On the Trail - Robin des Bois

pus soyauxxi), moabi (Baillonella toxisperma), there
are also elephants, buffalos, antelopes, primates.
The factory in France rapidly closed and the presence
of Chinese companies spread just as quickly
in Gabon without any setting of constraining guidelines
concerning tree logging and protection of
fauna. The okoumé logs are exported to China by
the Gabonese port of Owendo.
M. Guoha Zang, President of Honest Timber
Gabon, in front of an okoumé timber.
Seizure of 2 elephant tusks (11kg)
Madikeri, State of Karnataka, India
September 2013
He was in possession of 2 tusks. Estimated value
US$ 16,000. He was third in the marketing chain.
All those involved in this affair tried to hide their
tracks. The tusks were allegedly removed from an
elephant in the forest after its natural death.
Conviction of a man for trafficking in ivory after
being arrested with 28 elephant tusks and more
than 200 ivory objects.
Mkukula, Central Region, Republic of Malawi
September 2013
The courts had been lenient with this 24-year-old
young man who 3 weeks ago had attempted to flee
to China with 28 tusks, 126 bracelets, 2 necklaces
and 80 ivory tablets in his luggage, the equivalent
of 17 elephants. He had only received a US$ 400
fine, to be converted into a 15-month prison sentence
if he failed to pay. He did not fail and was at
once set free. The Department of Parks and Wildlife
criticised the judgement. Dixie Makwale, the Environmental
Education Coordinator at the Nature
Sanctuary in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, also
deplored the court’s leniency. The total value of
the seizure is estimated at more than US$ 36,000.
“Appealing the case will show our commitment to
the fight against ivory trafficking in Malawi”.
Tusk Secret
The French Minister of Ecology possesses strategic stockpiles of elephant tusks. Under no circumstances can the
inventories, when they exist, be diffused to the public. Security reasons are given. Ivory is likened to chemical weapons,
it must remain top secret. Such is the essence of the reply from the French Minister of Ecology to Robin des
Bois’s e-mail which, among other subjects, requested the inventory of illegal ivory seized by the authorities. The
response was dated October 2, 2013, Robin des Bois’s e-mail was sent on July 19, 2013.
As for the destruction of stocks seized since 1975 and the entry into force of the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, there is no need to hesitate. Europe needs a forerunner in the field.
But according to the French Minister, it is not appropriate for France to take on such a lead. The destruction of
illegal ivory stockpiles would be only undertaken by States with a dirty record summoned by the CITES Secretary
to comply with the rules in place. «Structural reforms needed to effectively fight against illegal ivory trade are
particularly difficult to implement in the countries concerned. It would seem that symbolic and highly publicized
actions were preferred, at least initially, to true substantive actions ». The destruction of ivory stocks has simply
been reduced to a smoke screen by the French government.
Fortunately, the United States see things differently. On September 24 they notified the CITES Secretariat of their
decision to destroy the stockpile of illegal ivory seized over the last 25 years on their territory (5.4 tonnes). A partial
inventory provided by French Customs reported 8 tonnes of ivory seized in France between 1998 and 2012. In their
notification, the United States invited all CITES Parties to support their action “by destroying their own stockpiles
of confiscated ivory” and to extend this destruction “to other illegally traded CITES specimens to demonstrate that
all CITES Parties stand together in the global effort to combat poaching and illegal wildlife trade.”
Some good reasons to destroy stockpiled ivory:
- Show the country’s determination to fight against ivory related crime.
- Avoid theft or misappropriation of seized ivory.
- Eradicate any temptation for speculation of ivory trade awaiting the possibility of reopening legal ivory trade.
- Demonstrate solidarity with African and Asian countries fighting against poaching and which deplore many
victims among wildlife guardians.
- Join in the recent movement of voluntary destruction (Philippines, State of Maharashtra in India, and the United
States).
- Be consistent with destruction procedures of other seized substances and articles (drugs, medicines, Chanel bags
or counterfeit Lacoste shirts).
69 On The Trail # 2. Robin des Bois