The UK can lead the way in helping to save elephants
Wildlife Trade held at Lancaster House in 2014; more than 40 countries attended and agreed a consensus. The London Declaration saw the creation of the Elephant Protection Initiative by five African leaders, calling for domestic ivory markets to close and support for elephant conservation.
I remain proud of the role the UK played in driving forward this agenda. Conservation charities – such as Tusk and Stop Ivory – as well as members of the Royal family have also done a brilliant job in drawing attention to the damage done by poaching.
As the decline in the elephant population makes clear, however, further action is needed. International trade in ivory may have been outlawed, but ivory can still be bought and sold in individual countries. These domestic markets have been shown to provide cover for illegal international trade, fuelling poaching, funding criminal activity and undermining the ability of African communities to develop free from corruption. It is estimated that the annual trade in illegal wildlife is worth £15 billion, making it the third most valuable illicit commerce behind drugs and arms.
There is international consensus. Last weekend, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature passed a motion calling for all domestic ivory markets to close by a margin of more than 80 per cent. This year alone, the US, Hong Kong, France and China have taken steps to close their markets. The 2015 Conservative manifesto made a clear commitment to closing the UK domestic market. The new Secretaries of State, Boris Johnson and Andrea Leadsom, have signalled that they will treat this matter with seriousness. At next week’s CITES Conference in Johannesburg, we have a chance to vote to close domestic markets around the world. It is vital that we announce our domestic ban this week. If the UK is to insist that demand be shut down elsewhere, we must first ensure that our own internal market is closed.
This is followed by the International Wildlife Trade Conference in Vietnam in November. A vote by the UK in favour of closing domestic markets would send a powerful message across the globe. Elephants are being killed by human criminals to fuel human greed and human decisions are now needed to protect them.