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Bangkok Post, 05 November 2004
WildAid called upon the Thai Government, and other governments attending the October convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) in Bangkok, to officially establish the "Asian Wildlife Law Enforcement Network" with the sole aim of stopping the massive illegal trade in plants and animals throughout the Southeast Asian region. This "Wildlife Interpol" network will link national task forces across the region with the aim of reducing poaching and targeting wildlife traffickers.
In response, Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, publicly announced during the CITES conference that Thailand was prepared to lead a regional law enforcement network. Ministers and senior officials from the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also promised to coordinate efforts to clamp down on trafficking by sharing intelligence and scientific data on threatened species, among other measures.
"We are very pleased with the statement as it shows the ASEAN countries are taking wildlife crimes seriously," said Steven Galster, Director of WildAid Thailand. Crime in Southeast Asia is not isolated to a single country; it must be addressed through coordinated efforts across the region" he added.
"Most governments do not treat wildlife and nature conservation as a high priority," said Senator Kraisak Choonhavan, Chairman of WildAid Thailand. "But if we don't stop the wildlife mafia, they will rob this and other countries of our biodiversity, which not only means we will lose our treasured animals and plants, but also our clean water supply will be affected, our farms will suffer, and our air will become dirtier. Furthermore, wildlife trade can facilitate the spread of disease to humans. This is both a national and trans-boundary issue that requires both an international, national and regional response."
CITES is a global UN Treaty that has been in effect for nearly 30 years. The CITES meeting held in Bangkok October 2-16, 2004 was the first held in Southeast Asia. Representatives of nearly 170 governments attend the conference. [return]
Bangkok Post, 05 November 2004
The Director and Public Relations Manager of WildAid were acquitted by Thai courts on August 16, 2004 concluding a 3-year law suit brought against them by local shark fin traders for damages stemming from WildAid's shark conservation campaign.
Plaintiffs from the "Bangkok Association of Shark Fin Restaurants" had sued WildAid for 110 million baht ($2.75 million US) for its campaign to end public consumption of shark fin soup. Judge Chayan Tempium announced the winning verdict for WildAid in Bangkok's southern civil court.
WildAid's campaign, including several ads developed by advertising agency J. Walter Thompson, appealed to the Thai government and public to help halt the rapid decline of shark populations worldwide. WildAid appealed to consumers to stop eating shark fin soup, while also publicizing the fact that some shark fins contain the toxin mercury. WildAid's controversial claims about mercury contamination were supported by tests conducted by two state-related labs in Thailand, as well as US, Australian and New Zealand government reports.
WildAid's shark campaign was launched in Thailand in March 2001. Six months later, the law suit was announced and WildAid was forced to stop its public awareness campaign for the duration of the civil case process. The shark campaign will now be re-launched.
"We are extremely delighted about the court's decision," said Steven Galster, Director WildAid Thailand and the first defendant in the case. "It's not only a victory for WildAid and sharks, it's also a victory for Thai NGO's. The ruling sends the appropriate signal that so long as you are speaking the truth, you have the right to speak out."
Galster added: "We still have not won. A true victory will be when shark fin restaurants fade from the scene here, setting a trend for other parts of the world. Thailand can be a leader in nature conservation for Asia and the world. But that will require support and understanding from the public, the government and the shark fin traders themselves." [return]
Bangkok Post, 05 November 2004, KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI
The endangered Irrawaddy dolphin is under serious threat in Thai waters from commercial coastal fishing and rising demand for dolphin meat on the table, according to the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources.
Director-general Maitree Duangsawad said he was concerned for the survival of the rare species.
There had been reports from Chumphon and Prachuap Khiri Khan provinces that dolphin meat was being widely sold in local markets. The meat came from stranded dolphins or dolphins accidentally trapped in fishing nets.
At least 10 dolphins, including the Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), had been found dead, caught in nets or injured by boat propellors.
The number was alarming, considering there were only 100-150 Irrawaddy dolphins left in Thai waters, including coastal areas in eastern and southern provinces, the Mekong river, Songkhla Lake and Bang Pakong river estuary.
Mr Maitree said officials had found a food shop in Chumphon advertising dolphin curry''. Such activity would jeopardise the country's image as a leader in dolphin conservation.
Last month, Thailand was successful in getting members of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora to list the rare Irrawaddy dolphin on Appendix I, the strictest conservation list, which bans all international trade in the sea mammal.
Under the Wildlife Protection Act, people possessing dolphin meat, parts, or carcasses are liable to a fine of 40,000 baht and/or up to four years' jail.
Mr Maitree called on the Fisheries Department to beef up controls on fishing within three kilometres of the coast, which was the feeding ground of dolphins.
The number of fishermen needed to be controlled bans enforced on the use of destructive fishing methods, particularly pair trawlers and push nets.
Deputy Fisheries chief Jaranthada Karnasuta, however, said the dolphin situation was not as serious as the marine conservation authority feared.
''We hardly find any Irrawaddy dolphins being caught or killed by fishermen because they are fast swimmers. Fishing boats move much slower,'' he said.
Hunting of dolphins was unlikely because dolphin meat was not popular with Thai consumers.
His department was willing to strengthen coastal area conservation by cracking down on large-scale fishing boats which were already banned from fishing within three kilometres of the coast.
He warned that possessing or sale of dolphin and whale meat was banned under the wildlife protection law. Fishermen must tell authorities if they find stranded dolphins or accidentally catch one.
According to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, the Irrawaddy dolphin is slow-swimming and inconspicuous. [return]
Bangkok Post, 15 October 2004, RANJANA WANGVIPULA
A last-minute change in its proposal yesterday gave Namibia support for limited trade in its ivory products, earning praise from delegates for a "successful example'' of sustainable trade but concern by others.
"Namibia has done an exemplary job of conserving its elephants and other wildlife and WWF is confident that the trade will be tightly controlled and will not lead to poaching of elephants,'' said the head of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) delegation Susan Lieberman in a press release.
The group agreed with the final change made by Namibia to its proposal. Its original bid to allow full-scale trade in carved ivory jewellery was amended to selling it only on a small scale for "non-commercial purposes'' inside Namibia and not for export.
With its effective law enforcement and strong wildlife conservation programmes, Namibian delegates said its elephant product trade would be well regulated.
Ivory products will also only be made from ivory obtained from elephants that have died of natural causes and the trade would be sustainable and not affect the elephant population, they said. Namibia had persuaded other members to concur with its controversial request for an annual export quota of raw ivory, ivory craftwork, and elephant leather and hair products.
Only the last of these had been approved until its final bid yesterday for limited trade in its ivory products to be reconsidered, winning a majority of votes, including that of the US, while the European Union abstained. "We're really pleased,'' said Malan Lindeque, permanent secretary to Namibia's Ministry of Environment and Tourism, adding that sales revenues would go to wildlife conservation programmes in the country and benefit local communities making ivory trinkets.
"When the country [Namibia] insisted with its sound data and most countries approved of the proposal, we have to accept the reason,'' said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suvit Khunkitti after the vote.
