Zimbabwe to sell Ivory to China Japan

JOHANNESBURG – Zimbabwe is one of four southern African countries allowed to sell ivory in one-off auctions to be held under the auspices of the United Nations over the next two weeks.

Botswana, Namibia and South Africa are the other countries permitted to sale a combined total of 108 tonnes of raw ivory from elephants that died of natural causes or were killed in population-management programmes, while only China and Japan are the only buyers allowed.

Proceeds from the ivory sales will be used to fund wildlife conservation programmes and development projects in communities living close to nature reserves and that have often complained that wild animals destroy crops.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Secretary-General Willem Wijnstekers said he will attend the rare sales that will begin in Namibia on Tuesday with the second auction in Botswana earmarked to take place on October 31.

No dates have been announced yet for the South African and Zimbabwean sales.

Africa's elephants are protected species and cross-border trade in their ivory tusks is generally prohibited but CITES relaxed the ban to allow the four countries to auction off stockpiled ivory. – ZimOnline