Posted on 09 July 2009
- WWF endorsed the World Bank’s call for
countries to ban tiger farming because of
the uncertainty that it will have for the
long-term conservation
of wild tigers.
“Extinction is irreversible,
so prudence and precaution suggest that
the risks of legalized farming are too great
a gamble for the world to take,” World Bank
Director Keshav Varma told the member countries
of the 58th meeting of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES) Standing Committee. “We cannot know
for sure if tiger farming will work.”
Need to stop all trade
in tiger parts now
“Stopping all trade
in tiger parts, and phasing out these tiger
farms, is of the utmost urgency if the tiger
is to survive in the wild”, said Dr Susan
Lieberman, Director of the Species Programme
of WWF International, “It is time for the
world community to join together, with tiger
range state governments, to stop all poaching
of tigers for illegal trade, and WWF welcomes
the engagement of the World Bank in these
efforts”.
Because of the unpredictability
of the market environment and the small
number of remaining tigers in the wild,
there is “no room for experimentation,”
Varma, who leads the World Bank’s Global
Tiger Initiative, said after the meeting.
“Commercial trading
in tiger parts and its derivatives is not
in the interest of wild tiger conservation.”
Tiger trade is prohibited
internationally and banned domestically
in all of its range countries, including
China - historically the largest market
for tiger products.
However, owners of privately
run tiger farms and a contingent of wealthy
business men across China have been pressuring
the Chinese government to allow legal trade
in tiger parts within China and lift its
domestic tiger trade ban, implemented in
1993.
“Having carefully weighed
the economic arguments we urge the CITES
community to uphold the ban on wild tiger
products and for all countries to continue
to ban the domestic trade of wild tigers,”
the World Bank statement said.
“We also call upon the
international community at large to join
efforts in providing the necessary technical
and other support to the respective countries
in phasing out tiger farming. This is the
only safe way to ensure that wild tigers
may have a future tomorrow."
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G8 and MEF climate talks:
It’s progress but still not fair!
Posted on 10 July 2009
- L’Aquila, Italy - Rich and poor nations
have not been able to overcome divisions
and mistrust during the Major Economies
Forum (MEF) and the G8 summit and while
some progress was made, leaders of wealthy
nations failed to take responsibility for
climate change, WWF said.
The two meetings saw
positive developments such as a common goal
to limit global average temperature increases
to two degrees, an absolute minimum to avoid
the worst impacts of global warming, but
disappointed with the lack of ambitious
reduction targets and serious financial
commitments by industrialized countries.
"It’s all about
money. Rich countries are telling poor nations:
oh poor you. But they avoid committing to
pay their fair share" said Kim Carstensen.
"This is not enough and it is not fair."
"Wealthy nations
have to show true empathy, real leadership,
solid financial commitments and not comforting
statements."
MEF requested Finance
Ministers to report back at the G20 meeting
in Pittsburg in September.
“We need Finance Ministers
make a commitment which is at least as ambitious
as what Gordon Brown proposed recently”,
Carstensen said.
Brown proposed 100 billion
USD per year for mitigation and adaptation.
According to WWF, we need more funds up
to 160 billion USD per year by 2017.
"The failure by
MEF to agree on halving greenhouse gas emissions
by 2050 is a sign of mistrust between developed
and developing nations," Carstensen
said.
During the meeting of
the major economies, bringing together states
responsible for approximately 80 percent
of world’s emissions, some industrialized
nations tried to blame emerging economies
for insufficient progress.
"In order to achieve
a compromise the blame game has to be abandoned
and replaced by responsible and credible
commitments of industrialized countries."
WWF welcomed MEF’s declarations
on a two degree warming limit to and to
double public funds’ for research in green
technologies. It shows there is still some
good will and therefore chance for agreement
in Copenhagen.
"There are some
signs of good will which if continued could
result in an agreement. We are convinced
that a deal in Copenhagen is still utterly
achievable.”