Thailand had earlier disagreed with the Namibian proposal, fearing increased international ivory trade would lead to smuggling of illegal African ivory into the country. But other wildlife groups and some member countries such as Kenya felt uncomfortable with the vote. They do not view it as being a "sustainable trade''. A Kenyan delegate said that it would send the "wrong message'' to international ivory traders.
"I've yet to be convinced that the [certification] system is 100% foolproof and that it will not be abused,'' said Species Survival Network president Will Travers. [return]
Bangkok Post, 15 October 2004, KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI
The host Thailand had a disappointing closing day at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) yesterday, when delegates reversed a decision to approve its proposal to lift trade controls on most orchid hybrids.
Bangkok had asked for more than 900 artificially-bred orchid genera be exempted from CITES' trade control list to benefit the country's orchid export industry.
The proposal received initial approval on Tuesday, but was reopened for debate after a request from Mexico and Latin America countries.
Mexico said the proposal was unacceptable since it covered such a wide range of orchid species, making it difficult for officials to inspect and identify hybrid plants from wild specimens.
After a lengthy and intense discussion, the parties finally agreed with the US suggestion that trade in only four orchid genera native to Southeast Asia be allowed without CITES controls.
The four genera now exempt from trade controls are Vanda, Cymbidium, Dendrobium, and Phalaenopsis. Wichar Thitiprasert, director of the Department of Agriculture's plant varieties protection division, said the alteration of the proposal would only have a minor impact on the Thai orchid export industry. "We did not mind our proposal was cut from over 900 orchid genera to four as we can still make more than a billion baht from exporting these four,'' he said.
Thailand exports about 26 million orchid hybrid plants each year, 23 of them derived from these four genera, including 21 million Dendrobium, 1.3 million Phalaenopsis, 600,000 Vanda and 95,000 Cymbidium.
"We hope the proposal to exclude all 900 orchid hybrid genera from CITES will be adopted at the next CITES meeting. Considering the growing success in production of man-made orchids, their trade should no longer be controlled,'' said Surawit Wannakrairoj, of Kasetsart University's Horticulture Department.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suvit Khunkitti, also Thailand's chief delegate, said he expected export revenue from orchid hybrid sales after approval of the exclusion of the four genera would increase from 600 million to more than one billion baht a year.
The minister also praised the performance of the Thai delegation, who prepared the five proposals that were adopted by the parties with only partial amendments. [return]
Bangkok Post, 15 October 2004, TUL PINKAEW
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) wrapped up its Bangkok meeting yesterday with the burning question still being has it contributed to the success of sustainable trade, or has it succumbed to over-protection?
"You have to save the species for the people. Legal use of wildlife can benefit the community,'' said Eugene Laponinte, president and founder of IWMC World Conservation Trust.
The conference, held in Southeast Asia for the first time, was seen by some observers as a victory for animal conservation, overlooking the importance of sustainable trade and how it can benefit the prosperity of rural countries.
"People must have the right to sell and use their resources, but you have to find a balance between the production and the consumption, making sure you are not taking too much,'' said Mr Laponinte.
"Sustainable use is conservation and science will determine the possibility of what and how much can be used.''
He said some NGOs exclude species from the concept of sustainable use because you can make money from it.
"Some NGOs value some species much higher than others like `save the whale' or `save the elephant'. That is not conservation. In the eyes of IWMC, the CITES decision not to downlist the ultra-abundant minke whale _ made on procedural grounds _ undermines the concept that CITES should only list species that are genuinely under threat,'' he said.
"It is difficult to see how any of these key decisions will actually aid wildlife conservation. If CITES is perceived to be making arbitrary decisions, the people whose livelihoods are most affected will take matters into their own hands.''
Will Travers, of the Species Survival Network and the Born Free Foundation, said in some cases the world has reached a point where the conservation imperative is greater than the trade imperative.
"If the scientific data of the species population number is not very detailed, CITES has a mechanism where it says if the data is as good as it could be, but not very good, that in itself is not a reason to list a species,'' he said. The value of an animal when it was dead had been realised. You shoot it once, you pay once, and the deal was over. "If the animal is alive, you see it next year, I see it next year, and the value of the animal is gathered every year.''
With hiccups here and there, CITES' 13th conference was seen by participants as a big success. It raised the profile of wildlife in trade and conservation, as well as the need to conserve and re-use.
The 166 delegates as well as the NGOs will meet again in 2007 in the Netherlands. [return]
Bangkok Post, 14 October 2004, JOHN PARR
During the opening ceremony of the two-week conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra stated that the international trade in wildlife was big business, ranking third in value behind the trade in illicit drugs and weapons trafficking.
He further stated that the shocking statistics show flaws in conservation efforts despite the existence of CITES, the global wildlife trade watchdog which regulates imports and exports of threatened species.
So what are these flaws that he talks of, and how should the conservation community respond?
Enforcement issue
To understand how illegal wildlife trade the third largest illegal trade on the planet persists, it is worth considering where the weaknesses in prevention occur.
This may be best illustrated by taking one of the innumerable species targeted for illegal trade and tracking it from its carefree existence in its natural environs to its penultimate end.
Tigers are an Appendix 1 species wanted for its skins and animals parts. They inhabit the protected areas of Asia. Within these reserves, protected area staff make regular patrols into the tiger's habitat, with a mandate to arrest poachers. These protected-area staff, often with a low level of enforcement skills, would benefit from training on map reading, weapons handling, arresting techniques and writing an indictment.
To strengthen enforcement efforts, the Forestry/Border Police could conduct specialised training.
Assuming that the poacher has killed a tiger and the carcass leaves the forest, the tiger fatality becomes a source of local village gossip. If the local police and the protected area authorities have established an informant's network around the protected area, there might be an opportunity to follow up on the case.
The tiger skin and parts then travel by road, toward trading centres. While tiger skins can slip past the Highway police, more conspicuous truckloads of pangolins, freshwater turtles and snakes might well be intercepted. Once at border crossings, airports and ports, the tigers skins and tiger parts move out of the hands of the police department and into the hands of the management authorities issuing permits and the customs officials.
However, tiger skins _ and volumes of illegal wildlife trade _ bypass the management authorities without permits. Indeed, the comparatively unobtrusive tiger skins and parts may undoubtedly slip through the Customs Department's hands; crates containing live orang utangs or crates of ivory should not.
In short, the role of management authorities, scheduling species and issuing permits, is a specialised role in the effort to prevent illegal wildlife trade.
By comparison, the roles of police departments, in terms of providing enforcement training, establishing informant networks and monitoring past offenders, and customs departments, monitoring the passage of people and goods, are actually much more significant.
Unfortunately, both the police and customs officials appear to have been largely sidelined from CITES implementation.
CITES standpoint on enforcement
Article 8 of the convention states ''The parties shall take appropriate measures to enforce the provisions of the present convention and to prohibit trade in specimens in violation thereof. These shall include measures: (a) to penalise trade in, or possession of, such specimens, or both; and (b) to provide for the confiscation or return to the state of export of such specimens.''
The question must be raised as to how many of the parties are taking ''appropriate measures to enforce the provisions of the present vonvention''.
