Bluefin Tuna and African Elephants Win Some Help at a Global Meeting
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN,
Published: March 11, 1992
TOKYO, March 10— Bowing to opposition from wildlife groups, five African nations today abandoned their attempt to relax international protections against trade in the hides and meat of elephants, which are believed to be threatened with extinction.
But a separate attempt to impose a nearly total ban, in the north Atlantic, of the fishing of bluefin tuna, another species believed endangered, was dropped because of opposition by the United States, Japan and other countries. Instead, the United States, Japan, Morocco and Canada said they would be willing to adopt a voluntary reduction of their tuna catches by 50 percent.
The actions on African elephants and bluefin tuna were decided at a conference of the 112 nations participating in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which has been meeting for 10 days in Kyoto.
The move on elephants by the African countries meant that one of the world's most endangered animals would continue to be protected as they are now, with a ban on trade of all elephant products adopted in 1989 by the endangered-species convention. 'Reservations' Against Ban
But African countries will retain the right to lodge "reservations" against the ban, giving them the right to trade in elephant products, including ivory, with China and other countries that have not signed the endangered-species convention.
A spokesman for the African countries criticized the other nations that blocked their proposal to ease the ban on elephant trade, suggesting that they would soon consider whether to resume trade in ivory and possibly even withdraw from the endangered-species convention altogether.
"We feel the goalposts have been moved," Ponatshogo Kedikilwe, Minister of Commerce and Industry of Botswana, told The Japan Times. A spokesman for Zimbabwe said the conference had not conducted itself in a "constructive and trusting manner." Decline in Elephant Herd
Environmental groups say the African elephant herd has declined from 2.5 million animals in 1970 to roughly 350,000 today, although the United States says there are 600,000 elephants alive today.
The African nations that dropped their proposal to relax the ban were Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia and South Africa.
Conservation and wildlife groups generally welcomed the continuation of the full ban on trade in elephant products, but some fear was expressed that the African nations might now retaliate by dropping their voluntary ban on the trade of ivory, in effect for two years.
"It makes us anxious," said Donald Barry, vice president of the World Wildlife Fund, which has led the effort to protect African elephants. "For the last two years, these countries could have been engaging in ivory trade. Now we'll just have to wait and see."
The Bush Administration had earlier expressed its sympathy for easing the ban on trade of elephant products. Its argument was that some countries, such as Zimbabwe, have set up good programs to sustain elephant populations and ought to be rewarded by being able to trade in hides and meat, although not ivory.
In the end, however, the United States opposed allowing trade in hides or meat because it feared that other African nations with a poor record on elephants, including Botswana, Namibia and Malawi, might take advantage of a change.
John Turner, director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, who led the American delegation in Kyoto, expressed "dismay" and "frustration" that other delegates were not keeping what he said was an open mind on the subject of elephants.
"Certain protectionist groups, media interests and even United States legislators have chosen to promote half-truths, misconceptions and distortions of reality in this emotionally charged issue," he said.
He said the failure of the African nations' resolution meant a lost opportunity to "provide honest encouragement for stewardship of wildlife resources by sustained and wise use for the lasting benefit" of Africans themselves. Praise and Protest
Some endangered-species groups praised Mr. Turner as making an attempt to try to understand the plight of poor African countries that view elephants as a natural resource that should be exploited within sensible levels.
But other groups deplored the United States' even considering a relaxation of the ban on trade of elephant products. Before the endangered-species convention, 30 Senators joined with several wildlife groups in Washington, asserting that President Bush was showing weak leadership.
A letter from the Senators said any relaxation of restrictions on trading elephant parts would lead poachers to kill thousands of elephants for ivory instead of hides. "Ivory smuggling was rampant before the current ban and the reopening of 'limited' trade would serve to rekindle the widespread poaching and smuggling problems," the letter said.
The signers of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species have been meeting to discuss whether to increase or decrease protection on more than 100 species of plants and animals. The debate over elephants, along with that over bluefin tuna, has received the most publicity. World's Largest Bony Fish
The bluefin tuna, the world's largest bony fish, grows up to 14 feet long, weighs up to 1,500 pounds and cruises an average of 100 miles a day. Many scientists say that after declining from 319,000 adults in 1970 to 30,000 adults in 1990 in the western Atlantic, a prime fishing ground, the species is in danger of disappearing there. Opponents of the proposal to restrict trade in bluefins argue that populations of the species in the Pacific are not in danger.
The bluefin is avidly sought by Japan, where its fatty belly is considered one of the most delicious and delicate types of sushi or sashimi.
Japan and the United States opposed the sharp restrictions proposed by Sweden, which sought an outright ban on commercial trade in bluefin tuna from the western Atlantic and restricted trade in the eastern Atlantic.
The American and Japanese alternative was to offer wider conservation plans under the auspices of a separate group, the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.
But those favoring the Swedish proposal for a ban said that such promises were meaningless. They asserted that the convention on conserving tuna has a poor record and that there was no guarantee of a serious reduction in tuna fishing. They also said they would continue to fight for a ban on bluefin tuna. An Attempt Is Rebuffed
"If they think this was a defeat for bluefin tuna, they're wrong," said Mr. Barry of the World Wildlife Fund. "In fact, it's a victory because this issue has now been elevated to international attention and things are never going to be the same. We'll be back."
In another action on endangered species, the United States rebuffed an attempt to place sharp new restrictions on trade of parts of the North American black bear, such as paws and gall bladders. Bear gall bladders are prized by consumers in Asian countries for their supposedly medicinal and aphrodisiac powers.
The convention on endangered species is to end on Friday after more discussions on other endangered species of wildlife and plants.