MALAWI ANNOUNCES IVORY BURN

PRESS RELEASE. Embargoed until Saturday 28^th March 2015, 9am GMT

Today the Government of Malawi announced that they will destroy their ivory stockpiles on Thursday 2^nd April.  Head of State, His Excellency Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika, President of the Republic of Malawi, will set light to 4 tonnes of ivory in a show of the highest possible political will and a demonstration to the world of Malawi’s commitment to combat illegal wildlife trade.

Malawi is known for its vibrant culture and friendly people, and the occasion is expected to reflect the warm heart of Africa, the nation’s love of wildlife and a renewed commitment to protect its natural heritage.  Members of the public will join the Government and NGO’s in a solidarity walk to Parliament where the ceremony will take place.  Just before the torching, the President will accept signatures from over 7000 people who recently joined the campaign to ‘Stop Wildlife Crime.  Protect Malawi’s Wildlife’. This move will recognise both the public support galvanised through the campaign and the importance of engaging all sectors of society in the fight against wildlife crime moving forward.

Jonathan Vaughan, Director of Lilongwe Wildlife Trust, said “The 4 tonnes of ivory that will be destroyed equates to roughly 500 elephants*. Malawi’s current elephant populations stand at around 1500*, declining at such a rate at the hands of poachers that they may will be extinct within a decade.  And it’s not just Malawi’s death toll that this stockpile represents.  We know that the confiscated ivory comes from a variety of sources, including Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique, showing that Malawi is being targeted as a transit route by traffickers moving over 500kg at a time.  There have been 36 seizures of between 5 and 100kg at the country’s two international airports in the past 5 years.  We hope the world stands up and gives Malawi the recognition it deserves for this symbolic act, a call to put ivory out of commercial use for the sake of Africa and its elephants.”

He added, “So much has been achieved here in the past year and the ‘Stop Wildlife Crime’ campaign is just one of these initiatives.  We’re seeing stiffer sentences, better inter-agency collaboration and the re-writing of laws.  Whilst next week we shall be taking a moment to celebrate Malawi’s accomplishments, these commemorations in reality signify the start of a long fight.  For years few people have paid attention to this country and its wildlife. At the very least, Malawi is the first SADC country this century to destroy its ivory.  There is now an opportunity for Malawi to become a role model for the region if the initiatives planned for the coming year can be carried out with equal vigour.”

Brighton Kumchedwa, Director of Parks & Wildlife, has said, “Whilst we have achieved some tremendous results in the last year, wildlife conservation is heading towards a crisis that requires collaboration, grit and determination.  The fight has only just begun.”

The ‘Stop Wildlife Crime’ campaign has engaged a sweep of people including Ian Redmond, OBE, renowned conservationist, and Ambassador for the UNEP Convention of Migratory Species.  Today he said, ‘Last year I watched the French Government grind over 3 tonnes of illegal ivory to dust, last month Kenya torched 15 tonnes of ivory, and now Malawi has followed suit with its stockpile of 4 tonnes.   People say, ‘Why not sell it and use the money to protect elephants’ but that would be like throwing petrol on a fire!   As long as there is a legal ivory trade, there will be criminals trying to launder illegal ivory into that trade.  Elephants and people will be killed in the process.   As elephant numbers plummet across Africa, this is no time to repeat the mistakes of the past – Malawi is to be congratulated for sending a clear signal to the world – the fashion for ivory is over!   Wildlife crime will not be tolerated.   Criminals will be prosecuted and their contraband destroyed.   Elephants will be valued for the role they play in the ecology of Africa as super-keystone species – mega-gardeners of the forest and savannah.’

Please find the official Government press release and more information on the event here

*4 tonnes of ivory equates to ca. 500 elephants based on the average weight of 4kg per tusk so 8kg per elephant (recent published average weight ranges for tusks range from 3 to 5 kg per tusk).

**www.elephantdatabase.org

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For further information please contact Kate Moore, Programmes Manager, Lilongwe Wildlife Trust.  Tel: 00 265 993 800289/00265211951458.  Email: kate@lilongwewildlife.org.

About the Campaign to “Stop Wildlife Crime. Protect Malawi’s Wildlife”

The ‘Stop Wildlife Crime.  Protect Malawi’s Wildlife’ campaign was launched on World Wildlife Day in March 2014.  As a joint initiative between Lilongwe Wildlife Trust and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, it aims to:

• Raise awareness about the seriousness of wildlife crime and the importance of protecting our natural heritage
• Push wildlife conservation issues onto the agenda of decision makers and law enforcers.
• Deter individuals from getting involved in wildlife crime
• Encourage the public to take action if they see any suspicious activity

The campaign is currently highlighting elephant poaching and ivory trafficking as serious wildlife crimes.  There are many other crimes that are impacting Malawi’s wildlife – such as the illegal logging which could soon lead to the extinction of the Mulanje cedar, Malawi’s national tree, and the pet and bushmeat trades which impact wildlife welfare – and we shall be tackling them in due course.

The campaign is currently funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.  Find out more at www.malawiwildlife.org.

About Lilongwe Wildlife Trust

Lilongwe Wildlife Trust works to protect the habitats and wildlife of Malawi.  Their work spans wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, wildlife research, environmental education, community conservation and wildlife advocacy.  In terms of work to combat wildlife crime, they have co-written Malawi’s assessment on illegal wildlife trade (funded by GIZ and due to be published shortly) and are one of the technical advisor for DNPW’s National Elephant Action Plan (alongside Stop Ivory, Wildlife Conservation Society and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).  For more go to www.lilongwewildlife.org.