SUPPORTING THE ELEPHANT TRADE INFORMATION SYSTEM (ETIS) TO TRACK THE ILLEGAL IVORY TRADE FOR CITES 3

IN 1997, PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA AND FLORA (CITES) ADOPTED A RESOLUTION ON TRADE IN ELEPHANTS SPECIMENS, RECOGNIZING THAT ILLEGAL TRADE IN ELEPHANT SPECIMENS IS A SERIOUS THREAT TO ELEPHANTS IN MANY PARTS OF THEIR RANGE 1 .

OVER 20-YEARS LATER, POACHING FOR IVORY IS STILL HIGHLIGHTED AS A MAJOR CAUSE FOR THE DECLINE OF BOTH SPECIES OF AFRICAN ELEPHANTS RECOGNIZED BY THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE CONSERVATION OF NATURE- THE CRITICALLY ENDANGERED AFRICAN FOREST ELEPHANTS (LOXODONTA CYCLOTIS) AND THE ENDANGERED AFRICAN SAVANNA ELEPHANTS (L.AFRICANA) 2,3 .

TO MONITOR THE ILLEGAL TRADE IN ELEPHANT SPECIMENS, THE CITES RESOLUTION ESTABLISHED THE ELEPHANT TRADE INFORMATION SYSTEMS (ETIS) PROGRAM TO CREATE AN INFORMATION BASE, MONITOR TRENDS IN ILLEGAL IVORY TRADE, AND MAKE ASSESSMENTS TO INFORM CITES DECISION-MAKING.

FOR OVER 25-YEARS, TRAFFIC HAS MANAGED ETIS INCLUDING COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF PARTIES SEIZURE DATA, DONE SINCE 2020 VIA ETIS ONLINE ALLOWING PARTIES TO SUBMIT AND ACCESS DATA FOR FULL TRANSPARENCY.

TRAFFIC HAS ALSO CONDUCTED ANALYSES USING PEER-REVIEWED STATISTICAL METHODS, WITH PLANS TO PRODUCE ANNUAL TREND REPORTS WHERE FEASIBLE, FOR CONSIDERATION BY MEETINGS OF THE CITES STANDING COMMITTEE (SC) AND CONFERENCE OF PARTIES (COP). THE ET