WWF - Gabon to Burn Entire Ivory Stockpile in Effort to Combat Illegal Wildlife Trafficking -

WWF - Gabon to Burn Entire Ivory Stockpile in Effort to Combat Illegal Wildlife Trafficking -

As a symbol of its commitment to tackling illegal wildlife trade, Gabon will burn its entire ivory stockpile in the coming months, at a date to be announced shortly. The move is an acknowledgment by the country that ivory from illegal sources has no recognized commercial value, and could leak onto the black market if not destroyed, said WWF and TRAFFIC, which are supporting Gabon’s efforts to tackle illegal wildlife trade.

The news came during a major international meeting in Libreville to address the growing poaching crisis across Central Africa. Thousands of elephants are killed each year for their tusks, which are in demand as carvings and ornaments in Asia.  An estimated 5,000 to 12,000 elephants are killed each year for their ivory. Data submitted to CITES, the UN body regulating international wildlife trade, shows that law enforcement is poor or non-existent in many Central and West African countries. 

Cameroon, for instance, is still dealing with the massacre of hundreds of elephants in Bouba N’Djida National Park this January. Soldiers responding to the slaughter are also believed to have been killed.  Just weeks later, more elephant deaths occurred in Boumba Bek National Park in southeast Cameroon, where 12 suspected poachers were arrested and 14 elephant tusks confiscated.

To address this upsurge in poaching in the region and increase international cooperation, over 150 experts from Central African, US and Asian governments, together with specialized UN agencies and international organizations such as CITES, INTERPOL and the Kenya Wildlife Service, are meeting this week in Gabon.

To verify that all Gabon’s tusks are accounted for before being burned, an independent inventory and audit of the country’s stockpiles is currently taking place by the government, with support from TRAFFIC and WWF experts and other independent observers.  The audit will determine the quantity, weight and origin of the existing tusks, and help establish protocols to ensure that any future seized ivory is properly documented and securely managed.

“Gabon is demonstrating how domestic ivory supplies can be regulated, given the political will to do so,” said Stephane Ringuet, TRAFFIC’s Central African Director who is conducting the audit.  “If Gabon's lead is replicated region-wide, we could see real progress being made in tackling elephant poaching and putting the criminal syndicates behind it out of business.”