That never ending story of bad news …
Poaching, wildlife and environmental crimes
from around the world …
in the spotlight today ……………………
Report exposes “appalling cruelty” of tourist elephant rides http://www.traveldailymedia.com/226930/report-exposes-appalling-cruelty-of-tourist-elephant-rides/
No 512 Wildlife Trade News: 17th September 2015
The following Notification to the Parties was posted on the CITES website on 15 September 2015: Notification to the Parties No. 2015/055:
LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC – Withdrawal of a recommendation to suspend trade (Another CITES fiasco. LAOS can send a report they have concocted themselves (i.e. probably a work of fiction designed to appease the CITES Secretariat, who willingly accept it as honest) in six months late and escape sanctions. It’s a bit like giving a known convicted mass murderer time to provide alibis which will purport to show his/her innocence . Oh well, this will keep the CITES paperwork neat and tide and no one but wildlife suffers. On it goes. Time for another meeting and photo opportunity for the secretariat?)
Angola: Poachers Kill About 2000 Animals Yearly – Report http://allafrica.com/stories/201509161694.html
Africa: Shining Light On Lion Management Practices and Bone Trade http://allafrica.com/stories/201509161802.html
PRESS RELEASE
CASH FROM CHAOS: THE BURGEONING ILLICIT TRADE IN TIMBER FROM MYANMAR TO CHINA REVEALED
BEIJING: The conviction and subsequent pardon of 155 Chinese nationals in July for illegal logging in Myanmar threw a spotlight on how massive volumes of timber stolen from the county’s precious frontier forests have been flowing unhindered into China for decades.
The murky trade is worth hundreds of millions of dollars every year, making it one of the single largest bilateral overland flows of illegal timber in the world.
The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) today releases a new report following extensive undercover investigations into the trade in China and Myanmar, exposing the key actors and systemic corruption which drive and facilitate it.
Organised Chaos: The illicit overland timber trade between Myanmar and China documents how in Kachin State all parties profit from shady Chinese businesses paying in gold bars for the rights to log entire mountains to the official corruption which allows the timber to pass through various checkpoints.
Kachin and Yunnan Province in China are at the heart of trade but stolen timber is increasingly being sourced from deeper within Myanmar to feed factories in south and east China. The bulk of the timber moving across the border is now high value species of rosewood and teak.
Talks between Myanmar and China are due to take place in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, on September 24 and EIA calls on both countries to take urgent effective action against the massive illicit timber trade.
Faith Doherty, EIA Forest Campaign Team Leader, said: “At first glance, this cross-border trade looks to be both chaotic and complex, with most of the stolen timber trafficked through Myanmar’s conflict-torn Kachin State, but the reality beneath the apparent anarchy is an intricate and structured supply chain within which different players have defined functions and collude to ensure the logs keep flowing.”
The trade appeared to have peaked in 2005 when one million cubic metres of logs crossed the border but, following a brief hiatus when Chinese authorities clamped down, the scale is once again nearing peak levels. This trade contravenes Myanmar regulations prohibiting overland export of wood and the country’s log export ban introduced in April 2014.
At stake are some of the most ecologically important remaining forests in South-East Asia. EIA’s evidence shows that as intensive logging exhausts forests in the border area, Chinese-run operations are encroaching deeper into Myanmar.
Doherty added: “Both Myanmar and China need to take urgent and effective action to stem the torrent of illicit timber flowing across their joint border or watch conflict, violence and forest destruction continue to escalate.”
Interviews are available with:
• Forest Campaign Team Leader Faith Doherty via faithdoherty or call +44 (0) 7583 284070
• Campaigns Director Julian Newman via juliannewman or call +86 13121537280.
Images and footage are available on request from Press & Communications Officer Paul Newman via paulnewman or +44 20 7354 7960.
EDITORS’ NOTES
1. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) is a UK- and Washington DC-based Non-Governmental Organisation that investigates and campaigns against a wide range of environmental crimes, including illegal wildlife trade, illegal logging, hazardous waste, and trade in climate and ozone-altering chemicals.
2. Organised Chaos: The illicit overland timber trade between Myanmar and China is available to read and download at https://eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/EIA-Organised-Chaos-FINAL-lr1.pdf
end
New Protection for Sumatran Elephants https://www.rainforesttrust.org/news/new-protection-sumatran-elephants/
Thailand Releases Group of Illegal Loggers http://www.voacambodia.com/content/thailand-releases-group-of-illegal-loggers/2966169.html
DENR: It will take 230 years to reforest Ph http://www.mb.com.ph/denr-it-will-take-230-years-to-reforest-ph/
SUMATRA: A Real Plan for Tiger Protection https://www.rainforesttrust.org/news/real-plan-tiger-protection/
Aquino’s reforestation program surpasses feat of previous administrations in last 50 years http://www.manilatimes.net/aquinos-reforestation-program-surpasses-feat-of-previous-administrations-in-last-50-years/219017/
APP responds to haze accusation http://www.eco-business.com/news/app-responds-to-haze-accusation/
Indonesia warns to suspend business license of firms burning forest http://www.globalpost.com/article/6650430/2015/09/16/indonesia-warns-suspend-business-license-firms-burning-forest
Kenya’s wildlife flees al-Shabab conflict into Somalia https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/kenyas-wildlife-flees-al-shabab-conflict-somalia-133831539.html
Uhuru asks NGOs to help protect wildlife http://www.mediamaxnetwork.co.ke/people-daily/167851/uhuru-asks-ngos-to-help-protect-wildlife/
Kenya holding 138 tonnes ivory, 1,519kg of rhino horns – See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/kenya-holding-138-tonnes-ivory-1519kg-rhino-horns-0#sthash.JlMxxNTk.dpuf
China: single mom jailed for 6 and half years for smuggling 6 ivory tusks from Côte d’Ivoire
Should animals ever work for us? https://www.animalsasia.org/intl/media/news/news-archive/should-animals-ever-work-for-us.html
Gabon Wants to Save Its Forest Elephants to Lure Tourists http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-03/gabon-wants-to-save-its-forest-elephants-to-lure-tourists
Saving the Last Groups of Wild Sumatran Rhinoceros http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/saving-last-groups-wild-sumatran
Report exposes “appalling cruelty” of tourist elephant rides http://www.traveldailymedia.com/226930/report-exposes-appalling-cruelty-of-tourist-elephant-rides/
Paul Allen Supplies Wildlife Initiative, Campaign, Movie Venue – Even The Popcorn http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/17/deforestation-surges-in-queensland-ahead-of-crackdown-on-land-clearing
Deforestation surges in Queensland ahead of crackdown on land clearing http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/17/deforestation-surges-in-queensland-ahead-of-crackdown-on-land-clearing