What is blocking the enforcement agencies from actively getting involved in illegal wildlife trade issue? Is it a lack of political will? Is it a simply a lack of communication by the management authorities, who are scientific specialists in one ministry, failing to strike up support from the law enforcement agencies situated in another ministry? Is it that enforcement agencies have largely been unaware of their need for engagement?
According to the conference agenda, enforcement matters only receive at best a couple of hours of attention. By comparison, some 47 hours of debate will be spent on species-related issues by the Animals Committee and the Plants Committee. As yet, there is no Enforcement Committee.
The number of law enforcement participants at this meeting can almost be counted on two thumbs. This is in spite the fact that internationally the alarm bells are ringing that tiger skins, live orangutans, ivory and truckloads of pangolins, snakes and freshwater turtles are buzzing hither and thither because of a lack of enforcement.
World Customs Organisation and Interpol
The World Customs Organisation (WCO), was established on Nov 4, 1952, and had 161 members by Dec 31, 2002. The WCO is an independent intergovernmental organisation whose mission is to improve the operation and efficiency of customs administrations. Since the organisation's establishment, 16 customs conventions have been implemented in a spirit of international co-operation.
In 1992, Interpol became involved in fighting environmental crime. Interpol's General Assembly adopted a resolution at its 63rd session in Rome authorising the creation of Interpol's Environmental Crimes Committee. There are approximately 40 countries from all sectors of the world that participate in the Environmental Crimes Committee. Many of the international entities recognise the unique position of Interpol as representing law enforcement in environmental criminal enforcement.
Clearly if both institutions were actively engaged in the prevention of illegal wildlife trade and CITES implementation, the plight of endangered wildlife could be remedied significantly and quite rapidly.
As if to echo the potential for this partnership, the World Customs Organisation established an Asia-Pacific regional office in Bangkok on Sept 28 for capacity building. The Interpol Liaison Office for Southeast Asia is also based in Bangkok (Lobang) and they are looking at ways to strengthen their presence here.
Bringing enforcement agencies on board
CITES' resolution 11.1 set up a permanent standing committee as the senior committee, as well as animals, plants and nomenclature committees. The conference can appoint additional committees as the need arises. The establishment of an enforcement committee would clearly provide the framework for the World Customs Organisation and Interpol to become involved.
Registering interagency committees
A number of countries have already engaged the enforcement agencies through the establishment of an interagency committees to tackle iillegal wildlife trade. These institutional bodies represent an exciting institutional body for the sustainable prevention of illegal wildlife trade. It would be extremely beneficial for both CITES and Traffic to set up a registration system, whereby interagency committees are formally registered with these organisations. Information needs to be collated on which individuals from which agencies attend these meetings and whether or not it is pragmatic to establish working groups on database exchange, law enforcement, public awareness, the timing of meetings and what the agendas are _ to be most fruitful to participants.
Twinning interagency committees
Given that countries such as the Namibia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States already have interagency committees, can we utilise these bodies to catalyse the establishment of sister organisations in key countries of high biodiversity richness, or in countries of high levels of consumerisation of wildlife parts, notably China. It could be extremely beneficial if representatives from existing interagency committees link up with their shadow counterparts in key countries.
Competence standards and manuals
In the field of protected area management, the Asean Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation in the Philippines has developed a landmark Competence Standards for Protected-Area Occupations in Southeast Asia.
It has concentrated regional attention on developing quality training modules on different aspects of protected-area management.
Can such a publication be made for illegal wildlife trade? Moreover, the provision of standardised training manuals, whether specifying interagency cooperation at airports or sharing a permits/illegal wildlife trade database, may well be productive.
This week may see the humphead wrasse, Irrawaddy dolphin and the Saiga receive significantly increased protection on paper. Until CITES participants acknowledge the lack of attention on law enforcement, a multitude of other species, including flagship species like pangolin, tiger and orangutan are still going the way of the dodo. [return]
John Parr is director of conservation with World Wildlife Fund-Thailand
Bangkok Post, 13 October 2004, TUL PINKAEW
In spite of strong protests from Japan and other island nations, Australia and Madagascar's move to remove the "zero quota'' request from its proposal to give the great white shark better protection proved vital in securing a massive win in its listing on Appendix II of CITES.
"It certainly helped Australia's cause and eased a number of nations into voting in favour of the shark proposal,'' said Kevern Cochrane of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Australia, in 2000, attempted to propose listing of the great white shark, famed from the movie Jaws, in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) but failed to get the two-thirds majority vote necessary.
At the 13th CITES conference, Australia made the same proposal but announced before the voting session that it would withdraw the "zero quota'' request.
Under CITES rules, Appendix II listing still allows trade as long as it is conducted in a sustainable manner while Appendix I listing prohibits trade completely.
An Appendix II "zero quota'' listing, that Australia and Madagascar proposed to CITES, would in fact be similar to an Appendix I listing.
"It is a shame that it had to come to this but if it was necessary, it was necessary,'' said Nicola Beynon, Humane Society International spokesperson and chair of the Species Survival Network (SSN) Fish Working Group.
Australia and Madagascar's proposal stated that a listing "for the great white shark would help ensure that exploitation of this globally threatened species is regulated and monitored and that international trade is not detrimental to its survival."
Great white sharks are targeted commercially and by recreational fishermen for their valuable jaws and teeth.
Their fins, like those of other sharks, are in high demand for soup.
Firm numbers are not known but scientists say available data suggests the population is in decline.
The shark is found in greatest abundance off the coasts of California, Australia and South Africa.
In South Africa, it is notorious for its explosive and acrobatic attacks on seals.
The great white is only the third shark species to be afforded such protection by CITES, joining the far larger but gentler basking and whale sharks.
The Swiss-based World Conservation Union's "Red List'' - a respected wildlife guideline widely used by scientists and conservationists - classifies 82 shark and ray species as threatened. Another 10 are expected to be added soon.
Japan and other island nations argued that there was no scientific proof that the great white shark was endangered and targeted for trade. "There have only been five recorded cases of great white trade throughout the last decade,'' claimed Masayuki Komatsu, Japan's head delegate on marine issues.
"As I have said before, CITES was about controlling wildlife trade between states. The great white shark is not a trade target, so it had nothing to do with CITES.''
Caribbean island nations also supported Japan's move and said the parties should wait for the FAO to come up with a management package first before Appendix II listing was adopted.
Jaranthada Karnasuta, Thailand's deputy Fisheries Department chief, was initially going to oppose the Appendix II listing as Thailand is an exporter and importer of shark fins. But he said he was happy with Australia's "shark identification kit'' which will prevent the mix-up of great white shark fins with native Thai sharks.
Meanwhile, Japan's proposal to hunt Minke whales commercially was rejected by the CITES parties.
The convention gives Minke whales Appendix I listing, banning all trade. Japan had sought a downgrade to Appendix II listing that permits controlled trade. [return]
Bangkok Post, 13 October 2004, RANJANA WANGVIPULA
Thailand could face tougher international competition on crocodile products after proposals for controlled trades in two species in America and Africa won approval yesterday at the international conference on wildlife trade.
"We couldn't speak out against the proposals. Worry over lost trade is not an appropriate [reason],'' Fishery Department deputy chief Jaranthada Karnasuta said after the Convention on International Trades in Endangered Species (CITES) overwhelmingly supported the separate proposals put forward by Cuba and Namibia.
