A training workshop to increase the expertise of law enforcement officers to combat wildlife trafficking began today in Entebbe, Uganda. The training workshop hosted by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in partnership with International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) aims to equip officers stationed at the Entebbe International Airport from: the wildlife authority, customs, immigration,…
Proposals to Resume Ivory Sales Roundly Defeated
Two proposals that would have resulted in a resumption of ivory sales by amending the CITES Appendices for the African elephant were roundly defeated today at CITES CoP 18. Proposal 10 would have transferred elephants in Zambia from Appendix I to Appendix II but was amended on the floor to delete sales of raw ivory and include…
Poachers still given lifeline as CITES Parties fail to agree full ban on international trade in lion parts
Parties today at the 17th Conference of the Parties (CoP 17) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Johannesburg voted in favor of a much diluted decision by establishing a zero annual export quota for bones, claws and teeth removed from the dead carcasses of wild lions to be traded for…
What can we expect from SA at CoP 17?
By Melissa Reitz As the count down begins to the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17) for CITES, which commences in Johannesburg on 24 September, conservationists question the relevance of the issues at stake and what one can expect from the hosts: South Africa. With a huge range of pressing issues to…