TNAG-2129-FCO40-3044-Hong-Kong-and-the-ivory-trade-1990 — Page 59

BACKGROUND

References:

Press cuttings of 18 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 1979 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 comes into force today, 18

January. Parties to the Convention can exempt themselves from

decisions on re-listing by entering a reservation with the

Depositary Government, Switzerland. We agreed to Hong Kong's

request for us to enter a six-month reservation on their behalf to allow them time to dispose of their stocks in an orderly fashion and

did so on 17 January. The Secretary of State announced it in the

House on 17 January, 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 ċ

consider it to apply to the UK or to

any British Dependent Terr y other than Hong Kong.

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.