The two countries asked the meeting to relax trade rules for American and Nile crocodiles, which were previously prohibited from being commercially exploited. Because the two species now had healthier populations, well-regulated trades would not affect numbers. A Cuban official even pointed out that a major threat to the American Crocodile (crocodylus acutus) was over-population.
Mr Jaranthada said allowing regulated hunting of the two species of crocodiles in the wild would be more profitable than those bred in farms in Thailand.
Meanwhile, another controversial proposal on better protection of four Asian freshwater turtles also won approval. These were the Malayan snail-eating, Malayan flat-shelled, Southeast Asian softshell and pig-nosed turtles. [return]
Bangkok Post, 13 October 2004, RANJANA WANGVIPULA
The CITES conference has agreed to give wild African elephants more protection against ivory poachers, drawing mixed reactions from environmental groups and country representatives. A majority of the representatives of the 166 signatory countries of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) agreed on a plan to eradicate illicit ivory sales.
The initiative calls for new law enforcement links between African countries, the global police agency Interpol, customs officials and airlines that might handle shipments of smuggled ivory. Thailand, which allows internal ivory sales but has struggled to curb illegal trade, expressed satisfaction at the rejection of Namibia's request for an annual export quota of raw ivory and ivory products. However, some wildlife activists viewed it as a lost opportunity to earn revenue to fund well-managed conservation programmes in Namibia.
"Our delegate abstained,'' said Schwann Tunhikorn, acting director of CITES Management Authority of Thailand, as it was obvious that a majority of participants would vote against the proposal. The vote was the last item in a wide range of elephant issues in the 13th CITES conference. It followed a six-hour debate late into Monday night.
CITES members earlier applauded and supported African nations' first plans to suppress illegal ivory trade in their poorly-regulated markets. Just hours later in the afternoon, delegates rejected a Kenyan proposal to temporarily halt any ivory trade proposals for six years, giving elephants a respite and governments time to assess the situation in the legal and illegal ivory trade. The result disappointed environmental groups.
At night, however, Kenyans celebrated after Namibia's proposal was rejected by countries worried that approval would encourage poaching and laundering of illegal ivory in markets outside Namibia. "We're very happy,'' said one African woman in traditional costume as she danced with her Kenyan friend in front of the plenary hall.
The atmosphere contrasted with the disappointment of Namibian delegates. They earlier complained many countries had not given credit to their strong elephant conservation efforts, which they argued justified trading in crafted ivory and an annual export quotas of 2,000kg of raw ivory obtained from elephants which die naturally or are culled under game management programmes.
CITES secretary-general Willem Wijnstekers said many delegates feared approval would send the "wrong signal'' to markets, even though safeguards against illegal trading were in place in Namibia.
"This decision is a serious setback for the local and traditional people of Namibia,'' said former CITES secretary-general Jaques Berney in a press release.
Mr Berney, now president of the World Conservation Trust, said poor communities in Namibia lost another chance to improve their welfare by selling ekipas, or ivory trinkets.
Jason Bell of the International Fund For Animal Welfare said it was a positive result, which would also benefit the decreasing number of Asian elephants. [return]
Bangkok Post, 12 October 2004, TUL PINKAEW
Greenpeace yesterday urged the Japanese government to make a bold step in the right direction and stop exploiting the world's seas and oceans, just hours before a Minke whale sustainable hunting proposal was to be considered by CITES. The chief Japanese delegate on marine issues at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), being held in Bangkok, retorted that the environmental group was being "childish" and attempting to mislead the public.
A dozen activists of various nationalities displayed a banner reading: "Japan: Don't empty our oceans." The activists wore "Nemo" hats and delivered a letter to the Japanese ambassador highlighting the plight of the world's oceans and Japan's role in exploiting them.
"The government of Japan has historically sided with industry at this convention,'' said Tim Birch of Greenpeace. "They must realise that if they don't start saving marine life now by adopting sustainable fishing practices, they, and indeed all of us, will soon be faced with empty oceans.''
According to a statement from Greenpeace, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said that around 75% of the world's fisheries are classified as fully exploited, over-exploited, depleted or recovering from depletion.
Recent scientific studies have revealed that 90% of all large marine animal and fish species have disappeared from the world's oceans over the past 50 years.
Japan is looking to propose today that the Minke whale be shifted from the list of most-endangered animals, Appendix I, in which international trade is banned, to a less-endangered category, Appendix II, where trade is possible with controls.
If the Bangkok meeting approves the move, it will put pressure on the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to drop its moratorium on the hunting of Minke and all other whale species that can be hunted sustainably, a term some environmentalists dismiss out of hand.
Japan, a member of the commission, has been trying to end the 1986 ban on commercial whaling and has been conducting scientific research since 1987 to prove whales are still abundant, research that Mr Birch said is biased and "has no scientific leg to stand on.''
"We get our information from the UN and governments of each state. Japan should stop hiding behind their interpretation of 'facts' and face reality,'' he said.
Masayuki Komatsu, Japan's chief delegate on marine issues, meanwhile accused Greenpeace of lies and propaganda, saying Japan's research was the most accurate available.
"There is bound to be a decline in their numbers during the last 50 years. That's just a fact of life,'' he said. [return]
Bangkok Post, 12 October 2004, RANJANA WANGVIPULA
A controversial proposal by Namibia for an annual export quota of raw ivory and trade in ivory products would encourage poaching and allow the laundering of illegal African ivory in Bangkok, the UK-based Born Free Foundation said.
The proposal was still being discussed last night by a committee on changes to regulations under the Convention on International Trades in Endangered Species (CITES).
Namibia wants to export up to two tonnes of ivory annually from elephants which have died naturally or been culled under game management programmes.
The proposal is being opposed by many wildlife protection groups and country delegates at the Bangkok conference.
"But if the proposal is adopted, Bangkok would be a good route for laundering ivory acquired illegally in [African] countries,'' said Kenyan environmentalist Winnie Kiiru, of Born Free Foundation.
Traders could exploit the CITES approval to sell illegal ivory. For example, somebody in Kenya could claim their ivory products were from Namibia and sell to dealers in Bangkok, who would then re-export them.
It would lead to more elephant poaching in African countries where ivory markets were poorly regulated.
Namibia argues its elephant population is increasing, with latest estimates putting the population at 11,262 animals. Revenue from ivory sales would be used to strengthen its elephant conservation programmes.
Many countries, including members of the European Union, Kenya, Senegal, India and Thailand yesterday disagreed with the Namibian proposal. CITES Management Authority of Thailand acting director Schwann Tunhikorn said Bangkok would vote against it. "We have a clear position on this issue, the [international] ivory trade would affect us,'' he said.
