CITES 2007: Great News for Thousands of Elephants, Tigers and More Animals
Thanks to IFAW’s hard work and commitment to stemming the tide of threats posed by commercial trade at CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), potentially thousands of elephants, whales, tigers, sharks and other wildlife species will never have to stare down the barrel of a poacher’s rifle, get processed into “bone strengthening tonic,” or succumb to a harpoon strike. At the 14th meeting of CITES’ Conference of the Parties in the Hague June 3-15 2007, IFAW, with the collaboration of its friends and partners, was the driving force behind many conservation successes.
One of the outcomes was the landmark approval of nearly a decade-long suspension of trade in elephant ivory, a decision compounded by IFAW’s role in supporting an unprecedented level of cooperation between and among Anglophone and Francophone African elephant range states to create an African coalition for conservation. IFAW is pleased with the convergence of many African nations on this very important issue. However, although the general feeling at CITES was that the consensus decision was a victory, IFAW is concerned as the trade suspension did not come without cost, which was the allowance of huge stockpiles sales. Elephants remain in a precarious state, and IFAW will continue to work to prevent the rampant poaching which such stockpile sales and any legal ivory market encourage.
TIGERS 
Another major win at CITES was IFAW’s fight for the continued survival of tigers in the wild. Oddly enough, this battle took place in the arena of commercial tiger farming, where thousands of tigers are bred for the trade in their parts under the dubious guise of Traditional Medicine. IFAW’s investigative report on this trade entitled "Made in China--Farming Tigers to Extinction," along with IFAW's activities as a member of the International Tiger Coalition, resulted in a decision adopted by all CITES Parties, which specifically states that "tigers should not be bred for trade in their parts and derivatives."
WHALES 
The IFAW team at CITES was also able to build on the organization’s whale work during the meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to hold back Japanese (and Icelandic) attempts to reopen the international whale meat trade despite the worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling. CITES parties were clear in their rebuke to Japan that the convention may not undermine environmental decisions by other international agreements and would therefore continue to defer to the IWC’s ban on whaling.
ECOMESSAGE AWARD 
In addition to these outstanding outcomes, IFAW’s partnership with Interpol got new life with the presentation at CoP14 of the 2nd Ecomessage Award. Reporting of wildlife crime to the Ecomessage system has increased five-fold since IFAW first became involved. This year, enforcement agencies in Cameroon and Hong Kong, Province of China were selected in recognition of their enormous contributions to the dismantling of the crime ring responsible for the 2.6 tonne seizure of contraband elephant ivory in Singapore in 2002.
ECONOMIC INTERESTS 
There is of course much more work to do. One of the more disturbing trends witnessed by IFAW is the push by economic interests to make the convention increasingly trade-friendly. Much to the disappointment of supporters of ecological sustainability, CITES parties approved measures to consider economic development and the impact that CITES decisions will have on local communities. Such a trend towards addressing human “livelihoods” is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, as it ignores the long term benefits that conservation measures have for local communities in the name of short-term financial gain for the elite few. More significantly, it represents a potentially substantial shift by the convention away from its original conservation mandate.
Nevertheless, IFAW is encouraged by the substantial recent successes, ones that will most certainly contribute to continued progress for animal welfare and conservation in the long run.
