9 August 2013
CITES and UNESCO call for increased international cooperation to fight illegal ivory trade
In a statement published, the CITES Secretary-General and the Director-General of UNESCO have called on the international community to increase its cooperative efforts, on both national and international levels, to fight illegal ivory trade and increasing poaching of the African elephant.
According to the authors, strengthening ties among the concerned stakeholders, including governments and NGOs, is the only way to fight organised wildlife crime. Increased cooperation is needed to maintain borders and sanction criminals and intermediaries, and states with destination markets, primarily in Asia, need to engage in awareness-raising.