China ivory ban blessing to Malawi

China’s ban of ivory imports could be a blessing in disguise to Malawi Government’s efforts to control poaching of elephants in the country.

China has imposed a one-year ban on the import of ivory, amid criticism that demand among Chinese consumers is fuelling poaching in Africa.

In an announcement last month, the Chinese State Forestry Administration hoped it would be the first step towards protecting elephants.

Chinese nationals have, for the past 10 years, topped the list of smugglers of ivory from Malawi, with some caught at the country’s main airports attempting to smuggle both processed and unprocessed ivory.

Late last year, Axin Shang was caught and fined K1 million after he was caught and admitted to attempting to smuggle Malawian ivory.

Lilongwe Wildlife Trust, which has been campaigning against poaching of elephants in Malawi, has expressed concern that elephants may be driven to extinction within a decade if poaching continues at this rate.

Jonathan Vaughan, director of the trust, said Malawi is an easy target for traffickers looking to exploit the country’s historically weak law enforcement and use its transport networks to reach the Asian market.

Together with the government, the trust launched a campaign during the World Wildlife Day last year to push wildlife crime to the fore and to civic educate Malawians to take part in the protection of wildlife.

“The campaign has focused on pushing wildlife crime onto the agenda at every level of society to encourage every Malawian to see protection of our natural heritage as everyone’s responsibility,” said Vaughan.

Vaughan said over 7 000 signatures have so far been collected worldwide in support of Malawi’s campaign to stop wildlife crime.

In a separate interview, Clement Manjaaera, a wildlife specialist at the trust, said one of the biggest challenges for Malawi is strengthening law enforcement for anti-poaching patrols and customs, border patrols and police working on the ground to apprehend the criminals through to the courtroom where offenders need to receive the stiff sentences to deter others.

A flourishing illegal trade in ivory has been blamed for the dwindling population of elephants in Malawi.