EDITORIAL: Joint measures to curb carnage of tuskers from Tanzania needed
EDITORIAL: Joint measures to curb carnage of tuskers from Tanzania needed
This Day
May 20, 2009
TANZANIA is losing too many tuskers to the Far East which clearly
indicates that poaching in our nation is on the rise. Without doubt this
is not acceptable.The poachers are surely taking advantage of what
appears to be loose laws to protect our elephants.
The last incident has raised a number of regrettable issues. The first
issue is that legal measures to take care of our elephants are not as
effective as they should be. The onus of protecting our elephants lies
with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tanzanians who live close to
the huge animals.
We agree it is not easy to protect all elephants in Tanzania because
they have the freedom to roam the range in search of food. We suggest
that measures be taken immediately to reduce poaching in our nation. At
the same time the conveyance of tusks by road should be made as
difficult as possible.
The checking of the tusks in containers at the Dar es Salaam port should
be as thorough as humanly possible. Once conveyance of tusks is made
extremely difficult, the rate of poaching will eventually fall dramatically.
The majority of Tanzanians do not use tusks to carve bangles or statues
of saints and figurines as is the case in the Phillippines where the
cargo, worth more than $1m, arrived.
Last March, Vietnamese authorities announced they came across a
consignment of tusks, worth more than $29m, smuggled from Tanzania. In a
layman’s language, there is a big demand for ivory and its by-products
in the Phillippines and Vietnam.
We therefore suggest that any cargo destined for the Far East should be
checked thoroughly even before it reaches the Dar es Salaam port. And at
the port, customs officers should be extra vigilant when containers are
being loaded onto ships.
Once such local conveyance of tusks is blunted, poaching will
significantly drop for neither many local ethnic groups kill elephants,
eat elephant meat nor make piano keys.
It is our belief that once the problem is solved at the source, it would
diminish the demand for tusks. Normally, containers are not loaded at
any place along the coast because it is impossible for large ships to
anchor in shallow seawaters.
It is our belief that once our natural resources and police officers
become more vigilant in saving our elephants and other forest
by-products, the problem can be solved.
Trading in tusks is internationally illegal. Therefore if governments in
the Far East abide by such laws, poaching of tusks will be significantly
reduced.
It is possible for Tanzania to work with the Far East governments to
reduce or stop the smuggling of tusks from Tanzania, East Africa or any
other part of Africa. It is our belief that pianos without white keys
can still make beautiful music even if the white keys are made of
plastic material.
Article at the following link:
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