EU study boost fight against illegal wildlife trade in Mekong region

The European Union has launched an intensive study about the illegal wildlife trade in the Greater Mekong Region and its threat to biodiversity.

The report, entitled “Larger than Tigers”, hopes to encourage the Greater Mekong countries, which include Myanmar, to intensify efforts against the illegal wildlife trade, which is a threat to biodiversity in the region.

According to the report, there are 795 threatened species in the region, of which 123 are endangered due to indiscriminate hunting and trading.

It noted that China and Vietnam are the two largest markets for wildlife products globally, and the Greater Mekong countries are the source, transit routes, and markets for these illicit products.

In Myanmar, hunting for illegal wildlife is pervasive, although it is reported that 70 percent of the country's territory have been declared as protected areas. There are 331 threatened species in Myanmar, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The endangered species include birds, primates, banteng (wild cattle), the Asian elephant, Eld's deer, freshwater turtles, pangolin and tigers, among others.

"The EU is committed to wildlife conservation in Myanmar and across the world. Myanmar's beautiful rainforests and majestic animals are threatened by wildlife crime and environmental degradation," said EU Ambassador Kristian Schmidt.

He added that the EU supports Myanmar's efforts to safeguard its precious natural heritage for future generations, including by immediately stopping all illegal wildlife trade, and he hoped the report “will strengthen everyone's resolve to do so.”

U Saw Htun, country director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, said "the population of keystone species has been decreasing at an alarming rate, and several species could go extinct if there are no effective actions to combat wildlife crime."

Illegal wildlife products include more than 1000 plant and animals species used for traditional medicine, exotic food, ornaments and clothing, and the exotic pet trade.

In Southeast Asia and the Pacific, the illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth €17 million (K29.06 billion/US$19.21 million) annually.

The Larger than Tigers report is the product of two years of intensive, collaborative research involving 28 authors and consultation with 382 experts from over 150 organisations in over 25 Asian countries.

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EU congratulates Myanmar on tackling illegal wildlife trade

The European Union (EU) has congratulated Myanmar on tackling illegal wildlife trade in a statement to mark World Wildlife Day that falls on 3 March.

The following is their statement:

The European Union (EU) Delegation issues the following statement in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission in Myanmar:

Wildlife trafficking has become one of the most profitable criminal activities worldwide, with devastating effects for biodiversity and very damaging impact on sustainable development and poverty eradication.

On the occasion of World Wildlife Day on 3 March 2019, the Heads of Mission of the European Union (EU) and its Member States wish to congratulate the Government of Myanmar for the reinforced initiatives taken over the past year to protect the country's magnificent and endangered wildlife and biodiversity.

In May 2018, the Union Parliament passed the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Law, which is one of the strongest wildlife protection laws in the region. On World Wildlife Day, the Government of Myanmar will publicly destroy seized ivory and wildlife parts. This is part of a series of events to destroy all stockpiles. The Yangon Regional Government has banned all illegal sales of wildlife in Yangon Region as of October 2018, and the Union Government has committed to roll this ban out nationwide. The Government has also increased public awareness campaigns and engagement on illegal wildlife trade issues through public campaigns, building on the Voices for Wildlife coalition, which is supported by several EU Member States. In October 2018, the UK hosted the London Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade where the Government of Myanmar detailed its achievements over the past year.

These steps are hugely commendable, however Myanmar still faces challenges. For example, elephant poaching for ivory and other parts is still a huge issue both globally and in Myanmar. Although the elephant skinning crisis in Myanmar has reduced, thanks, in part, to increased wildlife ranger patrols, Myanmar is still facing a struggle to protect its wild elephant population, and the populations of some of its other endangered species, such as the pangolin, tiger and turtles.

Therefore, we would also like to take this opportunity to state our support for further action by the Government of Myanmar to tackle the illegal wildlife trade. For example, we believe that it would have a positive impact if the Government of Myanmar could fast-track the nationwide ban on the illegal sale of wildlife parts, including in Myanmar’s border areas.

Other actions, such as effective enforcement of the ban on wildlife sales and tackling the illicit financial flows from illegal wildlife trade would reinforce the message that Myanmar has a zero tolerance approach to wildlife crime. As long as criminals continue to sell illegal wildlife products to satisfy consumer demand in China and elsewhere, Myanmar’s wildlife is at risk, and this trade will continue to fill the pockets of criminal gangs, and rob Myanmar of its beautiful and diverse wildlife.

