Kenya’s Campaign against Ivory trade taken to US Congress
Recovered elephant tusk, Ivory trade incourages indiscriminate killing of wild elaphants in kenya
By Luvei Times Reporter
KENYA stepped up her campaign against ivory trade with a representative expected to met a US congress committee in Washington DC later this week.
Patrick Omondi, head of Species Conservation and Management at Kenya Wildlife Services flew out of the country on Monday to present Kenya’s case in a bid to lobby for US’s support. Kenya is facing stiff opposing from a majority of fellow Africa countries practicing ivory trade.
The meeting follows an invitation from the US House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources. The House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife will hold an oversight hearing on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITIES) as part of America’s preparations for next month’s subsequent and similar meeting.
The hearing will focus on a variety of contentious proposals that will be deliberated upon at the March 13-25 CITIES parley in Doha of Qatar. In January Kenya’s Forestry and Wildlife minister Dr Noah Wekesa, led a five-member delegation to Brussels to meet representatives of the European Union for lobbying.
Kenya sought the support of EU member parties on the urgent need for the successful institutionalization of the African Elephant coalition, which she co-chairs with Mali. The caucus consists of about 23 countries opposed to trade in ivory.
At the Brussels meeting, 18 members attended urging EU to understand the coalition’s predicament for upholding the nine-year ivory moratorium as agreed at the 2007 CITIES gathering in The Hague, Netherlands.
The coalition believes the spirit of CITIES agreement has been violated by Tanzania and Zambia who want to be allowed to trade in 110 tonnes of ivory. Hence the bid by Kenya to spearhead a counter campaign to ensure the status quo stands.
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