Zimbabwe ivory stockpile rises to 70 tonnes amid ban on trade

Zimbabwe's ivory stockpile has grown to 70 tonnes and has become dangerous to protect amid an international ban on international sale of ivory from Zimbabwe, a cabinet minister said Wednesday.

Zimbabwe would therefore lobby for the removal of the restrictions in commercial trade of ivory at the upcoming 17th session of Conference of Parties (COP 17) to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) in September this year, Environment, Water and Climate Minister Oppah Muchinguri said.

"As a country, we have submitted a proposal to the COP 17 to amend the annotation that is currently affecting Zimbabwe's trade in ivory thereby depriving the Zimbabwean population from benefiting from its wildlife," the minister said.

She said the country's large ivory stockpiles had become dangerous to protect due to rising illegal trade in ivory.

"Burning of ivory is not an option for Zimbabwe. We need the resources in order to support our communities and wildlife conservation programs," Muchinguri said.

She was speaking at a meeting with envoys from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region to build consensus on critical issues relating to wildlife trade in preparation for the CITES (COP 17) meeting to be held Sept. 24-Oct. 5 this year in South Africa.

The minister bemoaned lack of unity among African countries on commercial trade of ivory, and urged SADC countries to speak with one voice at the COP 17 meeting.

"It is imperative for our regional economy that SADC countries unite in defending our right to sustainably use our natural resources," she said.

She spoke as there has been spirited campaigns by some countries in Africa and other regions for CITES to impose a ban on international trade of elephant, ivory and hunting of elephant as well as burning of ivory.

The minister said Zimbabwe wants to continue to trade in elephant and elephant products for the benefit of its citizens and strongly supported Swaziland's proposal to trade in rhino horn on the basis that Zimbabwe believed in sustainable utilization of wildlife resources.

Zimbabwe is under a nine-year CITES ban on commercial trade of ivory, due to end this year.

"There is no tangible evidence that trade bans have ever saved a species from extinction. The rhino species which is now teetering on the brink of extinction, has been on CITES Appendix 1 for the last 40 years, a case in point," the minister said.

Zimbabwe would continue to lobby other SADC countries to adopt and defend the principles of sustainable wildlife utilization for socio-economic development, she added.

Southern Africa is home to a large number of wildlife and plant species and has the largest population of African elephants in the world.

Zimbabwe alone hosts 83,000 elephants and a sizeable rhino population of 850.

However, the country's robust wildlife conservation system is often dented by poaching, mainly of the elephant and rhino. Enditem