Ending wildlife trafficking is a shared responsibility and we must all take concrete action. In 2016, the EU adopted an EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking and since then the EU and its Member States have ramped up their actions for strengthening the EU’s role in the global fight against these illegal activities through greater enforcement of our comprehensive legal framework, better cooperation and more effective prevention. The next Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES CoP18, Sri Lanka) – to which Myanmar acceded in 1997, and the EU became a party in 2015 – will allow us to turn our commitments into actions to address wildlife trafficking worldwide.

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Myanmar to burn seized wildlife parts at Yangon Zoo

The government will burn elephant tusks and other wildlife parts worth US$1.1 million (K1.66 billion) that were seized over the past year, a senior Forest Department official said.

U Win Naing Thaw, director of Nature and Wildlife Conservation at the department, said the parts will be burned at Yangon Zoo on Sunday.

“Besides elephant parts, there are other animal parts such as horns,” he said, adding that together they weigh more than 700 kilogrammes.

There is especially high demand in Myanmar’s illegal wildlife trade for elephants, turtles, snakes, pangolins and bears.

The burning of the parts is aimed at raising public awareness of the damage wrought by the illegal wildlife trade on the environment and animals.

“I regret the burning of the wildlife parts, but I feel sorrier for the live animals that are traded illegally,” U Win Naing Thaw said. “It is illegal to sell these parts on the black market, so they are being burned.”

Several countries have resorted to burning illegal wildlife parts in the campaign to eliminate the trade.

“The action aims to prevent the making of wildlife cuisine and other things,” said Yangon Region’s Forest Department Director U Thein Toe.

Elephant poaching remains rampant in Bago, Ayeyarwady, and Yangon regions.

Myanmar began burning wildlife parts in Nay Pyi Taw in October 2018, when 277 ivory pieces, 227 elephant bones and other animals, 45 animal hides, 1544 animal horns, 45.5kg of pangolin scales, and 128 other parts were destroyed.

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Authorities take aim at illegal wildlife trade

Myanmar's rich biodiversity continues to be damaged by illegal trade and the killing of elephants and other wild animals.

Of the over 20 wild elephants that died from January through September, 17 were killed by poachers, according to the Forest Department.

More than 46 elephants were slaughtered last year, and poachers killed 84 of the 165 wild elephants that died from 2010 to 2017, it said.

Most of the poaching occurred in Ayeyarwady and Yangon regions. In Ayeyarwady, poachers killed five of the seven wild elephants that died, while in Yangon, they killed three of the four wild elephants that died from January to September.

The wild elephants were killed for their ivory, teeth, skin and trunks, said wildlife conservation activists.

  U Win Naing Thaw, director of the department’s Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division, said that poaching of elephants has declined slightly.

“This year, there were 17 poaching cases and arrests of 42 people for killing wild elephants and illegal trade of elephant parts,” he said.

“Illegal trading is less than in previous years, as people are more aware of the problem and are cooperating more,” said U Win Naing Thaw.

There are an estimated 1400 to 2000 elephants in the country, but the numbers could be lower, according to elephant conservation groups.

Local and foreign conservationists have conducted education programmes to raise awareness of the problem.

Some laws were amended this year in an effort to reduce elephant poaching and illicit wildlife trade.

The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (bicameral legislature) enacted the amended 1992 Forestry Law on September 20, and the Protection of Biodiversity and Conservation Areas Law replaced the 1994 Protection of Wildlife and Conservation of Natural Areas Law on May 21.

The department expressed confidence that the new laws will reduce the illegal wildlife trade, especially in Yangon.

The Yangon City Development Committee has carried out an education campaign to raise awareness about the illegal wildlife and products trade in the city’s markets.

Aside from elephants, other animal parts traded in the illicit business include those from tigers, bears, pangolins, rhinos, mountain goats, Indian pied hornbills, gaurs, leopards, tortoises and snakes.

To demonstrate their seriousness about the campaign against the illegal trade, the government incinerated ivory and other wildlife parts worth US$1.3 million in Nay Pyi Taw in October.

