The Hindu : National : Meet cautions against opening up wildlife trade

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 16, 2004

National

National

Meet cautions against opening up wildlife trade

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, OCT. 15. The 13th session of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wildlife Fauna and Flora Conference of Parties ended in Bangkok with a clear signal that the world was slowly opening up to trade in wildlife and the killing of endangered species for sport and profit.

CITES is an international agreement between Governments aimed at ensuring that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

The good news for the Indian delegation is that its proposal to include the South-East Asian Softshell Turtle, Amyda cartilaginea, found in Mizoram, in Appendix II of CITES has been adopted. The turtle will be open for commercial international trade but would require CITES permit.

According to Vivek Menon, executive director of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), who participated in the conference, told presspersons here today that the sale of ivory jewellery, elephant hides and hair by Namibia, the increased hunting quota for South Africa and the new quotas for Swaziland for killing the white rhino were examples of the opening up of wildlife trade.

Dangerous trend

The dangerous part of the trend is the wording that has been used, Mr. Menon said. Namibia has been allowed to trade in ivory jewellery for "non-commercial purposes" using ivory from elephants that died naturally and those killed for reasons of "management."

The vote was passed unanimously with nobody asking what "non-commercial" sale of jewellery meant.

However, according to him, the opening up of the trade was facing opposition from a large number of members of the 166-member body.

For example, the proposal for an annual export quota of 2,000 kg of ivory by Namibia was defeated.

"If allowed, this would have had major implications for Asian elephants and would have increased poaching," said Ashok Kumar, WTI trustee. He was part of a three-member WTI team that accompanied the Indian delegation to the conference.

Threat to dolphin

The uplisting of the critically-endangered irrawaddy dolphin to Appendix 1, thereby completely banning international trade in the species is another good I

ndication, Mr. Menon said.

The dolphin is found in shallow, near tropical and sub-tropical Indo-Pacific marine waters and marine areas in Australia, Malaysia and Brunei.

In India and Bangladesh, Gillnet entanglement, electric fishing, channel blasting are the main threats to these dolphins. It is also eaten and captured for live display.

The South-East Asian Softshell Turtle was recently found in Mizoram. This is probably the most heavily traded wild-harvested Asian freshwater turtle, as reported by the Species Survival Network (SSN).

It was earlier this year that SSN brought to the notice of the WTI that the United States would like to propose the inclusion of certain species of Asian freshwater turtles in Appendix II of CITES to be discussed during the conference.

"We gathered data on this turtle — Amyda cartilaginea — from the published data and herpetological experts and presented it at the conference where it was adopted in Appendix II of the CITES proposal," Mr. Menon said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National