India’s unusual abstention in CITES vote on reopening ivory trade

India’s unusual abstention in CITES vote on reopening ivory trade

Subject :Environment

Context:

India’s decision not to vote against a proposal to re-open the international trade in ivory at the ongoing conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) surprised many.

• That proposal, to allow a regular form of controlled trade in ivory from Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, was defeated 83-15 in Panama City on Friday.

CITES agreement

• CITES is an international agreement between 184 governments to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.
• The convention entered into force in 1975 and India became the 25th party as a state that voluntarily agrees to be bound by the Convention  in1976.
• All import, export and re-export of species covered under CITES must be authorised through a permit system.
• CITES Appendix I lists species threatened with extinction — import or export permits for these are issued rarely and only if the purpose is not primarily commercial.
• CITES Appendix II includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction but in which trade must be strictly regulated.
• Every two years, the Conference of the Parties (CoP), the supreme decision-making body of CITES, applies a set of biological and trade criteria to evaluate proposals from parties to decide if a species should be in Appendix I or II.

Tussle over ivory

• 1989- Global ban on ivory trade, Allafrican elephant populations were put in Appendix l
• 1997- Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe were transferred to Appendix ll
• 2000- South Africa was transferred to Appendix ll
• These countries are allowed to ‘one-off sale’ of ivory stockpiled from natural elephant deaths and seizures from poachers.
• CoP17 (2016) & CoP18 (2019)– Namibia’s proposal for allowing a regular form of controlled trade in ivory by delisting the elephant populations of the four countries from Appendix II, was rejected.
• CoP19 (2022)– Zimbabwe’s proposal for the same has been rejected.

Why these countries wanted to lift the trade ban-

• The four southern African countries argue that their elephant populations have bounced back and that their stockpiled ivory, if sold internationally, can generate much-needed revenue for elephant conservation and incentivising communities.

Opposition’s cncern-

• Any form of supply stokes demand and that sharp spikes in elephant poaching were recorded across the globe after the one-off sales allowed by the CITES in 1999 and 2008.

India and ivory trade

• 1975-endangered Asian elephant was included in CITES Appendix I, Ban on the export of ivory from the Asian range countries.
• 1986- India amended The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to ban even domestic sales of ivory.
• 1991- After the ivory trade was globally banned, India again amended the law to ban the import of African ivory.
• 1981- New Delhi hosted CoP3, India designed the iconic CITES logo in the form of an elephant.
• 1992 CoP8: In Kyoto, Japan, Indian delegate Arin Ghosh, then director of Project Tiger, noted a polarisation of parties — one for sustainable use and trade in wildlife, the other favouring total ban and stricter control — with the latter, fortunately, outnumbering the former.
• 1994 CoP9: At Lauderdale, US,India opposed the down-listing of the elephant population of South Africa from Appendix I to II.
• 1997 CoP10: At Harare, Zimbabwe, India opposed the proposal to down-list the southern African elephant populations, expressing concern over repercussions for the Asian elephant, particularly with regard to poaching.
• 2000 CoP11: At Gigiri, Kenya, India moved a proposal along with the host country to up-list all elephant populations in Appendix II to I.
• At CoP17 and CoP18, India voted against proposals to re-open trade in ivory from the southern African states.

Why India abstained from voting this time-

• India signed an agreement in July with Namibia to fly in cheetahs.
• India has agreed to promote “sustainable utilisation and management of biodiversity”
• Namibia sought India’s support under this agreement for the longstanding proposal to re-open the ivory trade at CITES.