In the first action of its kind for Myanmar, the government destroyed 277 pieces of ivory, 227 elephant and animal bones, 45 animal skins, 1544 animal horns, 45.5 kilogrammes of pangolin scales and 128 parts of other animals.

What effect these actions will have on the illegal wildlife trade remains to be seen, according to experts.

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Yangon Strives to Rid City of Illegal Wildlife Trade

The Yangon Region Forest Department is working with international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) to designate Yangon as the first city in Southeast Asia free of the illegal wildlife trade. Director U Thein Toe recently sat down with The Irrawaddy’s Thazin Hlaing to discuss what steps the department was taking to fight the illegal wildlife trade in Myanmar’s commercial capital.

The Forest Department has educated souvenir shops about preventing wildlife trade in Yangon. Has it taken action against any violators?

We haven’t for the time being. But to prevent elephant poaching, we are cooperating with partner INGOs such as the World Wildlife Fund and the Wildlife Society Organization as well as the Myanmar Timber Enterprise, Forestry Police and Myanmar Police Force. Combined teams of those officials including ward and village administrators conduct regular patrols in the forests. As the Protection of Biodiversity and Conservation Areas Law has been enacted, we have plans to make Yangon free of the illegal wildlife trade.

Is Yangon the first in Myanmar to declare a no-illegal wildlife trade zone?

We have been working on it. Other cities will also follow suit. The law is in effect across the country.

What will the difficulties be? Do you think the idea is feasible?

Yangon is the city that receives the most international travelers to Myanmar. Travelers come to Yangon both by air and by ship. So there is more illegal wildlife trade compared to other cities. We want to ban the making of souvenirs and handicrafts with animal parts that are smuggled into Yangon from various parts of the country.

Since last year, we have educated souvenir shops that usually sell souvenirs made of animal parts at Bogyoke Market as well as Shwedagon Pagoda to stop selling them. And we have also done the same with restaurants that sell wildlife meat. And we assume we have educated them enough to stop selling them. And as a new law has been enacted, we have issued a warning that we will take harsh action against violations.

What action will be taken?

The law sets a minimum imprisonment of three years and a maximum imprisonment of 10 years for hunting and illegally trading wildlife protected under by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to which Myanmar is a signatory. So if someone is found guilty, he will be imprisoned.

Fines can also be imposed. But it depends on the thinking and decision of the judge. The advantage of this law is that it fully protects endangered wildlife species that are listed by CITES.

What are the fully protected wildlife species?

For example, elephants, tigers, bears and pangolins. Among bird species, peacocks and hornbills are fully protected. And among reptiles, pythons and so on are fully protected.

How many souvenir shops and restaurants sell wildlife parts and meat in Yangon?

Souvenir shops at Shwedagon Pagoda and Bogyoke Market sell souvenirs made of wildlife parts, and the rest are restaurants. There are a certain number of them in town. I don’t want to disclose details.

What things are found most on the market?

Barking deer, sambar and snake meat are usually eaten. And lucky charms and handicrafts made of elephant tusks, tiger teeth and boar tusks are sold. Selling those things amounts to illegal wildlife trade. Even toys made of animal parts are part of the illegal wildlife trade.

What is the cause of the extinction of wildlife and flora?
The main cause is humans. Because they are rare things, rich foreigners buy them at high prices to consume or make medicine and cosmetics from them. So they are hunted to the brink of extinction.

Previously, wild elephants were poached for their tusks. But now they are hunted also for their trunks, hide and meat. So every part of an elephant is sold on the illegal market now. This is due to the demand from the neighboring country [China].

Are all animal parts sold on the market in Yangon illegal? Is some part of the business legal?

There is a law regarding this. Some people have private elephants. If those elephants die of disease or old age, the owners have to inform the nearest forest department, whose vet will check the cause of death and issue a death certificate along with a documentary photo. Owners are allowed to keep the parts from their dead elephants in that case.

Some ethnic people wear wildlife parts as ornaments as a part of their traditional garb. In that case, they can also wear them by registering them. If people’s ancestors have registered their own wildlife, the following generations have the right to own their parts. But trading them to a third party is not allowed.

So you mean all the things that are not registered with the government are illegal?

Yes they are.

So is anything officially registered in Yangon?

