Anger as Doors Closed at Wildlife Trade Talks

PRESS RELEASE FROM WWF.
'Backwards step' after talks on illegal trade in elephants and ivory closed to publicConservationists today voiced concerns after the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Geneva voted, for the first time in over a decade, to close its discussions on the illegal trade in elephants and ivory to civil society.  It is feared that at a time when transparency and collaboration are desperately needed to address the escalation in illegal trade, closing the meeting to the public  sends the wrong message and will only exacerbate the problem and erode the credibility of CITES.  Heather Sohl, Senior Species Policy Officer at WWF-UK said:"This meeting was seen as an opportunity to work together to agree measures to stem poaching, improve law enforcement and reduce illegal trade in ivory, and now that opportunity has been lost."This is a major backwards step for CITES.  Civil society organisations have a right to be present in these discussions, not least because some of them, including WWF, are donors to the work of CITES on elephants."  The motion to exclude non-government organisations, that represent civil society in these meetings, was tabled by Kuwait, on behalf of the Asian region.  Despite strong objections voiced by the governments of the UK and Kenya, a vote by the Committee closed the session.There is growing concern that other important issues to be discussed this week could also become less transparent, especially rhinos and tigers, where Asian markets are also strongly implicated as the cause of escalating poaching.Dr Joseph Okori, WWF's African Rhino Co-ordinator said:"Given that the major consumer markets for illegal ivory, rhino horn and tiger products are located in Asia, particularly in China, Vietnam and Thailand, one can only assume that this motion was an attempt to evade proper accountability.  If it becomes common practice for non-compliant countries to evade public scrutiny, CITES will cease to be relevant."Despite efforts by the UK Government, representing Europe, which spoke strongly in favour of keeping the session open to all, seven governments voted yes on closing the session, six voted no, and three representatives abstained. [2]  The CITES Standing Committee is comprised of 19 countries, selected to represent their geographic regions, and oversees the business of the Convention in between meetings of the Conference of the Parties that occur every three years.© Phil Pickin