M'sia submits proposal to allow international trade of crocodiles

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has submitted a proposal to allow international trade of crocodiles from the wild at the 17th Conference of Parties, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (pix) said the goal of the proposal was to enable a strictly controlled population while retaining viable wild populations.
"Currently, Malaysia conducts the trading of crocodiles from CITES registered crocodile farms and international trade of crocodiles from the wild is not permitted," he said at the Ministerial Lekgotla meeting, in conjunction with the 17th CITES, Friday.
His speech was emailed here today.
Elaborating further, Wan Junaidi said non-detrimental findings (NDF) showed wild population of saltwater crocodile had increased significantly over the last 30 years due to successful conservation actions.
"This has caused conflict with humans, where incidents of crocodile attacks have increased especially in the state of Sarawak where viability of communities is dependent on rivers, which are used for daily life activities such as transportation and economic resources.
"For that reason, we hope that Malaysia's proposal to downlisting our saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) will be fully supported," he said.
Wan Junaidi in the speech also stressed on Malaysia's high commitment in curbing illegal wildlife trafficking, especially trade of African Elephant ivory, so as to ensure the world’s valuable resources are sustainably protected and conserved.
"We will ensure continuous efforts in implementing our National Ivory Action Plan (NIAP) which is to assist in combating the illegal trade in ivory.
"In relation to that, Malaysia has conducted a special event to destroy our confiscated ivory stockpiles on 14th April 2016," he said.
The move, he said, will hopefully convey the message that Malaysia does not condone wildlife crimes and that the nation would make sure that smuggled ivory will never enter the market and consequently not commercially viable.
The 17th meeting of the CITES is taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa from Sept 24 to Oct 5, 2016.
With 181 Parties, CITES remains one of the world's most powerful tools for biodiversity conservation through the regulation of trade in wild fauna and flora. — Bernama