The question on the lips of most African countries is what good has CITES ever done for Africans. The response by a few environmentalists who spoke to this publication is quite telling. Their retort is very short. “Very little,” they say. Their main point of contention is why treaties such as CITES are against sustainable utilisation of wildlife resources.
Environmental experts have been calling for the African continent to unite and speak with one voice concerning its conservation agenda and wildlife trade. That is why Tourism and environmental ministers from sixteen Southern, Central, Eastern and Western African countries are currently gathered in Hwange, Zimbabwe for the African Elephant Conservation Conference which ends tomorrow, May 26th. The conference is important for two main reasons. To begin with, it will discuss how overstocked countries could sustainably engage in ivory trade as well as provide technical scientific research on ways to conserve elephants. The Elephant conference will also galvanise support on measures to improve African Elephant conservation in Southern Africa and agree on a framework for wildlife management. At the end of the conference, there is expected to be a ministerial declaration known as the Hwange Elephant Declaration.
CITES is an international agreement between governments whose aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species. In its early days, CITES was credited for its conservation and sustainable development dogma, but this has since changed. Former CITES president, Eugène Lapointe said the treaty: “has now become politicised.”
In 1989, CITES banned the international commercial ivory trade. Now Botswana and fellow Southern African Development Community countries – Zimbabwe and Namibia – are lobbying for the lifting of a ban on ivory trade ahead of the CITES 19th Conference of Parties (COP 19), scheduled for November, 2022, in Panama. In 2019, these three countries had their request to sell stockpiled ivory acquired through natural deaths, confiscations and culling rejected at the last CITES meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Environmentalists argue that unity is vital ahead of the CITES summit. They argue that if one African country challenges CITES on its own, there will probably be economic repercussions. On the other hand, if African countries challenge CITES as a bloc, it would shield them from undesirable economic harm from the West.
Botswana’s Elephant Management Plan notes that the carrying capacity for the elephant population in Botswana is 54,000 but over the years this has ballooned to 130,000. In 2021, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released a report which noted that the elephant population in Botswana is increasing. Conservative estimates note that the elephant population in Botswana is approximately 130 000 which is the highest in the world.
While Botswana benefited from her their stockpiles in 2008 when CITES permitted a one-off ivory sale to China and Japan due to prudent management of elephants, she wants to counter some of the restrictions imposed by CITES.
Over the years, competition for resources has been severe, as growing human and elephants populations infringe on each other’s territory. Botswana has voiced concern over the increasing elephant population which is now causing human–wildlife conflicts. President Dr. Mokgweetsi Masisi is on record saying human/wildlife conflict, particularly pertaining to elephants, needs immediate attention. At one point, President Masisi tried to solicit support from Kenya which did not materialise as the Eastern African country famed for its vast wildlife demands total ivory ban.
Recently, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Mangaliso Ndlovu said it is crucial for CITES to consider calls by countries in southern Africa to lift the ivory trade ban and culling. Another minister responsible for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa said “Government emphasises that the CITES COP 19 is critical in the country’s wildlife conservation and management programmes, especially that of elephants and stockpiled products. The outcome of the African Elephant Conference should, therefore, be mutually beneficial to all parties, including communities, wildlife, the environment and Government.”
A commentator who spoke to this publication indicated that CITES does not have the interests of Africans at heart and is heavily biased. He indicated that representatives from various popular animal rights groups make up CITES. “These groups have the ability to sway the votes in CITES’ favour. That is why CITES always has an upper hand and are always calling the shots,” says Ronald Dintle.
Some countries in SADC are of the view that since CITES is a voluntary organisation, it must not give itself a policing role but must be a developmental organisation which promotes conservation as well as the sustainable utilisation of all wildlife resources.
Earlier this year, the partner states of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) announced the launch of a census which will shed light on elephant population in southern Africa. Botswana is part of the KAZA which is situated in a region of Southern Africa where the international borders of five countries converge namely Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
“Our Coordinating Ministries represent the Republics of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe where this survey will be conducted. This is a demonstration of our concerted efforts to implement the KAZA Treaty, which calls for regionally integrated approaches towards harmonizing policies, strategies, and practices for managing shared natural resources straddling the international borders of KAZA Partner States,” said KAZA in a statement.
There is hope that the meeting which ends tomorrow will build the much-needed consensus ahead of the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP 19). For now, eagerly or anxiously, Batswana wait for the outcome of the Elephant conference with bated breath.
