MEPs4Wildlife meet to discuss closing the EU ivory market

On 17th November 2020 from 10.00-11.30 CET, the European Parliament’s MEPs4Wildlife group, together with the support of IFAW, HSI and other environmental, conservation and animal welfare NGOs, will convene to discuss the urgent need to close the EU ivory market with the European Commission and a variety of international stakeholders, including the UNDOC conservation organisations and antique industry experts. This online conference, which is hosted by MEPs4Wildlife chair Hilde Vautmans MEP (Renew Group/Belgium), will look at the current situation regarding elephant poaching in Africa and consider stakeholder concerns about whether the Commission’s draft plans to revise EU rules on ivory trade go far enough. 

Background

Each year, at least 20,000 African elephants are killed illegally for their ivory. Only bold action can save this iconic species from becoming extinct in many parts of its range. For several years, animal protection and environmental NGOs have been urging the European Commission to close the EU domestic ivory market and implement a ban on all ivory imports and (re)exports, without further delays. The US, China, Hong Kong SAR, the UK, New Zealand and many other of the EU’s global trading partners have pretty much closed their ivory markets. In the EU, Belgium France and Luxembourg have also introduced restrictive limitations on the ivory trade.  

In the recently adopted EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the European Commission committed to proposing a ‘further tightening of the rules on ivory trade’ in the EU. It is rumoured that the German EU Presidency has called for an ambitious proposal in this regard and in the Council Conclusions on the Biodiversity Strategy on 23rd October, Member States explicitly mandated the Commission to ‘submit an ambitious proposal to close ivory trade from the EU market’.

Draft Commission proposal for changing EU ivory trade rules 

On 28th October 2020, DG Environment presented and discussed their new proposal concerning EU rules on ivory with a wide range of stakeholders. NGOs sounded the alarm bell that this proposal is weaker than an earlier version, which the Commission presented to them in 2019.

MEPs4Wildlife share their concerns that the Commission’s current proposal will effectively permit intra EU ivory trade to continue unhindered. The new rules introduce loopholes allowing pre-1975 worked ivory with liberal “de-minimis” exemptions, as well as pieces deemed “valuable” to continue to be traded and exported. The proposal will also maintain three classes for assessing the age of ivory pieces – something largely unworkable for enforcement authorities.

Notably, the Commission also continues to maintain that the EU ivory market does not directly impact the escalating poaching crisis in Africa. This notion has, amongst others, been vociferously challenged by the African Elephant Coalition (a consortium of 32 African range states trying to protect elephants and combat ivory trade), who are also urging the Commission to adopt a precautionary approach where the link between the EU’s domestic ivory markets and poaching in Africa cannot be proved.

Programme

Introductory remarks

• Hilde Vautmans MEP, Chair MEPs4Wildlife (Renew Europe)

• Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius (video message)

Short presentations from and discussion with expert panel

• Jorge Rodriguez Romero, Deputy Head of Unit, Multilateral Environmental Cooperation, DG Environment

• Dr Winnie Kiiru, Senior Technical Adviser, Elephant Protection Initiative

• Shruti Suresh, Environmental Investigation Agency

• Theodore Leggett, UNODC lead researcher, Global Wildlife and Forest Crime Programme

• Patricia Jansma, TAXATA, Certified valuer of art and antiques

• John Albrecht, Auctioneer and Managing Director, Leonard Joel

• Moderator: Dr. Joanna Swabe, Humane Society International/Europe

Closing remarks

Catherine Bearder, Former MEP and founding chair of MEPs4Wildlife