Thailand allows internal trade in ivory products obtained from domesticated elephants, but wildlife officials face problems associated with the smuggling of illegal African ivory, which is not easily identified. CITES banned the international ivory trade in 1989, but permitted one-off sales in 1997 and again in 2002 after recognising that southern Africa's elephant populations were healthy and well managed. The CITES convention two years ago approved a Namibian request to sell 10 tonnes of ivory gathered mostly from elephants which had died of natural causes. The sale is still pending. [return]
Bangkok Post, 12 October 2004, KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI
In a bid to eliminate international perception of Asia as a centre of illegal wildlife trade, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) yesterday vowed to join hands in suppressing trans-boundary wildlife trafficking. All 10 Asean ministers in charge of environmental conservation agreed to formulate a regional action plan on trade in wild fauna and flora.
Indonesia was appointed to spearhead the drafting process. The draft action plan is to be tabled for Asean Secretariat's consideration early next year. The Asean ministerial meeting was conducted in conjunction with the 13th conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Bangkok, which ends on Thursday. All 10 Asean members _ Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam _ are now parties to the convention.
The ministers also launched an Asean statement on CITES, focusing on the need for increased joint law enforcement, more scientific information on wildlife populations, and financial and technical support from the world community to help its members build up resources, expertise and capacity to cope with wildlife crisis.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suvit Khunkitti said the move was in line with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's proposal to set up a regional network to combat wildlife trafficking.
Bangkok would take a lead in implementing regional wildlife protection cooperation, Mr Suvit said. "Thailand will launch a course to train Asean forestry and customs officials to cope with wildlife trafficking without waiting for Indonesia to complete the action plan,'' he said.
The action plan, however, will not involve China, where most of illegal wild products are destined. But Mr Suvit, who chaired the Asean meeting yesterday, was optimistic about future cooperation from Beijing. "China has expressed its intention to work with us under the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation, which is also part of Asean. So, seeking China's collaboration (on suppressing illegal wildlife trade) will not be difficult,'' Mr Suvit said.
Malaysia's Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister S Sothinathan said that under the Asean task force, there would be a greater mechanism to control wildlife trafficking across the Thai-Malaysian border, particularly the smuggling of pangolins. Two international wildlife protection groups, World Wildlife Fund and TRAFFIC, welcomed the Asean initiative. The initiative came at the right moment since the region's economic growth had resulted in rising demand for birds and reptiles for the pet trade, luxury items made from ivory, hawksbill turtle shell products, and high-value traditional medicines such as musk and ginseng. [return]
Bangkok Post, 11 October 2004
British Environment Minister Elliot Morley is due in Thailand today to attend the CITES meeting and extend support for insect studies and forest regeneration projects.
The British embassy said in a press release that Mr Morley will be here until Friday and head the British delegation to the CITES meeting.
He will meet Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti for talks on CITES enforcement, wildlife crime and conservation issues, and discuss renewable energy sources with Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej.
Mr Morley will travel to Chiang Mai to visit two Darwin Initiatives, projects supported by the British government to conserve global biodiversity.
In the first project, experts from the British National History Museum, Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden, the National Science Museum and the Environment Ministry are studying entomological biodiversity.
The UK will contribute 15.5 million baht over three years to fund the project, which comprises joint research, training, technology transfer, information exchange and scientific cooperation. The second project supports the work of Chiang Mai University's Forest Restoration Unit and the Royal Forestry Department that began in 2002. Britain is contributing 9.5 million baht to build up local skills and knowledge in northern Thailand to accelerate regeneration of degraded tropical forests.
A range of traditional and more innovative methods including a puppet show for primary schoolchildren is being used to provide practical advice on forest restoration to locals. Mr Morley will also launch new CITES plant identification guides, produced by the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in London, at a reception at the British embassy tomorrow. [return]
Bangkok Post, 09 October 2004, RANJANA WANGVIPULA
Thailand won a majority vote yesterday for its proposal to ban international trade in Irrawaddy dolphins (orcaella brevirostris) despite opposition led by Japan.
Delegates at the 13th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) could not reach a consensus as a result of opposition from two whaling nations - Japan and Norway - as well as Gabon. The meeting chairwoman called a secret ballot at Japan's request.
Delegates applauded as the monitor displayed the final tally, 73 to 30 in favour of the Thai proposal. Critics argued the proposal lacked scientific justification and the mammals were threatened more by environmental degradation than trade.
Thai Marine and Coastal Resources Department director Maitree Duangsawasdi said Asean and European Union nations were Thailand's main supporters.
''We have seen dolphin population falling in specific areas and if we wait for [clearer scientific data] to prove they will become extinct, we would be too late,'' said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti.
According to a study by the World Conservation Union and global wildlife monitoring agency Traffic, Irawaddy dolphins were in decline in the estuaries of the Irrawaddy and Mekong rivers.
Thai marine officials said the number of dolphins in Songkla Lake was also falling, as they became entangled in fishing nets, or caught and displayed in Asian aquariums. ''Thailand's proposal has a problem,'' said agriculture and life scientist Masayuki Komatsu, head of the Japanese delegation. ''How big is the trade [in the dolphins]? It's almost nothing,'' he said.
Opponents said more information on trade trends and the number of these migratory mammals was needed. A delegate from Gabon echoed the concern and said he wondered how loss of habitat by some groups of dolphins was related to trade. Japan's campaign against the proposal was seen as an indicator of its likely success in its campaign to get the current ban on trade in Minke whales lifted. A vote on that is likely next week. [return]
Bangkok Post, 09 October 2004, KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI
Bangkok has joined Indonesia in a push for tighter controls on the aloes wood trade, saying new regulations would help protect Thailand's tropical rain forests from illegal aromatic-wood loggers.
Natural Resources and Environment minister Suvit Khunkitti yesterday said protected forests, particularly Khao Yai national park, where sandalwood, a species of aloes wood, is abundant, are under threat from sandalwood loggers and controlling international trade in the species would stem the activity.
''Thailand fully supports Jakarta's proposal on the inclusion of aloes wood in CITES appendix II,'' said Mr Suvit. ''The reclassification will allow Thai authorities to better cope with sandalwood logging.''
Indonesia has proposed to the 13th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species on Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) being held in Bangkok to improve measures to protect the fragrant woods by imposing stricter controls on trade. The Southeast Asian proposal on uplisting the high-value tropical hardwood tree ramin from appendix III to appendix II was adopted yesterday.
But the aloes wood proposal was struggling to get approval by a two-thirds majority at the convention.
Middle East countries, the largest sandalwood importers, were reportedly the only group opposing Jakarta's aloes wood proposal.
Aloes wood, also called agar wood, contains valuable agar oil used for making incense, perfumes and medicines. Thai forestry officers and police have recently beefed up suppression efforts against sandalwood loggers and traders. More than 500 illegal sandalwood loggers have been arrested at Khao Yai over the past few years.
Quality sandalwood can be sold at 40,000-60,000 baht a kilogramme. The loggers supply the wood to oil extraction factories located around the national park in Prachin Buri province. But the operators claim their wood is imported from Laos, Malaysia and Cambodia. The distilled oil is sold to perfume and souvenir traders in Bangkok.
Irawati, director of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia, said her country was confident the aloes wood proposal would be adopted after Indonesian plant experts had amended it to make it clearer and easier to implement. Ms Irawati said the illegal trade in valuable timber native to Southeast Asia, such as ramin and aloes wood, needs to be tackled at the regional level. She called on the Thai authorities to crack down on the illegal trade of tree species just as strongly as Indonesia has on the trafficking of wild orchids indigenous to Thailand.
