September 28th 2016 will be remembered by many delegates attending CITES CoP17 as a bitter-sweet day for pangolins – an ancient species that has earned the unfortunate label of...
Do or die – deciding the pangolin’s fate at CoP17
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COP17
Talks Continue on Closure of Domestic Ivory Markets
Providing analysis at the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17) of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in...
What can we expect from SA at CoP 17?
As the countdown begins to the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17) for CITES, which commences in Johannesburg on 24 September, conservationists question the...
Sustainable utilisation of wildlife not so sustainable
A comprehensive new review of the threats facing global biodiversity indicates that a popular approach to saving the planet’s wild animals from extinction may be fatally flawed....
World Elephant Day sees worldwide call to burn ivory stockpiles
Hard to image that presently fewer than half a million elephants are left in Africa. This is the reality World Elephant Day, held annually on 12 August, aims to highlight. In...
Why burn Ivory?
The South African government refuses to destroy its ivory stockpile unlike the 25 other countries that have publically destroyed tonnes of ivory to highlight that ivory should...
Current rules on commercial international trade in elephant ivory under CITES and Proposals to CITES CoP17
There have been a number of media articles, social media posts and other communications regarding international trade in elephant ivory under CITES. This has resulted in many...
Ivory sales: Fast-track to elephant extinction?
South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia are seeking to overturn a UN ban on ivory trade. If they succeed, it could spell the end for elephants. A United Nations ban on the...
African Nations Call On the World to Help Them Save African Elephants – African Elephant Coalition
The African Elephant Coalition (AEC), comprising 29 African countries, is calling on the world to join them in saving elephants. The Montreux Manifesto, agreed at a meeting of...
CITES Maintenance of the Appendices Decision-making mechanism for a process of trade in ivory
PROPOSAL OF NAMIBIA, SOUTH AFRICA AND ZIMBABWE This document has been submitted by Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.* Background At its 14th meeting of the Conference of...
COP17 ivory trade proposal at risk of repeating 2008 mistake – study
On Heritage Day this year South Africa will be hosting the 17th meeting of the CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP) in Johannesburg which will address the international legal...
Trade rings death knell for Africa’s elephant
A paper published last week by the National Bureau of Economic Research in the U.S.A. holds unequivocally that permitting a legal trade in some wildlife species will be those...
South Africa and Kenya Seek Consensus on Ivory Trade
South Africa and Kenya will hold talks with other African countries to find a common position on ivory trade ahead of the 17th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on...
CITES 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties – Provisional list of proposals for amendment of Appendices I and II
Provisional list of proposals for amendment of Appendices I and II Read the full report here: https://cites.org/eng/cop/17/prop/index.php
Will SA legalise rhino horn trade?
This week, investigative journalist and author Julian Rademeyer revealed that the decision to submit a rhino horn trade proposal to the Convention on International Trade in...
More rhetoric from government won’t save rhino
In a Parliamentary debate on Tuesday on the rhino poaching crisis, government provided little hope for rhino as speaker after speaker lamented the rhino poaching...