Word: tradings
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Until now, the ivory trail has flourished under the less than watchful eye of the CITES secretariat. In 1985 when the organization announced its plan to register all tusks as part of an ivory-control system, conservationists hoped the illegal trade would be curbed. But the deals that CITES officials struck with Singapore, Burundi and other nations, under which undocumented ivory could be registered, moved a mountain of ill-gotten ivory into the marketplace...
Conservationists suggest that the secretariat's protrade policies may have something to do with its source of funding. Since its founding in 1985, CITES' ivory unit has received two-thirds of its budget -- some $237,468 -- in contributions from ivory traders. Japan's trade association has contributed $139,701 to CITES' ivory unit, making it the largest single contributor. After CITES registered the Singapore ivory, much of which belonged to Hong Kong's Wang, he contributed $10,000 to the organization. "When I saw my salary was coming from K.T. Wang, that just did it," said Yovino, then head...
...secretariat defends its cozy relationship with the ivory business. Eugene Lapointe, CITES secretary-general, says inadequate financial support from governments left the group little choice but to turn to the trade for money. CITES, he says, has no enforcement authority and should not be held accountable for policing. That, he says, is the responsibility of the individual nations. As for the amnesty granted the Singapore and Burundi ivory, the secretariat says a 1985 vote by its member nations empowered it to register all stocks...
Current and former CITES staff members and consultants have actively led the fight against the proposed ivory ban. In July, Yoshio Kaneko, a staffer originally on loan from the Japanese government, wrote an editorial in a Tokyo daily on behalf of CITES, exhorting Japan and the trade to assert their economic interests and oppose the ban. And Zimbabwe's position paper against the ban, to be offered at this week's meeting, was written by former CITES staffer Huxley, who received $5,000 in funding for the study from the Japanese ivory association...
...future of the trade depends in large part on Hong Kong and Japan, the big consumers. Officials of both places have expressed deep concern at the catastrophic losses to Africa's herds and have vowed to place the preservation of the elephant ahead of the interests of the trade. In Lausanne that commitment will be tested. Japan has made admirable strides to restrict the trade, but its long-term stand remains a wild card. "We, of course, pay close attention to other countries' opinions," said a spokesman for the Japanese government. "We have not fixed our position." The Japanese have...