CITES Geneva: Debate on the Protection of Hundreds of Animal Species

Elephant, rhino and giraffe are just some of the species whose protection will be negotiated at the upcoming 18th Conference of the Parties to the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The conference was moved to 17–28 August in Geneva following the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka. Among the key topics at the World Wildlife Conference are numerous animal species that are traded as body parts (ivory, rhino horn, pelts, hides, bones) or as hunting trophies.

The conference has the longest agenda in CITES history to date. Botswana has already sparked controversy ahead of the conference: following a 180-degree reversal on wildlife protection and the reintroduction of trophy hunting, the country — despite escalating poaching — wants to join four other southern African states in overturning the ban on ivory trade.

Global Trade in Ivory, Horn and Fur

« It is always the same countries that advocate the commercial trade in animal parts such as ivory or rhino horn as a contribution to species conservation. Unfortunately, the former model student Botswana has now joined South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia,» explains Daniela Freyer of the wildlife conservation organisation Pro Wildlife.

The myth that a price tag on a wild animal drives conservation is simply nonsense. On the contrary: global demand and high prices for coveted products such as ivory and rhino horn have caused poaching to skyrocket.

The poaching crisis has now also reached Botswana: recent scientific publications confirm that poaching has increased by nearly 600 percent over the past five years. In 2017 and 2018 alone, at least 385 elephants are said to have been poached. «Botswana has the largest remaining elephant population in Africa. Instead of advocating for the trade and culling of elephants, the government urgently needs to crack down on poachers and criminal ivory traders.", adds Freyer. Critics accuse Botswana's incumbent president of using his campaign against elephants and other wildlife primarily to court votes from rural communities ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for October — communities that are allegedly set to receive proceeds from the ivory trade and hunting. "Local communities and endangered wildlife such as elephants are being equally exploited as political pawns here. It is wealthy elites, corrupt officials, and criminal syndicates that profit from the wildlife trade and trophy hunting — not the animals and the people who live alongside them", says Freyer.

Wildlife as a Political Football

32 African states, however, strictly reject the ivory trade proposals: they have joined together in the «African Elephant Coalition» and are calling at the species conservation conference for strict protection of all elephants and a permanent ban on the ivory trade. They are also calling, for the first time, for the giraffe to be placed under protection. Trade in these animals for decorative items, meat, trophies, and zoos is currently unrestricted, despite populations having collapsed by nearly 40 percent over the past 30 years.