TUESDAY, 8 OCTOBER 2002: Five southern African states -- Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe -- addressed the European Parliament on the issue of elephants on 7 October 2002 in Brussels, with a view to resuming highly-controlled trade in ivory.

The delegation was led by the Minister of Wildlife and Tourism of Botswana, Ms P. Venson. At issue is the reopening of trade in ivory as embodied in the proposals that will be put forward by the five southern African states.

The workshop in Brussels resulted from a visit of European parliamentarians to South Africa in March this year, as guests of the South African government, to view and understand the issue of sustainable use of elephant products. This workshop was aimed at enhancing the knowledge of the European Parliament and to gain support for the above proposals that will be submitted to the 12th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to be held in Santiago, Chile from 3-15 November 2002.

The workshop, the first of its kind, was chaired by Mr Joachim Miranda, chairperson of the Development Committee of the European Parliament. The European Parliament is an institution of the European Union. Presentations were made by Mr Isaac Theophilus of Botswana, Dr Pauline Lindeque of Namibia, Dr Pieter Botha and Dr Ian Whyte of South Africa, Mr Hapenga Kabeta of Zambia and Mr Chadenga Vitalis and George Pangeti of Zimbabwe.

Kenya also requested to make a presentation at the meeting. Kenya is opposed to the trade in ivory and is proposing that all southern African elephants be transferred to Appendix I of CITES. Appendix I is the most stringent of the convention and regulates trade in species that are endangered. The reality is that the southern African elephant is a viable and growing population which increasingly is in competition with human beings and other components of biodiversity.

The European Union (EU) is still in the process of finalising its position towards the CITES meeting. The action undertaken by the southern African countries at the workshop was aimed at bringing new facts to the EU, which comprises of 15 member states. The EU is a powerful group within the context of CITES as it also represents the votes of the 10 candidate countries.

The southern African countries are of the view that the resumption of a controlled legal trade in ivory will not affect the already present illegal trade.

Proponent southern African countries are hopeful that scientific evidence, which has been the basis of the CITES Convention, will prevail at the upcoming meeting in Santiago.

For further information please contact Ms Suhayfa Zia, Head of Media and Communication at the Embassy, on 32- (0)2- 285 4405. E-mail: media-communication.saembassy@swing.be.