TNAG-2129-FCO40-3044-Hong-Kong-and-the-ivory-trade-1990 — Page 13

BACKGROUND

References: A

B

Hong Kong Government statement of 18 January UK Press cuttings 20-23 January

1. The 7th Conference of Contracting Parties to the Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) which took place in Lausanne from 9-20 October 1939 voted in favour of up-grading the African elephant from Appendix II to Appendix I of the Convention, thereby banning international trade.

The UK voted in favour. Conference also voted not to allow trade in

existing stocks of ivory. The UK abstained on behalf of Hong Kong, which has some 600 tonnes of ivory, worth around £80m before the

CITES conference, legally imported under CITES procedures, and which employs some 3,000 people in the ivory trade.

2. The amendment to the Convention came into force on 18 January.

Hong Kong had asked us to enter a six-month Reservation on their

behalf, thereby exempting Hong Kong from the re-listing, to allow them time to dispose of their stocks in an orderly fashion and to retrain ivory workers. We entered the Reservation on 17 January.

The Secretary of State announced it in the House that day, during the debate on Hong Kong, in reply to a question from Mr Tony Banks. In his reply to Mr Banks the Secretary of State made it clear that

we will withdraw the reservation in six months' time and that we do

not consider it to apply to the UK or to any other British Dependent

Territory.

3. Opponents of the decision claim that by allowing continued trade in ivory we will create a loophole for the entry of illegal ivory onto the market and thereby encourage more poaching. But we believe that, given the difficulties in disposing of the legal stock in Hong Kong, it would make no sense to attempt to import more ivory, illegally, into the Territory. And the measures taken by the Hong Kong authorities since June 1989 will combat illegal trade. These measures include a ban on imports, export licensing, possession licensing for quantities in excess of 5kg, and the setting up of a Customs task force and a computer data base to track the movements of ivory.