There are hardly any privately owned elephants in Yangon. And ethnic people almost never wear their traditional garb in Yangon. So nothing is registered.

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Focus on law enforcement in Myanmar as it moves to crack down on wildlife trade

Calls for an end to growing wildlife trade in Myanmar’s border areas have resulted in triggering government action to continue its ban on all illegal wildlife sales across the nation, according to Christy Williams, country director of WWF Myanmar.

“We stand ready to support the Yangon region government’s ban on wildlife sales. The next step is to officially announce this ban nationally, so that the whole of Myanmar can be free of wildlife crime,” he said in an interview. Last month, Yangon became the first city in Southeast Asia to become “illegal wildlife trade free”. In every district and township in Yangon region, anyone caught selling or carrying illegal wildlife products will now face enforcement under the new Protection of Biodiversity and Protected Areas Law enacted in May this year. “Now, we are working with Mandalay region. Hopefully, we can do the same thing in Mandalay soon, and will spread it to other parts of the country,” he said. “The next step is to work collectively for the enforcement of the new law, which is very strong. You will go to jail if you are found with any wildlife product in hand, according to the new law. It is very tough, and we need to cooperate to enforce it.”

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Myanmar's ivory trade challenges China's efforts to save African elephants

Myanmar's flourishing African ivory smuggling is putting immense pressure on China's effort to enforce a domestic ban on ivory trade, a report released by Save the Elephants revealed.

Researchers found around 51 shops openly displaying 14,846 ivory items for sale in Myanmar's Mong La, Mandalay, Yangon, Tachileik and Bagan cities.

 At Mong La, a town located on the notorious Golden Triangle, “the illegal ivory trade soared by a 63 percent increase in last three years,” the report said.

The Golden Triangle bisects the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong Rivers, bordering Myanmar, Laos and southern China, and is the second largest hub for cross-border smuggling of drugs in the world, according to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The report titled “Myanmar's Growing Illegal Ivory Trade with China” reveals the booming ivory product sales at Mong La in the last few years, which has replaced Tachileik on the Thailand border as the place with the largest number of illegal worked ivory items.

Vendors selling carved ivory items, according to the report, stated that Chinese customers buy about 90 percent of what they sell.

Myanmar has more than 5,000 captive elephants, the largest captive elephant population in the world. The existing laws in the country allow trade of ivory procured from licensed elephants that have naturally died.

However, researchers found over a third of the ivory items available in Mong La shops were of African elephants.

“Rampant African ivory smuggling in Myanmar has put a lot of pressure on Chinese law enforcement agencies to ensure effective domestic ban on ivory. Awareness about the ivory ban along Golden Triangle region and a strict law enforcement are required to stop this brutal trade,” Lucy Vigne, a lead author of the report told CGTN.

“The authorities in Myanmar are not deterring ivory smugglers and trade in ivory and other endangered wildlife products that are running riot to meet the continued Chinese demand. This is against the international norms,” she added.

In a bid to control illegal cross-border activities, the Chinese government closed the official border crossing from China into Mong La in 2010.

The Chinese mainland banned the domestic trade of ivory, early this year, in an effort to control poaching in African countries. Its regions including Hong Kong and Taiwan enacted similar laws to combat the illegal ivory trade.

In Myanmar's illegal ivory market, researchers also saw intricate carvings and figurines that appeared to have been smuggled in from China where sales are now banned.

More than 20,000 African elephants are killed every year to satiate global demand for ivory. “Despite a great political commitment from the Chinese government and the moral leadership of influential citizens it will take continued united action to end the issue,” said Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants.

“China's new laws have to be rigorously enforced, borders must be controlled, and everyone must be made aware of the terrible consequences of buying ivory,” he suggested.
Myanmar government, alarmed with the unprecedented increase in wildlife trade, burned seized ivory tusk and other wildlife products on Thursday in a bid to deter the smugglers.

“We know that over 20 countries around the world destroy illegal wildlife parts in this way. We want to wipe out the illegal market and let people know that if they trade unlawful items, they will be seized and destroyed," U Win Naing Thaw, director of Myanmar's Nature and Wildlife Conservation Department told Cambodia Times.

Esmond Martin, co-author of the report, and a conservationist known for his investigative work on ivory and rhino horn trade was murdered in Kenya in February this year.

