Written by Rhishja Larson
Tanzania is reportedly preparing to ask CITES to lift the trade ban on elephant ivory, much to the dismay of its EAC neighbors, conservationists, and members of the tourism industry.
In a move that would surely undermine East African conservation efforts, Tanzania has taken up the position that a sanctioned sale of elephant ivory would provide much-needed financial support to the country’s anti-poaching measures.
This comes as a shock to the East African Community (EAC), considering that last year’s sanctioning of a one-off ivory auction is to blame for igniting a scourge of rampant elephant killings throughout Africa – particularly Kenya.
According to Tanzania’s The Citizen, both Tanzania and Zambia have prepared to appeal for the lift of the ivory trade ban at the March 2010 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Quatar. Read More
Technorati : CITES, EAC, Elephant poaching, Ivory Trade, Kenya, Tanzania
Donations made here are
Feb 7th Johanna N USD 16.50
7 Comments
Absolutely disgusting thought! Will some countries not be happy until the elephant is extinct.
Hi Joane,
This is driven by greed and corruption by a few leaders. They should be the one to go extinct!
I’m trying to do my best to stay positive about things, but the plight of the African wildlife (I suppose one could call it a global plight, because species are suffering from human actions all over the place) is so overwhelming that you really need to be extremely strong in order to be able to cope with all the bad news coming out Africa.
When is the general public going to take action and put a stop to the decimation of the wildlife? What assets do Tanzania have if they lose the wildlife and elephants as one of the major attractions of wildlife tourism.
Elephants are already suffering from the effects of drought and habitat loss and poaching is on increase. Don’t humans even have any pity left for these intelligent and amazing animals? It’s like humans have gone crazy trying to benefit as much as they can from exploiting natural resources and wildlife. It’s like there won’t be tomorrow to worry about anymore, but everybody wants everything now.
It heartbreaking having to witness this all.
We need to learn to be good stewards. I believe that the founders of our country did not envision us to be such wasters of our precious resources. I hope others can look at this.
thanks and god bless
Hi Iregi,
I am a photographer working on a upcoming project. Could you please forward me your e-mail and contacts.
Hope to talk to soon.
Regards,
Teeku
When I first read this I had a few minutes where I regreted my decision to travel to Tanzania next July, which I booked a few months ago.
I felt like I would be supporting corruption and crime.
But if we as tourists stop visiting, the animals will have no hope. We need MORE tourists to visit Tanzania and Kenya, not less. Then perhaps eyes will be widened to the true value of these animals and their habitats.
I hope there is something called ‘ethical tourism’!