On Wednesday, the Director General of the WWF International Marco Lambertini and CEO of WWF China Lo Sze-ping released an official joint letter which said that the WWF is greatly encouraged by the commitment shown by President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama in imposing a near complete ban on ivory imports and trade ban in both China and the US. This announcement, the WWF said, had already brought successes in the campaign against the ivory trade.
The US had enacted new federal regulations on July 6 to completely prohibit the domestic ivory trade while the Chinese State Forestry Administration temporarily suspended the ivory carving imports from African countries, including trophy hunting and pre-CITES ivory import.
Poaching of African elephants and the illegal trade of ivory is one of the worst forms of wildlife crime in the past couple of years, affecting the population of elephants in the world and also affects the safety and security of the people in affected areas.
In the letter, both Lambertini and Lo remarked:
"We deeply appreciate bilateral action and leadership from China and the US.
A rapid and effective ivory ban in China could be a very important step to reducing illegal trade in ivory and consequently the scourge of poaching on elephants in Africa. It is our sincere hope that this domestic ivory trade ban could be implemented as rapidly and effectively as possible. It is our considered view that we should aim to effectively implement this ban within two years.
This timeline will send a very strong signal to the international community on the determination and commitment of the Chinese Government in saving African elephants. A longer timeline will result in further impacts that on African elephants that could be irreversible for some vulnerable populations."
The issue on the ivory trade will be discussed with other pressing issues regarding wildlife on the September meeting of the 183 Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in South Africa.
