INTERNATIONAL Civil Society Organisations have warned the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) not to accept the proposal by Zambia and Tanzania to lift the ban on ivory trade because it will result in the extinction of elephants.

Tanzania and Zambia are lobbying the CITES for special exemptions from the ban on killing endangered elephants for ivory so that proceeds could be used to finance game management and wildlife conservation, which they claim to be too expensive to fund.

But Kenya and Mali together with other institutions are leading an effort to block this proposal by Tanzania and Zambia to change the endangered species status of elephants and sell off stockpiles of ivory.

In a petition comprising over 500,000 signatures from around the world that will be presented at the ongoing CITES meeting in Doha, Qatar, the NGOs led by AVAAZ, stated that there was need to uphold the ban on ivory trading and save whole populations of these magnificent animals.

It stated that as long as there was demand for ivory, elephants were at risk from poaching and smuggling and signing a petition was the only chance to protect them and crush the ivory criminals' profits.

“This proposal by Tanzania and Zambia will send a clear signal to the ivory crime syndicates that international protection is weakening and it is open-season on elephants. Our best chance to save the continent’s remaining elephants is to support African conservationists and we only have days left and the UN Endangered Species body only meets every three years hence we are calling on people to sign this petition to protect elephants,” it stated.

Over 20 years ago, the CITES passed a worldwide ban on ivory trading.

Poaching fell and ivory prices slumped. But poor enforcement coupled with ‘experimental one-off sales’, like the one Tanzania and Zambia are seeking, drove poaching up and turned illegal trade into a lucrative business since poachers can launder their illegal ivory with the legal stockpiles.

“Now, despite the worldwide ban, each year over 30,000 elephants are gunned down and their tusks hacked off by poachers with axes and chainsaws. If Tanzania and Zambia are successful in exploiting the loophole, this unpleasant trade could get much worse and we have a one-off chance this week to extend the worldwide ban and repress poaching and trade prices before we lose even more elephant populations,” it stated. “Across the world’s cultures and throughout our history elephants have been revered in religions and have captured our imagination. But today these beautiful and highly intelligent creatures are being wiped out.”

On Tuesday, Zambian tourism and environment minister Catherine Namugala defended the proposal, saying it would enable the country use benefits accruing from the sale of elephants for national development.

Namugala said the application to down list Zambia’s elephant population would have no negative impact on elephants.

“Zambia’s proposal to down list the elephant population is based on findings of a comprehensive assessment that showed that commercial trade would not be detrimental to the survival of the elephant,” Namugala said.

Some 1,500 persons representing over 170 government, non- governmental groups, businesses and indigenous peoples are attending the triennial conference of the CITES.

Officially opening the meeting, CITES Secretary-General Willem Wijnstekers said governments had achieved many conservation successes during the 35 years of the CITES treaty but called for increased political support to meet the new challenges.

“We do not want to risk letting down the developing world in its struggle to ensure that trade in wild fauna and flora is conducted legally and sustainably,” Wijnstekers said.

The proposal by Zambia and Tanzania, which was filed on November 17, 2009, seeks to ‘transfer the population of the African elephant, from Appendix I to Appendix II’ of CITES.

Because Appendix I species are considered to be ‘threatened with extinction,’ and trade is only permitted in exceptional circumstances.

However, if the African elephant is moved to Appendix II, species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but could be if trade is not controlled since avenues for trade will likely be opened up.

AVAAZ is an international civic organisation that promotes activism on issues such as climate change, human rights, and religious conflicts.