Meeting focuses on wildlife trade rules

Conservations and government officials meet in Johannesburg to consider whether to ease or tighten controls

Thousands of conservationists and top government officials went into talks in Johannesburg yesterday to thrash out international trade regulations on elephant ivory, rhino horn and hundreds of endangered wild animals and plants.

The booming illegal trade of wildlife has put huge pressure on a treaty signed by more than 180 countries — the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).

The plight of Africa’s rhino and elephants, targeted for their horns and tusks, is expected to dominate much of the 12-day meeting.

“We are now embarking on the largest meeting ever in the 43-year history of Cites,” the convention’s secretary-general John Scanlon said at the start of the talks.

“We are going to review trade controls of close to 500 species of wild animals and plants. High on the agenda we have the African elephants, the rhino, the pangolin... the silky shark,” he said.

Illegal trade in valued at around (Dh73.46 billion) to Cites.

The meeting will consider whether to tighten, ease or not impose trade controls on the myriad of species, including special types of wood. wildlife is $20 billion a year, according

‘Political support’

Scanlon lauded the high level of political support being shown for tackling the illicit wildlife trade, which is ranked among the world’s largest illegal businesses alongside arms, counterfeit goods, drugs and human trafficking.

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma opened the Johannesburg talks.

“Levels of exploitation of some animal and plant species are high and the trade is capable of heavily depleting their populations and even bringing some species close to extinction,” said Zuma.