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<\/p>\nDespite Africa\u2019s elephants and rhinos still living under serious threat from poaching and illegal trade, Namibia is pushing hard to resume ivory and horn sales.<\/p>\n
From 23 November to 5 December, representatives of the 185 countries that are signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will gather in Samarkand, Uzbekistan for the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20).<\/p>\n
Namibia has put three proposals before the meeting which would rescind existing international trade bans and allow it to sell rhino horns and stockpiled elephant ivory, a move EIA and many other conservation organisations warn would be catastrophic for remaining wild populations, not just in Namibia but elsewhere in Africa too.<\/p>\n
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Elephants in Namibia<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s first proposal seeks a change to the status of its population of southern white rhinos to allow for international commercial trade in their horns.<\/p>\n
Its second is to transfer its population of Critically Endangered black rhinos from Appendix I \u2013 the strongest level of CITES protection \u2013 to Appendix II to allow for international commercial trade in horns.<\/p>\n
And its third is to seek approval to sell off more than 46 tonnes of registered raw ivory (whole tusks and pieces) for commercial purposes.<\/p>\n
EIA Deputy Campaign Leader (Elephants) Rachel Mackenna said: \u201cParties to CITES have a strong history of rejecting attempts to resume legal trade in ivory and rhino horns and we would expect them to hold the line at CoP20.<\/p>\n
\u201cNamibia\u2019s proposals are reckless, given the huge weight of evidence that legal ivory and rhino horn trade in the past has primarily served to stimulate demand, which inevitably leads to more poaching and trafficking of illegal wildlife products.\u201d<\/p>\n
Namibia\u2019s push comes as rhino populations around the world remain at high risk from poaching and illegal trade \u2013 and Namibia in particular continues to experience high levels of rhino poaching, increasing by nearly eight per cent in the country in 2024, with 83 rhinos killed compared to 77 in 2023.<\/p>\n
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Adult white rhino in Namibia (c) safaritravelplus<\/p>\n
EIA\u2019s Senior Wildlife Policy Analyst (Rhinos) Taylor Tench highlighted: \u201cIt is especially concerning that Namibia has not consulted any other rhino range states in Africa about its plans, despite the exorbitant risks that Namibia\u2019s proposals presents to the safety and conservation of their rhino populations.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2019In addition, rhino horn trade is illegal in end-use countries such as China and Vietnam and so Namibia has no apparent viable prospective trading partners.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThe proposals would also undermine significant efforts made by these consumer countries to reduce demand for illegal wildlife products over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Namibia\u2019s third proposal to be allowed to sell of 46 tonnes of stockpiled ivory would undo decades of hard-won progress to end the international ivory trade and aid the recovery of elephant populations.<\/p>\n
Previous one-off sales of stockpiled ivory under CITES proved to be a disaster for elephants as they primarily served to fuel demand in Asian markets, triggering sharp increases in poaching and trafficking and contributing to catastrophic declines in elephant populations in range states such as Tanzania and Mozambique.<\/p>\n