Declining elephant population worries countries

By Juma Kwayera

Before leaving for Doha, Qatar, the Kenya Wildlife Service ( KWS) delegation took pictures of the flora and fauna at the Nairobi National Park.

The pictures were to provide the necessary "visual effect" to the longstanding debate on the kind of rich biodiversity Africa is set to lose to illegal trade in endangered species. Top on the list are the elephant, the lion, rhino or tortoise — all of which made the agenda of the 15th Convention on Trade in Endangered Species ( Cites) taking place in the Qatari capital.

Cites secretariat rescheduled twice the heated debate on the fate of African elephant stocks, underlining the gravity of the issue in which there were pointers by the close of the week Kenya would carry the day.

Debate rages on the fate of Africa’s diminishing elephant stocks.

KWS director Julius Kipngetich. Photos: Jacob Otieno/ Standard

A KWS official, Mr James Njogu, who is attending the conference, told The Standard on Saturday the bids by Tanzania and Zambia seeking a one-off sale of their ivory stockpiles were unlikely to get the nod after the secretariat questioned the two states’ technical capacities.

Njogu said the Cites secretariat had declined to support "Tanzania’s proposal on grounds of weak law enforcement and compliance".

However, he said: "Zambia’s proposal is being supported by the Cites secretariat, but we are lobbying against it noting their data is not correctly presented."

A report by Cites panel of experts that was in Tanzania recently said although the country’s stocks were healthy, it lacks the capacity to enforce compliance with international regulations on trade in endangered flora and fauna.

Biological criteria

The report noted: "The secretariat is of the opinion the proposal demonstrates that the population of loxodonta africana (African elephant) of Tanzania does not meet the biological criteria for its retention in Appendix I. However, as evidenced by the findings of the Panel of Experts, the secretariat is concerned about the precautionary measures in place regarding enforcement and compliance."