Africa Focus: Conservationists laud Sino-U.S. pledge on combating wildlife trafficking

Two international wildlife conservation organizations on Saturday welcomed China and the United States' commitment on fighting against wildlife trafficking in bid to save Africa's elephants.

African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Barack Obama's commitment to near total domestic ivory bans within both countries, as part of global efforts to halt the illegal wildlife trade, will bring poaching crisis to an end.

"We are seeing an important, public commitment from the world's two largest economies to work together to bring an end to the elephant poaching crisis," AWF CEO Patrick Bergin said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

"President Obama and President Xi are sending a clear message that they intend to throw the weight of their countries behind the elephant crisis," Bergin added.

A fact-sheet issued by White House on Friday stated that Washington and Beijing intend to cooperate on a number of vital issues, including efforts to combat wildlife trafficking and a commitment to ensure each country halts the domestic commercial sale of ivory.

The two presidents, who acknowledged the importance and urgency of combating wildlife trafficking, also agreed to cooperate in bringing additional training, technical expertise, information sharing and public awareness to the poaching and wildlife trafficking crisis.

The United States is one of the world's largest wildlife markets, and until recently domestic ivory trade was legal. The U.S. government has now enacted a near-total ban on the interstate trade and commercial import of ivory, and a number of U.S. states have banned or are working to ban intrastate trade of ivory in their states.

In May, the Chinese government crushed 662 kg of confiscated ivory in Beijing, showing the country's commitment to step up wildlife conservation in future with no hideout for illegal wildlife trade.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which also welcomed the deal, says it was confident that the U.S. will finalize pending regulations codifying an ivory ban nationally in the U.S., and the Chinese government likewise will move expeditiously from this significant announcement to implementation.

"Two of the most powerful Heads of State want an end to all ivory trade. That's only good news for elephants, and we call upon all governments to follow suit," WCS CEO Cristian Samper said in a statement.

"The ruthless criminal syndicates operating both in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia may just have lost their biggest market. In the past several years, more than 100,000 elephants have been slaughtered in Africa; that is roughly 96 elephants a day, or one every 15 minutes," he added.

He said the collaboration between China and the U.S. will also hopefully spread, precipitating similar commitments from other consumer countries.

"Even with the announcement, it is vital for the world community to stay vigilant in range states by improving protection of wild elephants and dismantling the criminal networks that are driving the trafficking," Samper said.

"We must keep emphasizing a comprehensive strategy to stop the killing of elephants, and stop the trafficking and demand for ivory," he added. Enditem