Albertina Nakale
Environment and tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta has come out strongly against CITES' decision to ban ivory from being sold on international markets.
In an interview with New Era on the sidelines of the
just-ended KAZA summit in Livingstone, he said if the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
refuses member states to sell off ivory stockpiles, they will withdraw their
membership.
"If CITES refuses, we have some alternatives and plans.
We can go for arbitration. This arbitration is provided for by the World Trade
Organisaton, which international law allows especially when we are
unnecessarily or unreasonably refused or restrained from exercising our rights
as member states. Or, we have to look at other alternatives to completely
withdraw from CITES," he threatened.
Shifeta said Namibia is ahead of many countries when it
comes to community-based natural resources’ management programmes’ which are
well-planned. Equally, he lauded Namibia for having more well-managed
conservancies.
“CITES should be flexible in this matter because we must
utilise these natural resources. When it comes to our wildlife, we must be
allowed to sustainably utilise, especially for conservation hunting. It should
be part of it. We have stockpiles of ivory and rhino horns. We must be allowed
to sell them on the international markets. This time, we have decided that KAZA
and the SADC region which has the largest population of the big five, will take
it up at CITES next year when we go to Geneva for COP20, that we should be
allowed to sell off these stockpiles. KAZA alone has more than a US$1 billion
in monetary value. We need to sell off these stockpiles so we can plough back
into conservation efforts of our five countries,” he insisted.
“KAZA has so many natural resources. It has the largest
population of African elephants in the whole world. We are saying we must be
allowed to utilise sustainably our natural resources to benefit our local
communities who live side by side with these animals. We have more than 228 000
elephants that live in the KAZA area. And with this large elephant population,
the carrying capacity can no longer take it because we have more elephants in
this KAZA area,” Shifeta mentioned.
His views were re-affirmed, as the summit considered options
available within and outside CITES, including diplomatic engagement,
withdrawal, reservations, arbitration and trading with non-CITES parties to
benefit from wildlife and wildlife products.
As part of the summit communique, KAZA partner states were
urged to fully prepare and participate at the upcoming dialogue meeting planned
for August 2024 in Botswana, including the holding of at least two preparatory
meetings to develop a Regional Common Position for CITES COP20.