Den Chines
нко
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
Hong Kong: Ivory
27 March 1990
Ms faul
Miss
Mr
い
I have
w
27/2
Holroyd! Fhowe
liken & copy to work MAED R
have geven
a cary of the draft
storded
uve
letter.
Should
"Insping" the ?Q?
Our decision to enter on behalf of Hong Kong a six month reservation on the CITES ban on all commercial trade in ivory has provoked criticism in this country. You might welcome an account of the present position and in particular of the progress Hong Kong is making in introducing legislation to implement the ban before the reservation expires on 17 July.
The legislative process is on schedule. A draft enacting Bill was presented to the Executive Council on 20 March and is due to be introduced into the Legislative Council on 4 April, with a view to enactment in early May. In order to give legal backing to the CITES ban, the Animals and Plants (Protection of Endangered Species) Ordinance is being amended to provide that the Director of Agriculture and Fisheries shall not issue any further import and export licences for commercial trade in ivory and other highly endangered species. The Legal Advisers at the Department of the Environment have already seen a copy of the legislation in draft. The legislation will come into effect when the reservation expires.
The Hong Kong Government do not expect any serious opposition to the Bill. The fact that we acceded to Hong Kong's request to enter a six-month reservation on their behalf should help to ease the passage of the legislation through the Legislative Council, which would otherwise have been at risk.
In the meantime the Hong Kong Government have been taking advantage of the breathing space provided by our reservation to encourage ivory workers to find
/alternative
27/3