Skip to main content

Kenya’s ongoing campaign to end the illegal trade in ivory



The Nairobi National Park has a commemorative plaque of the burning of ivory stockpiles that show Kenya’s efforts to save their elephants in an ongoing campaign to end the illegal trade in ivory.

More than 100 tonnes of ivory was burned in Nairobi National Park in 2016 that represents nearly the entire stock confiscated by Kenya, amounting to the tusks of about 6,700 elephants. The burning aims to end to illegal trade in ivory.  

Experts have warned Africa's elephants could be extinct within decades. But some conservationists have expressed opposition to the ivory burn in Kenya, the biggest in history. Conservationists say destroying so much of a rare commodity could increase its value and encourage more poaching rather than less.

Tackling demand and destroying the market for ivory are ways of eliminating the ivory trade, but there are also other ways of making elephants more valuable alive than dead. Parks and game reserves offer eco-tourism to fund conservation efforts. Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) says it suffers from staff and equipment shortages.

Africa is home to between 450,000 and 500,000 elephants but more than 30,000 are killed every year for their tusks.

For example, in Kenya elephant numbers declined from a high of 130,000 in 1973 to only 14,000 in 1989 as elephants were killed by poachers for their ivory. In 1989 the Kenyan Government burned a stockpile of ivory elephant tusks.

The plaque at the Nairobi National Park – in which there are no elephants dur to the small size of the park near the capital – was erected by H.E President Daniel T arap Moi. It reads ‘’Great objectives often require great sacrifices. I now call upon the people of the world to join us in Kenya by eliminating the trade in ivory once and for all.’’

The plaque on the reverse side of the plinth reads ‘’This monument which commemorates the burning of 12 tons of ivory by H.E. President Daniel T arap Moi on July 18th 1989 was made possible by the generosity of the East African Wildlife Society and the World Wide Fund for Nature.’’

On a second plinth the plaque, erected on 3 March 2015, reads, ‘’This Commemorative Plaque was officially unveiled by His Excellency Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, C.G.H. President and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces of the Republic of Kenya to mark the 2nd World Wildlife Day. On this occasion fifteen tonnes of ivory was torched to signify renewed resolve of the government and the people of Kenya and a call to the international community to cooperate to fight against wildlife crime.












MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...
1 comment
Read more

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...
1 comment
Read more