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Change Your Life! |
Big animals to dominate debate at endangered species conference in Kenya |
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April 11, 2000
NAIROBI, APR 10 (AP) - Big animals like elephants and whales will probably steal the limelight from smaller animals and plants during 10 days of discussions on endangered species at a Nairobi conference, the head of the U.N. body that manages an agreement to protect them said Sunday.
"Our discussions on elephants, whales and sea turtles, I am sure, at times are going to be difficult and heated, sometimes even emotional," Willem Wijnstekers, Secretary General of the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora, said at the opening of CITES' 11th conference.
The attention that will likely be focused on these large animals, however, "does not do sufficient justice to the many other important proposals we will have to decide upon in the coming weeks," he said.
Some 2,000 delegates from 151 countries and scores of non-governmental organizations dealing in conservation and environmental issues have gathered in the Kenyan capital for the conference that runs through April 20.
At least 60 proposals on different species will be discussed, including those to place several species on CITES' Appendix 1, which forbids all trade. These include the Asian urial, a wild sheep; the coelacanth, a unique living fossil fish; the hwamei, a songbird; and the Chinese happy tree.
Debate on a proposal by Kenya and India to have elephants moved from Appendix II, which allows for limited commerce in the species, to Appendix I is expected to dominate the conference.
South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe have submitted proposals to be allowed to sell ivory stockpiled from culling and natural mortality.
"We should constantly remind ourselves that proper and positive dialogue must be based on mutual respect, no matter how great the differences of opinion, convictions and cultural backgrounds are," Wijnstekers cautioned.
Country delegates will vote on whether a proposed species should be placed on, moved to or removed from any of the three CITES appendices of endangered species. The vote is decided by a two-thirds majority.
In a statement Sunday, the Japan Whaling Association claimed a battle affecting the rights of developing nations to use their own resources was shaping up at the CITES conference.
Gordon Shepherd, director of international policy for the World Wildlife Fund, said his group wants the Kenya-India proposal on elephants withdrawn.
"For proper protection of elephants, we think countries that have large herds of elephants can trade in (elephant) leather goods," he said, adding that the WWF does not support the ivory trade. "It is not yet time to do ivory trade. It is still a danger. But it is difficult to poach elephants for skins."
Kenya and India argue that any trade in elephant products will encourage poaching.
Indian delegation head Suresh Sharma said although India and Kenya both want to protect their elephants, India's problem is particularly serious because of the 100-to-1 female to male ratio in the Indian herd. Only Asian male elephants have tusks, while in African elephants, both females and males have tusks.
Sharma said since CITES lifted the ban on the ivory trade in 1997 for the one-time sale, India has seen an increase in poaching with an average 100 male elephants killed each year.
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