The initial approval of Indonesia's ramin proposal and strong support for the listing of aloes wood on CITES' appendix II has rekindled hopes of several other countries, which are also proposing stricter controls on the trade of certain plant species. China and the US have proposed the inclusion of Chinese Yew trees, a medicinal plant with cancer-fighting properties. [return]
Bangkok Post, 07 October 2004, KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI
Thailand has decided against supporting the proposal by Australia and Madagascar to put the great white shark on the protected list of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Strengthening shark conservation regulations would adversely affect Thailand's shark fin trade, Department of Fisheries deputy director-general Jaranthada Karnasuta said. It would also place a heavy burden on Thai officials, who would have to identify great white shark products from other species not on the CITES list.
"Thailand is a shark fin-consuming country. A large volume of shark fin is traded here and Thai fishermen catch more than 10,000 sharks each year,'' he said. "Strengthening shark conservation regulations would obstruct the fisheries industry.''
Mr Jaranthada is a member of the Thai negotiating team at the two-week CITES meeting in Bangkok.
He said Bangkok would abstain or vote against the transfer of the great white shark from appendix III to appendix II, under which international trade in listed species is strictly controlled.
A two-thirds majority vote of the 166 parties to the convention is needed for a proposal to be adopted in plenary session. "Australia has asked us to support its proposal, but we are afraid we cannot help them,'' said Mr Jaranthada.
The decision drew sharp criticism from international and Thai conservation groups.
Ichthyologist Chavalit Vithayanon, of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Thailand, said taking this position would set back the country's effort to become a regional leader in wildlife conservation. "Thailand's reputation on wildlife protection will be damaged if the government stands on such a pro-consumption position,'' said Mr Chavalit.
"More importantly, there is no reason for Thailand to oppose this proposal because listing the great white shark has no impact on Thai fisheries and shark fin trading. This country is not within the range of the species and only a small volume of shark fin is derived from the great white shark.''
Mr Chavalit urged the Thai team to study the species discussed at the CITES conference to avoid coming up with "unreasonable and inappropriate'' stances.
He also lashed out at the department for being too concerned with the economic side of the wildlife trade.
Environmental activist Anna Willock, senior fisheries adviser of Traffic Australia, said listing the great white shark in appendix II "will have limited impact on the fin trading industry because it is not popular for its fins, but for its jaws and teeth." [return]
Bangkok Post, 07 October 2004, RANJANA WANGVIPULA
China has signalled it is trying to reform its centuries-old belief in traditional medicines and consumption of exotic wildlife dishes, in an effort to save various species from extinction. The signal came yesterday at the 13th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), where a proposal was tabled to give Asian turtles more protection. CITES officials said the turtle population has dwindled to a critical level.
But before the 166 delegates to the conference vote on the proposal next week, China, the largest consumer of turtles, revealed yesterday it was trying to slow Chinese consumers' demand for the animals by raising public awareness of the importance of wildlife protection. "We have campaigns not only for turtles, but all [protected] wildlife,'' CITES Management Authority of China's fauna division director Fan Zhiyong said yesterday.
The Beijing government had waged annual campaigns to protect rare animals, including its native turtle species that were facing extinction, for some time, he said. Besides, China now had stricter controls on international trade in Asian turtles.
As a result, Mr Fan said, it was not so easy now to find wildlife products in Chinese markets, unlike four years ago. "We asked people to begin to learn whether a [turtle] is really nutritious and [whether] it is good for health or not,'' Mr Fan said.
It is one of ancient Chinese beliefs that eating freshwater turtles would help one to live longer. Mr Fan said Chinese authorities had already started asking for proof from traditional healers that parts of wild animals were essential ingredients of their medicinal formulas.
Many wildlife protection groups believe China is a huge market for various kinds of rare species, including Asian freshwater turtles. In 1999, law enforcement officials and experts in many Asian countries have jointly surveyed the number of Asian turtles to assess the situation.
Their report rang an alarm bell for urgent conservation actions. "What we found was a shock as there were about 90 species of turtles and half of them were facing the threat of extinction,'' said tortoise and freshwater turtle specialist Peter Paul van Dijk, deputy chairman of the World Conservation Union's Species Survival Commission.
Meanwhile, Indonesia and the United States are pushing for more protection for five species of Asian freshwater turtles, calling CITES members to put them on the international trade control list. The five species are the Malayan snail-eating, Malayan flat-shelled, Southeast Asian soft-shell, pig-nosed, and roti snake-necked turtles. [return]
The Nation, 06 October 2004, Pravit Rojanaphruk
Five species of turtles, three of them native to Thailand, and one tortoise will likely be better protected via a new requirement for governments to approve exports, sources at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) in Bangkok said yesterday.
Most countries were supportive of the need for conservation measures for the tortoise and Asian freshwater turtles, the source said. The proposals still need to be passed through consensus in the next few days, but experts believe the battle to protect the turtles and tortoise has been won based on yesterday's discussions.
"I think these turtle proposals will pass without much trouble," said Ronald Orenstein, a specialist on freshwater turtles and Humane Society International representative.
Many species of freshwater turtles are eaten and used for traditional medicines in southern China. In the late 1990s, a Chinese Olympic swimming coach said he fed turtles to athletes, which led to even higher consumption of the animals. "The Chinese are going to eat every turtle on Earth if they can ... if CITES doesn't work," said Jonathan Murray, a former advisor to the Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand.
Although Thailand hasn't exported turtles from local habitats, experts said the move would hamper trade because Thailand acts as an export hub and the flowon effects would help local species in decline through poaching and loss of habitat. The three turtles found in Thailand to be given protection are the Malayan snaileating turtle (tao nar), the Malayan flatshelled turtle (tao tabtim) and the Southeast Asian softshell turtle (taphab tammada).
The Southeast Asian softshell turtle, known as the ordinary turtle, is no longer seen in large numbers, Murray stressed. "We call it tammada [ordinary] but they're not common anymore," he said.
Found throughout much of Southeast Asia, the species is listed as "vulnerable" by the IUCNWorld Conservation Union and is threatened by consumption and the pet trade.
More rare, and almost extinct, is the Roti Snakenecked turtle, which is only found on the small Indonesian island of Roti, south of West Timor. The turtle develops a long snakelike neck when mature, making it a favourite for collectors. One turtle can fetch as much as US$2,000 (Bt82,000).
According to the Species Survival Network (SSN), an alliance of 70 conservation organisations, the "critically endangered" turtle suffered devastating losses between 1994 and 1999, when intense trade for pets resulted in the commercial extinction of the species. [return]
Bangkok Post, 07 October 2004, TUL PINKAEW
Wildlife and drugs smuggling go hand-in-hand with Asia being one of the prime exporters, said European and American justice officials yesterday.
However, a Thai wildlife expert said Thailand had in the past found cases of illicit drugs concealed among live animals sent to the United States, but that was ancient history.
''We continue to find various cases of both endangered animals and drugs being smuggled in the same container, or sometimes legal animals are used as live vessels to make it easier to pass through customs,'' said John Webb, a prosecutor from the US Justice Department. ''Drug and wildlife trafficking may be the two greatest money-makers, aside from gun running, why not put them together.''
