Gabon to Incinerate Audited Ivory Stockpiles

Gabon to Incinerate Audited Ivory Stockpiles

As a symbol of its commitment to tackling illegal wildlife trade, Gabon will burn its entire ivory stockpile in the coming months.

The news came as Central African and Asian governments, together with special UN agencies and international organizations such as CITES, INTERPOL, and the Kenya Wildlife Service, were meeting this week in Libreville, in response to the growing threat of poaching and trafficking of protected and endangered species in Central Africa.

The meeting brought together more than 150 experts from 3 continents, paving the way forward to increase national, regional and international co-operation to combat wildlife crimes in the Congo Basin region.

The move to destroy ivory stockpiles is an acknowledgment by the country that ivory from illegal sources has no realizable commercial value, and could leak onto the black market if not destroyed.

To verify that all tusks are accounted for before being burned, an independent inventory / audit of Gabon’s stockpiles is currently being undertaken by the government, supported by experts from TRAFFIC, WWF and other independent observers.

The audit will determine the quantity, weight and origin of the existing tusks, and help establish protocols to ensure that any future seized ivory is properly documented and securely managed. It will set the standards in transparency and accountability for future control of ivory stockpiles.

“Gabon is demonstrating how domestic ivory supplies can be regulated, given the political will to do so,” said Stephane Ringuet, TRAFFIC’s Central African Director who is conducting the audit.

“If Gabon's lead is replicated region-wide, we could see real progress being made in tackling elephant poaching and putting the criminal syndicates behind it out of business.”
Natasha Kofoworola Quist, WWF Central Africa Regional Programme Office Representative said: “The burning of a country’s entire ivory stockpile will be an historic conservation event in Africa, and a strong deterrent signal for all the actors in the illegal wildlife chain trade. We acknowledge the Gabonese Government for taking the lead and the US Government for its support in helping to combat illegal ivory trafficking.”

Posted by George Daniels on Monday April 09 2012, 7:21 AM EST. Ref: TRAFFIC, WWF, et al. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0