Thailand has been dropped from the CITES ( Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) list of countries affected by the traffic in ivory, according to the Facebook page of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
The department’s director-general, Mr. Tunya Netithammakul, is currently leading a Thai delegation attending the COP-18 held in Switzerland from August 17th to 28th. The delegation also made a courtesy call on the CITES secretary-general.
The Facebook post said that the ETIS report this year did not include Thailand, which means that the country has been delisted and is now free from the obligation to improve efforts to deal with the illegal activity.
The ETIS report was prepared by TRAFFIC and was presented at the COP-18 meeting in Switzerland. The report places countries into three categories regarding the problem of the illegal traffic in ivory based on data compiled during the 2015-2017 period.
- The A Group (primary concern) are counties most affected by the illegal trade, which includes Malaysia, Mozambique, Nigeria and Vietnam.
- The B Group (secondary concern) are countries clearly affected by the illegal trade, which includes Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, China and Hong Kong.
- The C Group (important to watch) are countries affected by the illegal trade, which includes Congo, South Africa, Cameroon, Gabon, Zimbabwe, Angola, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Singapore, Laos, Turkey and Burundi.
CITES secretary-general praised Thailand for having taken several measures, in compliance with the CITES Convention, and for having done such a good job in dealing with illegal traffic in ivory that it has emerged as the regional leader in addressing the illegal trade.
