U.N. May Ease Ivory Ban, Allow Limited Sale

Moving to ease a 13-year-old international ban on the ivory trade, a U.N. meeting agreed Tuesday to a one-time sale of 60 tons of elephant tusks by three African nations despite objections by conservationists.

The 160 nations attending the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species backed the requests by Botswana, Namibia and South Africa to sell ivory culled in wildlife population management programs.

If the vote is finalized Friday, as expected, the three nations would be authorized to sell their $5 million worth of ivory under international supervision in 2004. Delegates rejected two similar requests, by Zambia and Zimbabwe, deciding that the governments have not demonstrated that they can protect their herds.

The U.S. delegation voted for the Namibia and South Africa proposals but opposed the other three.

“We think that what we did today is a part of protecting elephants,” said Craig Manson, head of the U.S. delegation. “We’re committed to an ongoing [conservation] effort.”

Trade in ivory was prohibited in 1989 after the number of African elephants plummeted to 600,000 from about 1.3 million in just over a decade.

The five southern African nations seeking the renewal of the ivory trade say their elephant populations are now too large for their parks. They say they should be allowed to sell tusks from culled animals because they have managed their elephant populations well.

But other African nations warn that allowing the ivory sale could encourage poaching.

“We are going to start seeing elephants getting killed. We are not exaggerating. You will see it. And not only elephants, but you are going to lose lives of rangers, of poachers,” A.O. Bashir of the Kenya Wildlife Service said.

Conservation groups agreed.

“When the trade of ivory is allowed, the trade of ivory increases,” said Ben White, a consultant from the Animal Welfare Institute who criticized the U.S. delegation’s vote. “The U.S. people are solidly opposed to the ivory trade, and our representatives should reflect that.”