KUALA LUMPUR: Elephants are facing an increasing threat of extinction and conservationist groups have called on Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries to boost their efforts to crackdown on smugglers throughout the region to reduce the desire to poach the majestic animal in Africa. Their fears come on the heels of what many experts say is the largest ever cache of ivory that Malaysian customs officials uncovered this week. But environmental officials have told Bikyamasr.com that if longer jail terms and more deterrence are not implemented, the fate of Africa's elephants remains teetering toward extinction. Customs Director Azis Yaacub told Bikyamasr.com on Tuesday afternoon that the entire amount of ivory seized in the discovery was around 24 tons that had been packed inside mahogany containers in an attempt to hide the illegal ivory. “We found a number of secret compartments in the wood containers that were filled with tusks," Yaacub said. Malaysia is a leading transit destination for the illegal ivory trade and in recent months, the government has said it was looking to crackdown on smuggling resulting from poaching animals for their tusks in Africa. This scale of illegal ivory trade was demonstrated early in 2012, when a gang of heavily armed foreign poachers entered Cameroon and killed hundreds of elephants in Bouba N'Djida National Park. This event, and others like it, constitutes an invasion and a threat not only to wildlife but people, territorial integrity and stability. Poor governance and weak law enforcement efforts have been identified as the primary drivers of elephant poaching and ivory trade in Africa, according to the report that will be considered by governments later this month at a key CITES meeting. China and Thailand are identified in the findings as the two biggest raw ivory consuming countries in the world. Data indicates that poaching trends can be correlated with increasing affluence in China, and that raw ivory prices doubled there between 2004 and 2010. “In the last two years we have seen open flouting of China's internal ivory trade laws," said Dr Colman O'Criodain, WWF's wildlife trade policy analyst. “Many visitors, including foreign government representatives attending CITES-related meetings in China, have reported seeing ivory openly on sale without the required certification cards that prove legality of origin." The Chinese market remains the most prominent destination for illicit ivory, and a serious slackening of enforcement of country's strict internal trade controls is a major cause for concern. In Thailand, legislative loopholes mean that there is no effective regulation at all. “In Thailand there is no regulation of ivory trade. Visitors can see ivory openly on sale, the vast bulk of it apparently of African origin," O'Criodain says. “It is a crime to bring ivory home from another country, even if shopkeepers tell you otherwise." “It is imperative that CITES member states take remedial actions to shut down unregulated or poorly regulated domestic ivory markets, especially the world's largest markets in China and Thailand," said O'Criodain. One hopeful sign in the fight to save elephants is the recent adoption by Central African countries of an action plan to combat wildlife crimes including elephant poaching and illegal ivory. “We commend Central African governments for taking action to safeguard their natural heritage through developing this plan. We call on government leaders to implement the plan as a matter of urgency and encourage the international community to provide financial support to this end," Sebogo said.
