Thailand vows to end ivory trade, proposes control on Siamese rosewood trade at CITES CoP16

BANGKOK, March 4 (TNA) - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has pledged to put an end to ivory trade in Thailand, as the Kingdom hosts the 16th Meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) CoP16 from March 3-14. Yingluck announced the policy when inaugurating the 12-day CITES CoP16 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in the Thai capital on Sunday, saying that the Thai government has steadily paid attention to the protection of the environment and natural resources, covering forests, through the announcement of their conservation areas and the listing of many Thai forests as world heritage sites. Yingluck acknowledged that the Thai government has also enacted wildlife protection laws, focused on three areas, namely strict customs regulations, laws enforcement against ivory trade and traders. The Thai premier promised that her administration will push for the amendment of the existing laws to eventually end ivory trade in the Kingdom to be in line with international norms. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Preecha Rengsomboonsuk then noted that his ministry has worked with other agencies concerned, including the Ministry of Interior, to prepare for the amendment of the existing laws, aimed to protect elephants and other wildlife in all forms. Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Deputy Director-General Theerapat Prayoonsit revealed that Minister Preecha has ordered his department to check ivory stocks in the country, covering those of some 2,000 existing live tame elephants’ and those of collapsed elephants and at carving shops nationwide, to legally protect and prevent more killing of the endangered species for their tusks. At the inaugural session of the CITES CoP16, Prince William, or the Duke of Cambridge, of the United Kingdom also called on all parties to stop the slaughter of elephants and rhinoceroses for their tusks and horns, amid the increasing and threatening slaughter of animals in Africa and Asia, warning that they could be extinct in the future if the slaughter continued. The 12-day CITES CoP16, in which Cites Secretary-General John Scanlon and some 2000 representative from 150 nations and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) participated, proceeded on its second day on Monday, with Thailand proposing control on the trade of Siamese rosewood and the permission for the trade of livestock or farm crocodiles. Besides, representatives of the Animal Activist Alliance (AAA) Thailand asked CITES parties to improve wildlife conservation and to monitor the situation of endangered wildlife; while Interpol representatives presented information on wildlife trafficking and solutions and ministers concerned of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) further raised the issues at their discussions in the afternoon. (TNA)