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Burmese government burns illegal wildlife products worth $1.3 million in bid to deter traffickers

Law enforcement authorities in Burma have incinerated seized wildlife crime products with an estimated value of $1.3 million as part of wider crackdown on animal part trafficking.

Officials from the country’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation ceremonially set fire to a huge pyre of confiscated trafficked products made from animal parts, including elephant tusks, antelope horn and pangolin scales.

The items included 277 products made from ivory, 227 elephant and other wildlife’s bones, 45 pieces of different wildlife skins, 1,544 animal horns, 45.5kgs of pangolin scales, and 128 varieties of other animal parts.

Speaking during the ceremony, Burma’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation U Ohn Win said: “”It is crucial to sustainably conserve our country’s natural resources, including land, water, forest, mountains and wildlife, for the sake of our future generations. We designate and establish protected areas for biodiversity conservation.”

The ministry said the ceremony was organised to help raise awareness of the threat posed by wildlife smuggling in Burma, and to dissuade people who might be tempted to become involved in the trafficking trade.

Burma is a major hub for wildlife smugglers, who use the country as a base from which to traffic illegal items made from animal parts to China and other Asian nations.

In a report published earlier this week, conservation charity Save the Elephants revealed that China’s recent crackdown on the ivory trade had fuelled a “prolific growth” in the illicit animal parts trade in the Burma-China border town of Mong La.

The study found that the number of new ivory items found for sale in the town had grown by 63% over the course of the past three years, and now accounts for over a third of the ivory seen in the country.

According to the report, Chinese visitors are able to smuggle ivory purchased in Mong La back to their home country with little fear of being caught.

It also noted that a computer-driven machine in one shop in the town enables Chinese customers to mass produce decorative products made out of ivory.

Lucy Vigne, lead author of the report, commented: “Poaching is a problem for elephants in Myanmar but the country also provides a largely unchecked conduit for illegal African ivory carved in the region to be smuggled into China, in violation of International Law.

“The authorities are not deterring ivory smugglers and trade in ivory and other endangered wildlife products that is running riot to meet the continued Chinese demand.”

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Myanmar is the new illegal ivory market for African elephants, says report

Myanmar, a Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 ethnic groups, bordering India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand is now the new growing market for ivory trade. This is according to a new report by ivory trade specialists Lucy Vigne and the late Esmond Martin, which shows that one town in particular in Myanmar, Mong La - a frontier town in the notorious Golden Triangle on the border of China - has experienced a ‘prolific growth’ in ivory trading. Myanmar is facing an unprecedented elephant-skinning epidemic that threatens to wipe out its wild elephant population in a matter of years. The number of new ivory items seen for sale in the town grew by 63 per cent in three years, and now accounts for over a third of the ivory seen in the country. This new study shows the scale of the challenge that remains for elephants in the face of the ivory trade. The report ‘Myanmar’s Growing Illegal Ivory Trade with China’, a publication by Save the Elephants(STE) released on Tuesday 2, 2018 in Nairobi recounts how Chinese visitors smuggle worked ivory from Mong La back home with little concern about getting caught. “This ivory has often come up the Mekong River into the lawless eastern periphery of Myanmar where it is for sale in both retail and bulk. The wholesale price for African raw ivory in late 2017 in the Golden Triangle region has remained stable at about USD 770(Sh77,000) to USD 800(Sh80,000) per kg since late 2015,”said Ms Vigne, the lead author of the report. Know if news is factual and true. Text 'NEWS' to 22840 and always receive verified news updates. Myanmar is said to have the largest captive, or ‘domestic’, elephant population in the world with over 5,000 individuals. However, the “Traders there say that the internal ivory trade is legal for trimmed domestic elephant tusk tips and from licensed animals that have died, and operate accordingly,” added Vigne. This is going on despite trading in the tusks of the remaining wild elephants in Myanmar – numbering perhaps 2,000 – is acknowledged to be illegal. The ivory from captive elephants is used for local carving and retail sale especially in Mandalay and Yangon. Their tusks are also sold wholesale in Mandalay to Chinese traders, who smuggle them across the China border in contravention of the existing international ivory trade ban. Traders reported that 90 per cent of buyers were Chinese wishing to smuggle the ivory home, as also found by the same authors in market surveys in Hong Kong (2015) and Laos (2017).In Vietnam (2016) this was estimated to be 75 per cent. “Poaching is a problem for elephants in Myanmar but the country also provides a largely unchecked conduit for illegal African ivory carved in the region to be smuggled into China, in violation of International Law. The authorities are not deterring ivory smugglers and trade in ivory and other endangered wildlife products that is running riot to meet the continued Chinese demand,” said Vigne. The researchers cited five towns and cities (of eight visited) with 51 shops openly displaying 14,846 ivory items for sale. These were Mong La, Mandalay, Yangon, Tachileik and Bagan. In Mong La, ten open Chinese shops were counted, nearly all specialising in selling ivory, displaying 5,279 recently-made ivory items. According to Ian Douglas-Hamilton, founder STE, many of the DNA tests done on the ivories that have been arrested prove that most of them come from Africa. “Most of the DNA results of the ivories seized and tested at since 2006 from University of Washington Centre for Conservation Biology shows that they now come from Africa especially from DRC Congo, Tanzania with Mombasa port being the exit point. Kenya currently is doing well since the ban of ivory trading and thanked community conservancies for improving the conservation of elephants and other wildlife,” said Hamilton. Hamilton is calling upon China to close its market to stop fueling demand from Myanmar and asked for more collaboration between countries and agencies involved in stopping illegal wildlife trade. The international trade in elephant ivory has been illegal since 1989 yet African elephant numbers continue to decline. In 2016 the International Union for Conservation of Nature cited ivory poaching as a primary reason for the staggering loss of around 111,000 elephants between 2005 and 2015 – leaving their dwindling total numbers at an estimated 415,000.

