In the fight against the poaching of elephants and rhinos, the Federal Environment Ministry is putting increased emphasis on measures to reduce demand. New projects, in China and Vietnam for example, aim to help dry up the black market for ivory and rhinoceros horn where the demand is currently greatest. The Federal Environment Ministry is making available three million euros for the first time this year for the fight against poaching and the illegal wildlife trade in Africa and Asia.
Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks: "The poaching of elephants, rhinos and many other species has reached dramatic proportions. This crisis can only be solved if all countries along the trafficking chain work together. It is not enough to rely solely on having more rangers in Africa. We need to reduce demand in Asia and so dry up the black market. I am glad that the Federal Environment Ministry is able to put significant funds to use for this important fight for the first time."
In light of China's announcement that it wanted to place strict controls and possibly restrictions on the ivory trade, Hendricks said, "China is probably the most important partner in stopping the dramatic selling out of biodiversity in Africa. I am therefore pleased with these signs of a serious treatment of and honest partnership on this important issue."
In Africa in 2014 over 20,000 elephants and more than 2000 rare rhinos were killed by poachers. The ivory, like the rhinoceros horn, is being smuggled to Asia, especially to China, Thailand and Vietnam, where demand is particularly high. Poaching and trade are driven by exorbitant black market prices. Up to 50,000 US-Dollars can be earned with one kilogram of rhinoceros horn.
Therefore, the focus of the new measures is on reducing demand in Asia. Public awareness is to be raised in China with campaigns on the dramatic consequences of ivory consumption and the fact that tusks do not fall out on their own like baby teeth. Companies and associations will be supported in developing new codes of conduct that exclude ivory in guest gifts. A particularly relevant target group are the Chinese exiles living in Africa.
Another project is aimed at Vietnam, which is currently the main destination country for illegal rhino horn. The Vietnamese authorities will be supported in improving their species protection enforcement and raising awareness of the current rules. Other projects are designed to help improve the cross-border cooperation between Asian and African species conservation authorities.
Projects with a total of 2.5 million Euros will be implemented within the framework of a cooperation fund spanning multiple policy fields in partnership with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The remaining 500,000 euros are going to the "African Elephant Fund", which is managed by the United Nations Environment Programme UNEP. This fund finances projects to protect elephants in Africa.
The cooperation between Germany and China on the protection of species has developed very positively over the years. On May 21, the Chinese Ministry of Forestry and the Federal Environment Ministry agreed on enhanced cooperation on the implementation of CITES. In the past week, the Chinese Ministry of Forestry announced that it desired tighter controls for the ivory trade and possibly its prohibition.