聯合國5日宣佈，將延後非洲三個國家一次性合法出售象牙的時程，換句話說，這些國家(南非、納米比亞與波扎那)暫時不得出售總計60公噸的象牙。聯合國表示，做出此決議的主要考量是，目前環境官員仍需要更充分的資訊來檢視非洲象數量與盜獵情況。
在1980年代，盜獵者每年屠殺7.5萬到10萬頭非洲象，在如此猖獗的盜獵風氣，促成華盛頓公約(CITES)自1989年起實施全球性象牙貿易禁令。世界自然保育聯盟(IUCN)估計，目前非洲野生象數目約在40萬到60萬之間，和70餘年前500萬頭相比，消失數字極為驚人。對非洲象來說，盜獵和棲地減少是最大的兩項威脅，目前每年仍有大約一萬頭非洲象被非法獵殺，也有充分證據顯示象牙黑市交易依舊猖獗。
不過到了1997年，CITES決議，南部非洲一些大象族群已受到妥善和健全的管理，因而特准波扎那、納米比亞和辛巴威三國將庫存象牙一次販售給日本。這次象牙交易在1999年舉行，共賣出50噸象牙，賺入500萬美元。
到了2002年，CITES與會代表們再開特例，同意讓波扎那、納米比亞和南非販售象牙，但書是象牙來源必須是取自自然死亡和政府控管下所處分的問題大象。根據該次協議，三國許可額度非別為20、10與30噸。根據公約規定，這三個國家必須將販售象牙所得收益用於保育工作。
不過上述特許也是有條件的，必須等待「非法獵殺大象監察專案」( Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants ，MIKE)建制成型──必須成功建立大象盜獵情況與族群數量的基礎資料庫，且資料必須完整與更新，特許條件才得以成立。因此，CITES常務委員會在5日決議，販售象牙的交易環境還未符合上述先決條件，因此，非洲三國恐怕無法出售象牙。
另一個決議中，常務委員國認為日本國內已建立一個完善的象牙貿易管制系統，未來一旦開放交易，日本有實力成為合乎條件的貿易夥伴。
保育團體原先便一直憂慮象牙交易合法會鼓勵非法盜獵，因此對CITES停止販售的最新決議表示肯定。然而，國際動物福利基金會(IFAW)計劃經理蒲歇爾(Peter Pueschel)則認為，CITES同意日本成輸入象牙國的舉動，是傳達出錯誤的訊息。
IFAW亞洲區執行長蓋伯瑞(Grace Ge Gabriel)表示：「先前合法銷售到日本的象牙已使亞洲象牙市場失去控制，黑市亟思滲入合法市場，被列入追蹤調查的就有超過17萬噸象牙，去年全在亞洲港口被查獲扣留；在這種情況下核准另一次象牙販售──即便只是考慮考慮而已，都顯得很可笑。」
Three African nations will not be allowed to sell some 60 metric tons of ivory, the United Nations announced today. The one-time ivory sale has been postponed because UN environment officials need more information on the status of African elephant populations and on poaching rates.
The international trade of ivory was banned in 1989 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The ban was put in place amid evidence poachers were slaughtering some 75,000 - 100,000 Africa elephants a year during the 1980s.
The World Conservation Union estimates some 400,000 to 600,000 African elephants remain in the wild, down from as many as five million some 70 years ago. Poaching and habitat loss are the key threats to the species - an estimated 10,000 African elephants are killed illegally each year and there is ample evidence of a thriving illegal ivory trade.
But in 1997 the parties to CITES determined that some southern African elephant populations were healthy and well managed, and permitted Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe to make a one-time sale of ivory to Japan. The sales took place in 1999, totaling 50 tons and earning some $5 million.
At the 2002 CITES meeting, negotiators agreed to allow Botswana, Namibia and South Africa to make one time sales of ivory collected from elephants that died of natural causes or as a result of government regulated control of problem elephants. The deal allowed South Africa to sell 30 tons, Botswana to sell 20 tons and Namibia to sell 10 tons. The countries have said, in accordance with treaty requirements, that they would to use profits from the sales to fund conservation efforts.
But the plan was conditional on the successful development of a system - known as the Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) - to establish current and comprehensive baseline data on elephant poaching and population levels.
At today's meeting of the CITES standing committee, the panel determined that "this condition has not yet been satisfied and the sales may not go forward."
In a related but separate decision, the committee also decided that Japan has established a sufficiently strong domestic trade control system to be a trading partner allowed to purchase the ivory when sales eventually proceed.
Conservation groups, who fear the legal ivory sale would fuel the illegal poaching of elephant, hailed the decision to postpone the sale. However, Peter Pueschel, the program manager for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), said the standing committee had sent wrong message by approving Japan as ivory importer.
"The previous one-off sale of ivory to Japan has spun the ivory markets in Asia out of control." said Grace Ge Gabriel, Asia regional director for IFAW. "With over 17 tons of ivory under investigation, all of which was confiscated in Asian ports in the past year, it is ludicrous to even contemplate allowing another sale to any country."
