Yahoo! Japan has shown that progress is possible, but there are limits to what a private company can do. It’s time for the Japanese government to implement reforms that close the door on illegal ivory trade once and for all.
Japan’s regulatory and enforcement actions to date have been inadequate to prevent its domestic market from contributing to the illegal ivory trade. Japan’s market is already being exploited by those seeking to bring ivory out of the country illegally, and will continue to be, as long as it remains open.
Allowing legal trade in rhino horn or ivory from one country has serious repercussions for all wild rhinos and elephants. Namibia’s proposals to CoP20 to trade in rhino horn and ivory stockpiles threaten to reverse decades of global conservation, anti-poaching, and demand reduction progress.
What happens in the negotiating halls of CoP20 will determine whether decades of progress in curbing poaching and illegal wildlife trade are strengthened or rolled back. EIA campaigners will be in Samarkand to ensure that the voices of wildlife, communities and frontline defenders are heard.
While pledging to reform Tokyo’s elephant ivory trade, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) has also been subsidizing and supporting leading ivory industry stakeholders.