are or could be affected by trade.
The parrot’s population is on the decline and reasons for this could include habitat loss, food shortage, low productivity rate and human predation.
Aloe thorncroftii was originally listed in Appendix I on account of its small population size and the threat posed by collectors. However the situation has improved over the years and the country will propose that the aloe is transferred to Appendix II. The conference will be held in Santiago in Chile from November 3 to 15. – Sapa