ေနာက္ထပ္ ကိုယ္ပိုင္ သတင္းတစ္ပုဒ္ပါ TRAFFIC urges Myanmar to crackdown on ivory trade Reported by Khine Lin Kyaw BAGAN - The wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC has urged the Myanmar government to take swift action against the booming ivory trade on its border with China. An undercover team from TRAFFIC and Oxford Brookes University found more than 3300 pieces of ivory and close to 50 raw elephant tusks on sale in Mong La, a town in northern Myanmar on the border with China, a TRAFFIC official said on Monday. As the market is situated in Myanmar, it is the responsibility of Myanmar’s authorities to take swift action and close down this illicit trade, said Chris Shepherd, director of the TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is the acting chair of the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN), a regional initiative to counter the illegal cross-border trade in endangered plants and animals. Increasing volumes of ivory in an open cross-border market catering to Chinese consumers is a sure sign that international agreements are not being enforced and action to reduce ivory demand is not effective, added Chris Shepherd. Myanmar is also one of three countries in Asia, alongside Laos and Cambodia, who have never submitted information on ivory seizures to the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS). This is a database on global ivory seizures that the TRAFFIC manages on behalf of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). As the current chair of ASEAN-WEN, there is a huge responsibility on Myanmar to set an example and clamp down on this blatantly illegal trade in ivory, said Shepherd, adding: China must play its part too in helping the authorities in Myanmar carry out this essential enforcement action. Volumes of ivory found in the markets of Mong La were reported as the largest finding of its kind since TRAFFIC first started monitoring wildlife trade in border regions in 2006. The findings come less than a week after China publicly destroyed more than six tonnes of ivory in Guangdong, in a display of commitment against the global illicit trade in ivory. The majority of inhabitants in Mong La, including ivory vendors, are from China. The town is visited by large numbers of Chinese nationals, mainly attracted by the seedy nightlife, gambling and cheap prostitution. Twenty-seven shops were found offering ivory for sale. Most of it likely originating from Africa as items included carved hippo teeth. Several shops were openly showcasing hundreds of carved pieces of ivory in glass display cases. Our observations suggest Mong La may be one of the biggest unregulated ivory markets in Asia, and it is doubtless one of those where ivory is most openly displayed, Professor Vincent Nijman from Oxford Brookes University was quoted in a statement. Trade in ivory is illegal in Myanmar, and cross-border trade in ivory is not permitted under guidelines agreed upon by countries that are signatory to CITES. TRAFFIC is an international organisation which focuses on conservation by combating trade in wild plants and animals. It is a joint programme of World Wide Fund for Nature and the World Conservation Union, which works in close co-operation with CITES. Founded in 1976, the TRAFFIC has its headquarters in Cambridge, UK, and has regional bases in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and Oceania with offices within all these regions. Reported by Khine Lin Kyaw elevenmyanmar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4745:traffic-urges-myanmar-to-crackdown-on-ivory-trade&catid=44:national&Itemid=384
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 12:11:04 +0000
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