Kenya's proposal to establish a separate fund for non-commercial disposal of ivory stockpiles shot down

Kenya's proposals were shot down; 24 nations voted in favour, 50 against, and 33 abstained at the two-weeks conference that ended on November 25, 2022. [File, Standard]

The Kenyan delegation said that based on a rule of thumb of Sh24,000 per square kilometre to effectively manage protected areas, the annual investment for conservation required for the whole African elephant range would be around Sh76 billion, which is equivalent to $626 million annually.

Kenya gave an option of financing non-commercial ivory disposal through the Global Environment Facility. "Consideration should be given to directing GEF funds to elephant range States holding ivory stockpiles if they agree to destroy those stockpiles," Kenya's document stated.

Kenya had also proposed Debt-for-Nature Swaps (DNS) as another source of funding. In this way, some of the foreign debt from African and Asian range States could be forgiven in exchange for their commitment to destroy ivory stocks and invest in elephant conservation.

According to Kenya's submissions in Doc. 66.2.2, if a Debt-for-Nature Swap program could be established, for example, on the basis of 2% of total annual debt service paid by African range States in 2020, the instrument could liberate almost Sh138.5 billion per year to fund elephant conservation efforts, providing more than Sh40,000 per square kilometer of range area.

Other financing options that had been suggested by Kenya included: dedicated allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF); Payment for Environmental Services; Carbon offset initiatives: Green bonds; Private trusts and funds; Public-Private Blended Funds along the lines of Global fund for coral reefs.

Kenya will now have to polish her proposals through further consultations and expert input with elephant range States and, hopefully, submit a revised document during the next CoP20.

Earlier, the CITES meeting also rejected Southern African countries' attempt to reopen the global ivory trade through another 'one-off' sale of stockpiled tusks.

Led by Zimbabwe, the SADC countries said they have ensured good governance and demonstrable wildlife and habitat conservation successes. The 15 Southern African nations argued the SADC region is home to more than 80% of the world's total African elephant population and should be recognized for good management through the ivory trade.

When put to the vote, 15 State parties voted in favour, 83 against, while 17 abstained, thus failing to garner the two-thirds majority for a nod.

Had the proposal passed, it would have allowed the sale of ivory from national stockpiles of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. A similar proposal was rejected at the CITES conference in Geneva in 2019.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Deputy Vice President of Conservation, Mathew Collis, said the ban will prevent the poaching of elephants and their tusks.

"We have seen the devastating effect of the ivory trade on elephant populations across the world that have been ruthlessly targeted by poachers. Any legal ivory trade provides opportunities for criminals to launder poached elephant ivory into the market. There was a disastrous increase in poaching across Africa after the last ivory stockpile sales in 2008, and there are no obvious buyers this time round," said Collis in a statement.

The meeting also placed a temporary ban on live elephant exports from Africa. Zimbabwe and Namibia have been trading in live elephants. In 2019, Zimbabwe sold more than 90 elephants to China and Dubai.