Japan and the EU were on Wednesday criticised for failing to close their ivory markets as recommended at the 2016 high-level wildlife conference.
The two countries have not honoured the commitment made by parties during the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Conference, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Elephants are declining significantly throughout Africa and Asia.
Tourism CAS Joseph Boinnet and acting Director Biodiversity, Research and Planning at KWS are in Kenyan delegation at this year’s CITES conference in Geneva Switzerland.
Kenya has a population of 35,000 elephants.
The Parties to CITES took issue with countries which still host domestic ivory markets urging them to shut them.
Further, they insisted that compliance measures for countries with stockpiles need to be strengthened.
On April 30, 2016, Kenya set ablaze 105 tonnes of elephant ivory and 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn to smouldering ash.
President Uhuru Kenyatta led world leaders and conservationists in burning the remains of some 6,500 elephants and 450 rhinos killed for their tusks and horns.
“For us, ivory is worthless unless it is on our elephants,” Uhuru said.
The move was meant to send a message to the world that ivory has no value and that its trade should be banned.
Every year, at least 20,000 African elephants are killed illegally for their ivory.
Parties to CITES such as Kenya feel that only bold action will help save this iconic animal from becoming extinct in many parts of its range within the decade.
Some countries however still prefer keeping their stockpiles.
Kenya, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Liberia, the Niger, Nigeria and the Syrian Arab Republic wanted the trade closed.
Kenya's position is that all legal ivory markets – whether in Asia or Europe or anywhere else in the world - fuels illegal trade, poaching and killing of elephants.
To better manage ivory stockpiles, the African Elephant Coalition submitted a second elephant document detailing the management, including the disposal, of ivory stockpiles.
It was passed by consensus and spells out measures on how countries should report on their stockpiles.
The stockpiles must have records maintained and reported to CITES every year.
Missing, stolen stockpiles will also have to be reported.
And as a compromise, countries with domestic ivory markets must report on the measures they have in place that are aimed at ensuring that their domestic ivory markets are not contributing to poaching or illegal trade.
Kenya also scored after successfully giving giraffes more protection after listing it in appendix II.
