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PRESS STATEMENT: Illegal Wildlife Trade
BRIEF REMARKS BY UGANDA’S MINISTER OF TOURISM, WILDLIFE AND ANTIQUITIES AT THE ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE CONFERENCE KASANE BOTSWANA
Your Excellence the President of Botswana Lt. Gen. Khama Ian Khama,
Your Excellences Heads of State and Governments present,
Honourable Ministers and Permanent Secretaries
All delegations
Ladies and Gentlemen.
1.I
wish on behalf of the Uganda delegation to congratulate the Republic of
Botswana and Your Excellency The President for organizing and hosting
this important Conference that is a follow up of both the Gaborone
African Elephant Summit in 2013 and the London Conference on Illegal
Wildlife Trade in 2014. Your Excellency, I extend our appreciation to
the government and people of Botswana for the warm hospitality accorded
to us.
2.This
follow up meeting is timely and very important for us to evaluate the
implementation of the measures and actions agreed upon more than one
year ago. It is no doubt that illegal killing of elephants, illegal
ivory trade as well as rhino horn trade has continued on the continent.
3.Your
Excellency and Distinguished Delegates, Uganda has stepped up the fight
against illegal wildlife trade and in the last one year, we have seized
over two tons of ivory at Entebbe International Airport, 30 rhino horns
and about 2 tons of Pangolin skins all being smuggled through the
airport. We have intensified our awareness creation not only with the
general public but all enforcement agencies and as a result of good
coordination and collaboration between various enforcement agencies, we
are determined to make it increasingly difficult for wildlife
traffickers to use Uganda as a Transit country.
4.We
have developed a new National Wildlife Policy that was approved by
Cabinet in March 2014. The Policy addresses gaps in the legal framework
and outlines some good strategies for addressing wildlife trafficking
and other crimes.
5.We
have experienced some few challenges in the management of our national
ivory stockpile to the extent that about 1.2 tons of ivory was in 2014
lost but we have since put up safeguards and measures to ensure that the
ivory in the national stockpile is safe. We have since recovered some
of this ivory from recent seizures but also noticed ivory from other
countries’ stockpiles within the seizures made in Uganda. We would like
to share our experience and also learn from others that have managed
their stockpiles well as experience is the best teacher.
6.Uganda
has continued to make use of accredited forensic laboratories in USA
and South Africa to determine the origin of seized ivory and rhino horns
respectively. To this end, Uganda welcomes the establishment of the new
forensic laboratory in Nairobi and we will definitely make use of it.
7.Uganda
will continue to strongly support strategies and measures that are
aimed at eliminating demand from consumer countries. It is this
seemingly insatiable demand that has escalated the problem of illegal
wildlife trade in Africa. We strongly call upon the consumer countries
to declare measures to be taken to eliminate this demand.
8.With regard to the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI),
I understand that the process that was recommended for countries to
join the EPI here at Kasane would be by declaration in our respective
opening speeches. In that regard therefore, I now state that Uganda
fully supports and is pleased to announce its acceptance of the
invitation made by the Governments of Botswana, Ethiopia, Chad, Gabon
and Tanzania at the London Conference to join the Elephant Protection
Initiative.
9.In
accepting to join the EPI, Uganda calls for immediate and longer term
funding for the implementation of the African Elephant Action Plan and
we restate our support for the closure of both domestic and
international ivory markets. All stockpiles should be put beyond
economic use and for the moratorium over ten years imposed on any
consideration of future international trade and thereafter until African
elephant populations are no longer threatened.
10.Once
again, I wish to thank the people of Botswana for the hospitality
accorded to the Uganda delegation while here in Kasane and for agreeing
to coordinate and host this Conference. Uganda looks forward to
associating itself with the outcomes of this Conference.
FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY
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Our Mandate
To
formulate and implement policies, strategies, plans and programs that
promote tourism, wildlife and cultural heritage conservation for
socio-economic development and transformation of the country.
Our Vision
Sustainable
tourism, wildlife and cultural heritage contributing to the
transformation of the Ugandan society from a peasant to a modern and
prosperous one.
Our Mission
To
develop and promote tourism, wildlife and cultural heritage resources
for enhancement of Uganda as a Preferred tourist destination, with
accelerated sector contribution to the national economy.
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