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泰國總理誓言終結象牙交易

2013年03月07日
摘譯自2013年3月4日ENS泰國,曼谷報導;沈瑞筠編譯;蔡麗伶審校

泰國總理盈拉西那瓦於2013年3月3日歡迎CITES代表(照片提供:CITES)泰國總理盈拉西那瓦(Yingluck Shinawatra)3日在第40屆華盛頓公約(CITES)締約國會議上,歡迎全球150國家2000名野生動物監督機構代表,她致詞時表示大象是泰國文化的一部份,將以「終結象牙交易」為目標修改泰國法律,但她並未對此宣告提出時間表。

「就像人類一樣,大象也有感情和情緒,所以我們必須更關懷大象。這也是為何我們需要更多的大象棲息在他們的自然棲地中。我們藉由合作打擊國際象牙交易兌現我們在華盛頓公約的義務。」

盈拉總理表示泰國政府已加強與其他國家情報機關及海關合作,將有助於「嚴格執行現有法律」並限制非洲象牙走私。

泰國目前仍是全球最大的象牙交易市場,他們允許合法交易馴養的亞洲象象牙。但保育人士警告這種合法交易可被罪犯用來銷售盜獵而來的非洲象牙。

WWF主席兼執行長卡特‧羅伯斯(Carter Roberts)表示:「我讚賞總理聆聽全球1400萬人為大象發聲且要求結束泰國的象牙貿易的勇氣。但由於總理並未公佈時間表,我們必須保持警覺-即便是在為期兩週的會期中-並促使這個承諾兌現。」

華盛頓公約(CITES)秘書長斯坎倫(John Scanlon)在開幕致詞中表示,華盛頓公約受到持續的關注,部分原因來自我們見證因對象牙及犀牛角的需求,非洲象與犀牛的盜獵及非法交易令人不安的的趨勢,這些數據近數十年來越來越糟。

剛果民主共和國維龍加國家公園內的大象屍體(攝影:gorillacd)他警告,「這些趨勢危急過去數十年的保育成果,並威脅到物種的存續。非法野生動物交易已有規模,並對野生動物及保護野生動物第一線的工作人員在內的人類造成立即的威脅。它也牽涉了越來越多有組織的犯罪集團,部分案例還涉及反叛的民兵。」「根據聯合國安理會近期資料,剛果民主共和國的聖主抵抗軍(Lord's Resistance Army)涉及非法交易象牙的野生動物罪案。必須阻止這些罪案,而為了達成這個目標我們需要更好的部屬用於打擊毒品交易的技術。

在這個三年一度的會議召開之際,剛果民主共和國傳出位於俄卡皮鹿野生動物保護區(Okapi Faunal Reserve)最大的森林大象族群,在過去五年數量下跌了37%,只剩下1700隻的消息。

由美國野生動物保育協會及剛果民主共和國官方所進行的族群調查顯示,過去15年間,保護區中有5100隻大象(75%)被獵殺。在這之前,加彭才在2月發佈了一份可怕的報告,報告中顯示過去10年間,在明凱貝國家公園有11000萬隻大象被屠殺。

野生動物保育協會保育及科學部門執行副主席John Robinson表示,「全球大象盜獵危機已可與流感比美,全球必須共同瞭解這個問題並且停止獵殺、販賣及需求;不然在我們的有生之年我們將失去所有野生大象。」英國威廉王子也表達了他的憂心。威廉王子在影像聲明中呼籲所有與會者共同努力,扭轉目前「非法獵殺的非洲大象和犀牛及違法象牙交易」令人擔憂激增的趨勢。

泰國考雅國家公園的大象(攝影:mattoftheday)英國慈善機構野生動物關懷組織領導人Philip Mansbridge指出,「雖然地主國瞭解象牙議題的重要性是非常正面的訊息,但缺乏明確的承諾禁止國內象牙交易令人失望,我們認為這樣是不夠的。Mansbridge形容為了象牙交易盜獵大象為「國家安全議題」。他認為:「盜獵不僅是肯亞、南非等有動物的國家的問題,也是牽涉到象牙及犀牛角販售國的問題,並且由於盜獵規模大到成為國家安全議題,這也成為全世界的問題。我們不只是談論如大象和犀牛這類即將滅絕的標誌性動物,從美國到中國政府都需要覺醒面對這些現實。」

