THAILAND FOCUS January 20th, 2015: Thai celebrities join campaign to save elephants. A roster of Thai celebrities are lending their names, time and efforts to a World Wildlife Fund for Nature campaign called “Chor Chang Saving Elephants” that raises awareness and discourages people from buying ivory products. The campaign complements the government’s awareness raising efforts, the progress of which is included in a report on addressing African ivory smuggling it recently submitted to CITES Secretariat. Meanwhile, government officials are considering banning cars from certain areas of Khao Yai National Park following incidents of wild elephants attacking vehicles during the pachyderms’ mating season. Chor Chang is an extremely common consonant found in Thai names, and Chang also means elephant in Thai. The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) has asked Thais to take part in the campaign by removing or hiding the chor chang letter from their names on any form of identification or signs, then photograph it and post the images on social media. Well known figures who have been taking part include former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva, film director Chalermchatri Yukol, The Nation newspaper editor and columnist Suthichai Yoon, award-winning writer Jiranan Pitpreecha, and football star Messi J. Chanathip, among others. The Asian elephant is considered a national symbol of Thailand. The animal once adorned the country’s flag. But, Thailand has also faced criticism and pressure because of its market for ivory. Analysts have said Thailand is the worlds second-largest unregulated ivory market, after China. WWF estimates that more than 20,000 African elephants are slain every year for ivory and that Thailand is the end destination for much of this ivory. The country has hundreds of artisans skilled in carving ivory, a craft handed down from previous generations. Shops selling ivory carvings, jewelry and other goods are easily found in tourist areas. By law, ivory used and sold must come from domesticated elephants, but despite government efforts to interdict the shipments, smuggling of ivory from Africa is fairly commonplace. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has warned Thailand that it faces sanctions unless it moves more aggressively to end the illegal ivory trade. A CITES representative recently said that the organization was encouraged by the steps Thailand is taking. Thailand submitted the first progress report on implementation of Thailand’s revised National Ivory Action Plan to CITES Secretariat in Geneva last week. The report covers steps the government has taken in terms of enforcement of laws to effectively control and suppress smuggling of African ivory, improvement of ivory-related registration systems, establishment of ivory trade patrol teams and joint task forces to increase supervision, and efforts to raise public awareness. “As long as there is demand for ivory, all elephants are at risk,” said Janpai Ongsiriwittaya, Wildlife Trade Campaign Manager for WWF-Thailand. “Every thought and every effort matters when it comes to putting an end to this illicit trade. I encourage people to join this campaign and speak out against killing elephants, pledge to never buy, sell or use products made from ivory.” Also last week, government officials said they were considering measures to provide greater separation between elephants and humans in Khao Yai National Park in the lower northeast. Several drivers have had their automobiles banged around by elephants and dramatic photos of the encounters have spread around the world. No one has been injured in any of the incidents. The encounters occur more frequently during the cool season, which is mating season for the elephants. That also coincides with holiday season, when traffic through the park becomes greater and the chances of incidents increase. Officials said they are considering closing some roads during periods when elephants are known to migrate through the area, or cutting down the hours when the roads are open. Park officials said that sometimes the humans are at fault. Anxious to see elephants, they honk their car horns to draw them out of the forests. Soraida Sawala, secretary-general of Friends of the Asian Elephant, said elephants are not naturally violent, and visitors likely triggered their aggression by irritating them. If the elephants truly wanted to harm the drivers they would have speared the cars with their tusks, she said. “They must have been annoyed by the sounds of the cars and the honking horns. Elephants can hear a sound from a long distance,” she said. She urged policy makers to put the welfare of the elephants first in deciding what steps to take.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 20:50:41 +0000
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