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The African elephant: conservation and CITES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2009

Robin Sharp
Robin Sharp
Affiliation:
30 Windermere Avenue, London NW6 6LN, UK.
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Abstract

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Human beings have been making (and almost certainly trading in) ivory artefacts for some 10,000 years. Yet it is only 8 years since the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) placed a complete ban on international trade in elephant products by listing the African elephant Loxodonta africana on Appendix I at Lausanne in 1989. Nevertheless, at the 10th Conference of the Parties to CITES in Harare this coming June, the listing will be challenged again by three of the Southern African countries who originally opposed it. This article describes what has happened on the ground since 1989, the political developments, examines the downlisting proposals, and looks at possible ways forward in the short- and medium-term. The views expressed are personal to the author.

Type
Research Article
Information
Oryx , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , April 1997 , pp. 111 - 119
Copyright
Copyright © Fauna and Flora International 1997

References

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