Mr Webb also said the illegal combination had roots in Asia but he was not obliged to discuss which specific country.
Katalin Rodics of Hungary's Ministry of Environment and Water confirmed illegal wildlife and drugs travel together and smugglers use the former eastern bloc countries as a point of entry.
''Live snakes inserted with cocaine-filled condoms are commonly found smuggled past our borders from Asia,'' Ms Rodics said. Hungary and other eastern European countries were used as docking points before the animals and drugs were transported to ''richer'' EU countries, she added.
''In one case liquid cocaine was carefully mixed into clear outer bags that were placed around inner bags containing valuable tropical fish,'' said Adam Roberts, executive director of the Animal Welfare Institute.
However, Schwann Tunhikorn, acting director of CITES Office Thailand, admitted Thailand had found cases of snakes stuffed with cocaine about to be shipped abroad, but the catch took place more than ten years ago. ''Drugs and wildlife smugglers tend to be in the same gang, so it is possible for such a devastating combination to occur. But I assure you Thailand has had no evidence of such cruelty taking place within our borders for over 15 years.'' [return]
Bangkok Post, 07 October 2004, RANJANA WANGVIPULA
Law enforcement officials agree more awareness by judges and prosecutors of the serious nature of the illegal wildlife trade is needed to crack down on wrongdoers, many of whom walk away with light punishments and carry on the trade.
''We need time to teach lawyers, judges and prosecutors it's an organised crime which is very serious,'' said Katalin Rodics, head of Hungary's Division of International Nature Conservation Agreements.
Hungary is a major transit point for wild animals smuggled from Asia and Africa to major western European markets, where animal parts for traditional Chinese medicines are in huge demand.
But she said many eastern central European countries, including Hungary, have weak wildlife smuggling laws.
She said the way forward is to raise awareness among judges about how grave wildlife crime is since punishments very much depend on them.
Hong Kong senior forestry officer CS Cheung said: ''Several years ago we organised training for magistrates and it worked. We saw some magistrates starting to impose heavier fines on wildlife [trade] criminals.''
Mr Cheung said many countries have already established systems embracing fines, life sentences and the death penalty.
But which of these is chosen depends on the various perceptions by judges about the severity of the crime.
The illegal transnational wildlife trade has been a major concern of the global wildlife trade regulator, CITES, which has been striving to end the problem through stricter trade controls.
According to the official World Conservation Union ''Red List,'' a total of 5,428 species, from insects to elephants are threatened with extinction.
Thailand's Forestry Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Swake Pinsinchai claimed illegal wildlife trade penalties in Thailand were not weak as there was a maximum fine of 40,000-baht and four years in jail.
He admitted most criminals were usually fined, but punishment was up to the courts and it was inappropriate to interfere with their decisions. [return]
Bangkok Post, 07 October 2004
Nakhon Si Thammarat. Local environmentalists want indigenous pink dolphins to be included in the endangered species list of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Sawat Samakpong and Vachirapong Sakulrat, who represent conservation organisations in Nakhon Si Thammarat, including a coastal conservation network in the Pak Phanang and Khanom districts of the province, have submitted a request to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment.
They want the ministry to raise the matter with CITES members at the Bangkok conference to classify pink dolphins along the coasts as endangered. In a letter yesterday to Nakhon Si Thammarat deputy governor Wongwibul Kitwibul, the conservation organisations also sought CITES' assistance in campaigns to protect pink dolphins.
They want the government to introduce effective protection measures such as conservation zones off the coast and carry out a detailed study of their lifestyle. The environmentalists said there were about 20-30 pink dolphins along the Nakhon Si Thammarat coast in the Gulf of Thailand and they attracted many tourists to the province. [return]
Bangkok Post, 05 October 2004, RANJANA WANGVIPULA KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI
Thailand has won support from at least 52 countries for its proposal to better protect the diminishing population of Irrawady dolphins.
Bangkok is also lobbying Asian countries for a seat on the plant committee.
The Marine and Coastal Resources Department wants about 100 dolphins seen in Thai river mouths and Songkhla lake, and hundreds more in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and northern Australia to come under stricter controls.
This would include a ban on international trade, under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Maitree Duangsawasdi, the department chief, said Japan, the European Union and Australia were among the countries supporting the Thai move.
Japan had previously opposed the proposal. Tokyo supports whaling and worries the more protection for dolphins, which are in the same species group as whales, cetaceans, would affect its position. Japan wants CITES to relax regulations on international trade in Minke whales, whose numbers are recovering.
Irrawady dolphins and Minke whales will be discussed later this week by a committee assigned to consider 50 proposals to allow international trades or give protection to endangered species.
Mr Maitree denied what he called a "rumour'' that the proposal was opposed by the Fisheries Department, saying "that was an old issue debated four months ago when the department initiated the proposal''.
The Fisheries Department had worried over the proposal because it could be used by some countries as a reason for a trade barrier on Thai products if fishermen accidentally catch the dolphins. They related their concern to a previous trade barrier imposed by the United States on fish products when protected sea tortoises were entangled in fishing nets.
Thailand was lobbying heavily for Asian countries to vote for Wichar Thitiprasert, director of the Department of Agriculture's Plant Varieties Protection Division, to sit as a member of the convention's plant committee.
Mr Wichar's competitor is a plant biologist from India, said Schwann Tunhikorn, acting director of the Thailand CITES office.
Asian countries will vote for the new Asian plant committee member on Monday . The committee provides advice to CITES parties on biological and trade information relating to plant species, undertakes periodic reviews of plant species listed in the appendices, and drafts resolutions on plant matters. It consists of members from each region elected at the conferences.
"We are lobbying very hard to help Mr Wichar win the election,'' Mr Schwann said. "If Bangkok wins the seat, we will be able to get in-depth information on plant conservation and breeding development and be able convince the CITES standing committee to agree with proposals from Thailand and neighbouring countries,'' said Mr Schwann, a member of CITES' animal committee.
Surakrai Sungkasubhan, of the plant variety protection division, said Mr Wichar was a more appropriate choice than the Indian nominee because he was working in a competent national agency on plant conservation.
"Mr Wichar has authority, which would help him to work more effectively than his Indian competitor, who is a scientist from academic institution,'' he said. [return]
Bangkok Post, 05 October 2004, PIYAPORN WONGRUANG
When Aphiwuth Suksri first learned Namibia will propose a relaxation of the ivory trade ban at the global wildlife trade conference here in Bangkok, all he could think of were the headaches lying in store. The illegal wildlife trade suppression chief of the Wildlife Conservation Bureau already has his hands full dealing with the trade in Thailand where there are no proper controls.
Namibia wants to propose a trade quota of 2,000kg of raw ivory a year and an unlimited amount of crafted ivory, a proposal expected to cause heated debate among the 2,000 delegates representing 166 countries at the 13th conference of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Mr Aphiwuth said ivory from Namibia and other African countries had been found on sale locally along with domesticated and wild elephant tusks.