中國官員4日在曼谷表示:中國決心努力與國際社會合作遏制象牙貿易,並保護野生大象。與會的中國代表團提出「象牙貿易報告」概述了中國在打擊非法象牙貿易的努力及保護野生大象的措施。

中國國家瀕危物種進出口管理辦公室常務主任孟憲林向國家新聞機構新華社記者表示,中國並沒有禁止國內象牙交易,但立法限制每年消費上限為6噸。

合法販售的象牙有兩種來源:在華盛頓公約生效前進口的象牙、及中國購自華盛頓公約2008年批准非洲四國庫存一次性販售的象牙。

孟憲林表示,非上述兩種來源其他市售象牙將被標記為非法,中國海關官員正關注並採取有效的行動,以打擊象牙販運和貿易。他並說明中國正在協助非洲國家建置保護大象的追蹤系統,並改善當地居民的生計。

歐盟執行委員會將提供近200萬歐元給國際刑警組織(Inrpol),以支持其對抗非法國際野生動植物貿易、打擊犯罪且保育世界自然保護區的努力。接下來3年,173萬歐元的基金將支援Inrpol的打擊野生動物罪案計畫。而基金的一部份將撥給華盛頓公約秘書處、聯合國毒品和犯罪問題辦公室、世界銀行及世界海關組織。

歐盟環境執委波托奇尼克(Janez Potocnik)表示:「很少有人目睹環境罪案,發展中國家受害最深,但其影響是全球性的。與日劇增的野生動物走私是個特殊議題,過去10年以象牙和犀牛角的非法貿易為最,老虎等其他保育類動物或是部分熱帶木材都受到衝擊。這是生物多樣性喪失的核心課題,這筆贊助將用於協助解決這令人擔憂現象的執法與國際合作。」

國際刑警組織秘書長Ronald Noble表示,歐盟執行委員會的支持將幫助世界警察機構「更有效地處理在世上最貧窮國家自然資源的掠奪行為,及鎖定自這些非法交易獲利百萬的罪犯」。

Thai Leader Vows to End Ivory Trade
BANGKOK, Thailand, March 4, 2013 (ENS)

Welcoming the world's wildlife regulators to Thailand Sunday, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised to amend Thai law "with the goal of putting an end to the ivory trade." But she gave no time frame for implementing the landmark offer.

Greeting 2,000 participants from over 150 countries to the 40th anniversary Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES, the Prime Minister said elephants are part of Thai culture.

"Just like humans, elephants also have feelings and emotions, therefore, we need to be more caring in our treatment towards elephants. That is why we need to increase the number of elephants living in their natural habitat. We are implementing our CITES obligations by cooperating to combat international trafficking in ivory."

Shinawatra said her government has enhanced intelligence and customs cooperation with other countries, which has helped limit the smuggling of ivory from African elephants, and is "strictly enforcing the current legal framework."

Still, Thailand is one of the world's largest ivory markets. The country now allows trade in tusks from domesticated Asian elephants, but conservationists warn this legal trade is exploited by criminals to sell poached African ivory.

World Wildlife Fund President and CEO Carter Roberts said, "I applaud the Prime Minister for her courage and for listening to the more than 1.4 million people around the world who spoke up for elephants and demanded an end to Thailand's ivory trade."

"Since the Prime Minister did not announce a detailed timeline, we must remain vigilant – even during this two-week convention – to push for timebound steps to ensure that this promise becomes a reality," said Roberts.

In his opening remarks to delegates, CITES Secretary General John Scanlon said there is renewed interest in CITES "fueled, in part, by the disturbing trends we are witnessing in the poaching and illegal trade in the African elephant and rhino for their ivory and horn, with the figures being the worse that we have witnessed in decades."

"These trends put at risk the good conservation gains of the past decades and could threaten the very survival of the species themselves," warned Scanlon. "Illegal trade in this wildlife has now reached a scale that poses an immediate risk to wildlife and to people, including those serving in the front lines to protect wildlife. It increasingly involves organized crime syndicates and in some cases rebel militia."

