Geneva
(AFP) - Wildlife-supporting countries on Thursday backed regulating
international trade in giraffes in a bid to offer more protection to the gentle
giants, feared to be facing a "silent extinction".
The vote in
Geneva by parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES) recognises for the first time that international trade is part
of the threat facing giraffes.
The
decision, which passed with 106 votes in favour to 21 votes opposed and seven
abstaining, took place in committee and still needs a stamp of approval by the
full CITES conference before it wraps up on August 28.
The African
giraffe population as a whole has shrunk by an estimated 40 percent over the
past three decades, to just under 100,000 animals, according to the best figures
available to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
And yet
Thursday's vote, which implies listing all giraffes under CITES Appendix II and
thus requiring tracking and regulation of all trade in the species, was highly
controversial.
The
proposal to list the giraffe came from a range of countries in western, central
and eastern Africa, where giraffe populations have been particularly hard hit.
Chad's
representative argued that "illegal cross-border trade (poses) a
significant threat to the survival of giraffes."
But they
met harsh resistance from southern African countries where the populations have
traditionally been better protected and are healthier.
Countries,
including South Africa, Botswana and Tanzania, maintained there was little
evidence that international trade is contributing to the decline of the
giraffe.
And they
argued that imposing international regulations was unfair to countries that
have strived to protect their giraffes.
"Such
a decision fails to recognise our conservation achievements," the
Tanzanian representative said.
The vote
implies that legal trade in giraffe parts, including those obtained by trophy
hunters on Africa's legal game reserves, will be globally regulated.
Countries
will be required to record the export of giraffe parts or artefacts, something
only the United States currently does, and permits would be required for their
trade.
The CITES
Secretariat itself had voiced scepticism that trade was a major factor behind
the decline of the giraffe, which has largely been linked to habitat loss.
But
supporters argued that without a CITES listing, there is little available data
on international trade.
They also
pointed to US data indicating that in the decade prior to 2015 around 40,000
giraffe parts, mainly bones, had been traded.
Conservationists
hailed the vote.
"This
listing could not come soon enough," Adam Peyman, head of the Humane
Society International?s wildlife programme, said in a statement.
"Securing
CITES Appendix II protection for the giraffe throws a vital lifeline to this
majestic species, which has been going quietly extinct for years."
No comments:
Post a Comment