TANZANIA WILL NOT SELL ELEPHANTS TUSKS

The Tanzania Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism Hon. Lazaro Nyalandu

Minister Nyalandu said that the government’s decision was reached since late last year after signing government’s commitment to support the former U.S. president’s wife institution known as Clinton Global Initiative, Hilary Clinton, advocating a ban on elephant tusks trade in the world.
In addition, Minister Nyalandu noted that in the past three years, 19.7 tons of elephant tusks have been seized globally and among those 15.2 tons were seized by the Government of Tanzania in collaboration with other various institutions including the International community.
Minister Nyalandu said that the government is in the process of conducting a major national census which will give the actual number of elephants in the country and that the recently conducted census in the ecosystems of Selou - Mikumi and Ruaha - Rungwa were to provide initial data that indicated the presence of 13,084 elephants in the eco- system of Selou - Mikumi and more than 20,000 in Ruaha– Rungwa.

The Tanzania government will not submit an application to sell its reserves of elephant tusks to CITES, as part of supporting efforts by the international community to ban the illegal trade on elephant tusks around the world. The Tanzania Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism Hon. Lazaro Nyalandu has said that in London, England where he is attending the International Conference on the Illicit Wildlife Trade.

Commenting on the progress being made by Tanzania in the fight against poaching, Minister Nyalandu said that by the end of 2013, some 320 accused convicts from European Union countries, China, Africa and Tanzania were arrested after being implicated in the ivory trade pending legal procedures.

In regards to wildlife conservation, Nyalandu said that National Parks are now becoming more secure for wildlife survival in Africa. He said data indicates that for the past three years the number of elephants killed in the Serengeti National Park decreased from an average of three elephants per month to zero and that it is the country’s place with the highest population of black rhinos.

By Pascal Shelutete, TANAPA

Translation by Laura, WWF-TZ