"Wildlife crime has recently been referred to by the UN Security Council, which has linked the Lord's Resistance Army to illicit trade in ivory in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Scanlon said.

"These criminals must be stopped and we need to better deploy the sorts of techniques used to combat illicit trade in narcotics to do so," he said.

As the tri-annual conference opened, news came that the Democratic Republic of Congo's largest remaining forest elephant population, located in the Okapi Faunal Reserve, has declined by 37 percent in the last five years, with only 1,700 elephants now remaining.

Population surveys by the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society and DRC officials show that 5,100, or 75 percent, of the reserve's elephants have been killed in the last 15 years.

The DRC survey comes in the wake of another grim report in February from Gabon where 11,000 elephants were slaughtered in Minkebe National Park over a 10-year period.

"The global poaching crisis for elephants is at epidemic proportions," said John Robinson, Wildlife Conservation Society executive vice president for Conservation and Science. "The world must come together to recognize this problem and to stop the killing, trafficking, and demand, or we will lose elephants in the wild in our lifetime."

His Royal Highness Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, also expressed concern. In a video statement, Prince William called for the parties to work together to reverse the "current alarming trends" in the illegal killing of African elephants and rhinos and the surge in illegal trade of ivory.

Philip Mansbridge, who heads the UK charity Care for the Wild, said, "While it is positive that the host country has recognized the size of the ivory issue and the importance of it, we were disappointed by the lack of a clear commitment to banning the domestic trade. We don't feel it has gone far enough."

Mansbridge called elephant poaching for the ivory trade "a national security issue."

"Poaching isn't just a problem for Kenya, South Africa or wherever the animals are. This is a problem for the countries which sell ivory and rhino horn, and it's a problem for the rest of the world because the scale of poaching means that it has become a national security issue," he said. "We're not just talking about the impending extinction of iconic animals like elephants and rhinos – and governments from the U.S. to China need to wake up to that fact."

China is determined to work with the international community to curb ivory trade and protect wild elephants, Chinese officials said in Bangkok today.

Submitting its "Ivory Trade Report" to the conference the Chinese delegation outlined the nation's effort in combating the illicit ivory trade and the measures for protecting wild elephants.

Meng Xianlin, executive director general of China's Endangered Species Import and Export Management Office, told the state news agency Xinhua that China does not ban domestic trade in ivory but sets the limit of legal consumption at six tons per year.

The ivory allowed for sale comes from two sources: ivory that was imported before CITES took effect and those bought by China from four African countries' stocks as permitted by CITES as a one-time sale in 2008.

All other elephant tusks circulated in the market are labeled as illegal, says Meng. Chinese customs officers are taking concerted and effective moves to crack down on ivory trafficking and trade, he said.

China, a target for ivory dealers, has been helping African countries set up monitoring systems for the protection of elephants and to improve the livelihood of local residents, said Meng.

The European Commission is to contribute nearly two million euros to the international police agency Interpol in support of its efforts to combat wildlife crime and protect the world's natural resources from the illegal international trade in wild plants and animals. Over the next three years, funding worth  1.73 million euros will support Interpol's Project Combat Wildlife Crime. Some of the funding will go to the CITES Secretariat, the UN Office of Drugs and Crime, the World Bank, and the World Customs Organisation.

Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for the Environment, said, "Few people witness environmental crime, but its effects are global, with developing countries often suffering most of all. Increase in wildlife trafficking is of particular concern, with illegal trade in ivory and rhinoceros horns at their highest levels in a decade, and other endangered species like tiger or some tropical timber also impacted. It's a major cause of biodiversity loss, and this funding will help enforcement and international cooperation to address this worrying phenomenon."

Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said the support from the European Commission will help the world police body to "more effectively tackle the theft of natural resources from some of the poorest countries in the world and target the criminals who are making millions in this illicit trade."

※ 全文及圖片詳見:ENS

作者

蔡麗伶(LiLing Barricman)

In my healing journey and learning to attain the breath awareness, I become aware of the reality that all the creatures of the world are breathing the same breath. Take action, here and now. From my physical being to the every corner of this out of balance's planet.