Bangkok – The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has removed Thailand from its list of countries affected by the illegal ivory trade.
Director-General of the Division of Wild Fauna and Flora Protection Somkiat Soontornpitakkool revealed that the 70th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee in Sochi, Russia from October 1st to 5th recognized Thailand’s efforts to crackdown on the illegal ivory trade, removing the country from the National Ivory Action Plans (NIAPs).
Thailand was one of eight countries marked as a source, transit or destination country of illegally traded ivory and was placed under NIAP’s scrutiny. The action plan outlines measures that a country must implement, including legislative action, enforcement and public relations activity, along with explicit timeframes and milestones for implementation.
As a result, the Royal Thai Government has passed legislation, such as amendments to the 1992 Wildlife Conservation Act to include African elephants as a protected species and the 2015 Elephant Ivory Tusks Act.
CITES remarked that Thailand has succeeded in suppressing African ivory trafficking and has been removed from NIAP’s watch list as a result. However the country must continue its monitoring of illegal ivory trade as required by its NIAP.
Thailand is one of five countries, along with China, Kenya, the Philippines, Uganda, that were removed from its action plans.
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