While Thailand permits the registered trade in elephant ivory, it forbids imports of foreign ivory, thus making African imports illegal here. Most African ivory found in Thailand is usually smuggled in as personal belongings in weights of up to 50kg, said Mr Aphiwuth. He said African ivory is normally smuggled in for crafting and re-export.
Mr Aphiwuth said Phayuha Khiri district, Nakhon Sawan province, is a hotspot as craftsmen there are highly skilled. In Phayuha Khiri alone, at least 16 shops are known to have been involved in the ivory trade at one stage or another. "It's like a shoe factory where shoes are produced and decorated before being displayed in shops,'' said Mr Aphiwuth.
Once in shops, ivory is almost indistinguishable without documents issued by the Interior Ministry verifying the source, Mr Aphiwuth said. He suggested registration of traders to make regular checks by officials possible. "Beyond trade at these shops, we hardly know anything,'' said Mr Aphiwuth. "Many aspects of the trade are unclear and we need to clean up our own act first before opening up [our country] to imports.''
Some wildlife experts also fear Namibia's proposal may encourage more poaching of local elephants.
Schwann Tunhikorn, chief of the Wildlife Conservation Bureau, said Asian elephant ivory was more expensive due to its higher quality and this would encourage poachers. "[The Namibian proposal] increases the likelihood Asian elephants will be poached as ivory is hard to differentiate,'' said Mr Schwann. "Trade is possible only if proper measures are in place to allow checks at both the origin and destination.''
Surapon Duangkhae, secretary general of Wildlife Fund Thailand, who has studied local elephants for over ten years, was dismissive of Mr Schwann's concerns, saying Asian elephant tusks are quite small and only grow on the male of the species. Mr Surapon said this discourages poachers from hunting grown elephants here. Most poachers tend to look for elephant calves for other products. He believed ivory hunting pressure on African elephants could actually intensify.
According to a report from the Born Free Foundation, an international wildlife conservation organisation, there have been at least 32 documented elephant poaching cases in Namibia following the 1997 CITES decision to allow the sale of stockpiled ivory, while 319 tusks have been seized.
African elephants have historically been poached relentlessly to serve the international ivory trade. In 1979, CITES said there were more than 1,300,000 elephants across Africa, but just over 600,000 a decade later. Namibia has around 11,262. The group said certain European countries plan to study the ivory trade to help analyse whether the business should be allowed to continue.
Mr Aphiwuth said: "We are a Buddhist country so we should educate people to be content and not greedy.'' [return]
Bangkok Post, 05 October 2004, KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora has been undermined by a severe budget constraint, which could obstruct its global wildlife conservation task, CITES secretary-general Willem Wijnstekers said yesterday.
Mr Wijnstekers asked the CITES member countries, which have not yet contributed to the convention's trust fund, to do so as soon as possible. He also urged international and non-governmental organisations to contribute more funds to CITES. He said the European Commission, which was CITES' largest source of external funds, had also sharply cut its contribution.
"I'm afraid that CITES expectations could not be met and we cannot complete several activities due to lack of funds,'' he told the CITES meeting in Bangkok.
The CITES secretariat reported that the total contributions sought from the parties to the convention for the next three years amount to US$15.64 million (657 million baht), a 10% increase from the previous triennial budget. The United States and Japan are the two largest donors to CITES with annual contributions of more than $1 million each. Thailand contributes $10, 921 to CITES each year.
Mr Wijnstekers also expressed concern over the impact of budget constraints, saying the budgetary problem could lead to vote buying relating to reclassification of protected species and alteration of wildlife trade regulations. He accused some wealthy countries and NGOs of funding delegates of certain countries to attend the CITES meeting on condition that they voted for or support views in directions the donor countries need. "This is very dangerous,'' said Mr Wijnstekers.
In relation to the CITES chief's remark, Jaques Berney, executive vice president of the World Conservation Trust (IWMC), disclosed that the International Funding for Animal Welfare (IFAW), a leading international environmental group, has been implicated in a vote-buying scandal at the Bangkok meeting. Mr Berney alleged that the IFAW had paid for the attendance of delegates from Togo, the Republic of Congo and Senegal. However, he said, the condition of the sponsorship was unknown but it was suspected that vote buying took place at the government levels.
Parties to the convention must avoid that type of action. Each country should be able to vote independently, said Mr Berney, who urged the donors, NGOs and rich countries to make contributions to delegates from developing countries without any condition. Meanwhile, the IFAW strongly denied the allegation and called on the CITES standing committee and the IWMC to clarify the accusation.
"None of this was true. None of the delegates came here by IFAW's money,'' said IFAW senior officer Grace Gabriel. She said the accusation might stem from the group's strong opposition to so-called pro-use proposals, which support the utilisation of wildlife species instead of conserving them.
The IFAW also stands against Japan's proposal to "downlist'' the Minke whale, to enable hunting for commercial purpose, and Kenya's reclassification of the African elephant.
Ms Gabriel, however, said she believed there was vote buying at the Bangkok meeting. "Many governments have abilities to do this (vote buying). They tend to combine financial supports with votes in the convention,'' she said.
The delegates from the three African countries also made an official announcement later at the meeting, denying the allegation that their attendance was funded by the IFAW. [return]
Delegates say CITES lacks transparency
Bangkok Post, 04 October 2004, KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI
Japan yesterday launched its bid to have the international trading ban on Minke whales lifted at the CITES conference in Bangkok.
Japanese delegates began their push on the second day of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting, strongly criticising what they describe as a lack of transparency in the election of the Committee I chairman.
The committee is responsible for classifying species within CITES' appendices.
The chair went to Holly Dublin, an independent biologist from the United States.
Japan will propose Minke whales be moved from Appendix I to Appendix II, enabling hunting and export of the mammal.
The Japanese delegation believes having a Japanese expert as Committee I chairman will positively affect the proposal.
"We regret the lack of transparency within the chairmanship election procedure, which must be made after full consultation with members of the standing committee, including Japan. But such consultation did not take place,'' said a Japanese official.
He called on CITES to ensure more transparency and clarity in future decisions at the conference.
Masayuki Komatsu, of Japan's fisheries ministry, said it was common sense that CITES adequately consult member countries before coming up with the list of committee nominees.
Japan proposed former Japanese ambassador to Thailand and former chairman of CITES' standing committee Nabutoshi Akao as the new chairman of Committee I.
"Our proposal has been totally ignored. Japan is very unhappy about this and we never saw such lack of transparency at the previous CITES conference,'' Mr Komatsu said.
He also called on CITES and member governments to support Japan's proposal to reclassify the Minke whale, saying it should not be listed as endangered because its population is estimated at one million.
"CITES' rejection of Japan's Minke whale proposal will take away the credibility of CITES as a scientific-based body,'' said Mr Komatsu.
Conference chairman, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suvit Khunkitti, said the standing committee, which comprises representatives from six regions worldwide, had widely consulted member countries before coming up with nominees.
The Japanese remark, however, would be discussed at the next meeting of the standing committee, he said. "Every party participating in the CITES conference is trying to protect their national interest. Japan's bid to chair Committee I is an attempt to protect its wildlife export industry,'' said Mr Suvit. [return]
