Ivory found for sale on Myanmar's border with China

Cambridge, UK, 13th January 2014—An
undercover team from TRAFFIC and Oxford Brookes University
have found more than 3300 pieces of ivory and close to 50
raw ivory elephant tusks openly for sale in Mong La, a town
on the Myanmar side of the country's border with
China.

The findings come less than a week after
China publicly destroyed more than 6 tonnes of ivory in
Guangdong, in a display of commitment against the global
illicit trade in ivory.

The majority of inhabitants,
including ivory vendors, in Mong La are from China, with the
currency of daily use the Chinese Yuan Renminbi. The town is
visited by large numbers of Chinese nationals, mainly for
the seedy nightlife.

According to sources, ivory
enters the town from China, mostly already carved.
Twenty-seven shops were found offering ivory for sale, most
of it likely to originate from Africa, where the carved
hippo teeth also on display undoubtedly originated. Several
shops were openly showcasing hundreds of carved pieces of
ivory in glass display cases.

"Our observations
suggest Mong La may be one of the biggest unregulated ivory
markets in Asia, and it is doubtless one of those where
ivory is most openly displayed," said Professor Vincent
Nijman, from Oxford Brookes University.

It means
Mong La could rank alongside markets in Bangkok in Thailand
and Guangzhou in China, long-known as centres for the
illegal domestic and international ivory trade.

Trade in ivory is largely illegal in Myanmar (there may
be some authorized trade in the tusk tips of legally-owned
elephants) and cross-border trade of ivory is not permitted
under guidelines agreed upon by countries that are signatory
to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

"It is
clear that neither Myanmar nor China are effectively
enforcing CITES regulations, as ivory is evidently moving
across the border," said Professor Nijman.

Volumes
of ivory found in the markets of Mong La were higher than at
any point since TRAFFIC first started monitoring wildlife
trade in the border town in 2006.

"Increasing
volumes of ivory in an open cross-border market catering to
Chinese consumers is a sure sign that international
agreements are not being enforced and action to reduce ivory
demand is not effective," said Dr Chris R Shepherd,
Director of TRAFFIC in South-East Asia.

"However,
as the market is situated in Myanmar, it is the
responsibility of Myanmar's authorities to take swift
action and close down this illicit trade."

In 2014
Myanmar is chair of the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network
(ASEAN-WEN), a regional inter-agency and inter-governmental
initiative to counter the illegal cross-border trade in
endangered plants and animals.

Myanmar is one of
three countries in Asia, alongside Lao PDR and Cambodia, who
have never submitted information on ivory seizures to ETIS
(the Elephant Trade Information System), the database on
global ivory seizures that TRAFFIC manages on behalf of
CITES Conference of the Parties.

"As the current
Chair of ASEAN-WEN, there is a huge responsibility on
Myanmar to set an example and clamp down on this blatantly
illegal trade in ivory," said Shepherd.

"China
must play its part too in helping the authorities in Myanmar
carry out this essential enforcement
action."

ENDS

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