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Myanmar’s Illegal Wildlife trade to go on screen

Myanmar is most affected by wildlife poaching and trafficking. From last December to May alone, five elephants have been reported killed in the outskirt of Yangon, according to the forest department.

The problem is not new but still prevalent. To fight the plight, WWF had launched the Mo Mo campaign last year to raise awareness and protect the elephants.

However, although the campaign resonated in the heart of Yangonites, illegal trafficking still plagues Myanmar. This month, three cases of illegal wildlife trade were reported in Mandalay and Magway regions. Over there and on the Chinese border, illegal market boast skulls, tusks and skin of the rarest and most endangered species in the country – such as elephants, tigers and pangolins.

Doubling down on the effort to fight illegal wildlife trade, the union parliament passed the Protection of Biodiversity and Protected Areas Law last May which establishes mandatory prison sentences for poaching or trading of protected species.


Along with the new policy, the UK Government, and the Luang Prabang Film Festival in cooperation with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) launched a short film competition to raise awareness about illegal wildlife trade in Myanmar.


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Music festival for wildlife to be held in Myanmar's Yangon

A first-ever music festival "Voices for Wildlife" will be held in Myanmar's Yangon in April, the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Saturday.

Jointly organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Embassy of Denmark in Myanmar, the Mahabandoola Park in Yangon will host the music festival on April 7.

The music concert aims to share awareness to the public for eradicating wildlife trafficking, the biggest challenges faced in the country as well as in other countries.

Meanwhile, an elephant-focused campaign against illegal trade named "Voices for Momos," a friendly term used for elephants in the country, was launched by the WWF-Myanmar in November last year.

Also, Myanmar government has planned to shut down at least 20 illegal wildlife trade markets in Golden Triangle border region by 2020 with the help of the wildlife conservation groups.

In Golden Triangle border region which is between Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, wildlife species such tigers, elephants are mostly traded as well as rhinoceros, serow, helmeted hornbill, gaur, leopard and turtles are also traded in the region.

Myanmar has also signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to protect wild elephants, setting aside 9,205 square miles for elephant sanctuaries.

Both local and international non-governmental organizations are exerting efforts to expand the area of land for wildlife reserve in the country.

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Wild elephant butchered in Ngaputaw township

A wild elephant was brutally killed in Ngaputaw township, Ayeyarwady Region, despite the announcement of a K3 million reward for information leading to the arrest of elephant poachers.

On March 12, a local reported the killing of an elephant to the region’s forest department. The animal was skinned and its tusks were removed, according to the forest department.

The department and other governmental agencies are currently investigating the matter, according to U Khun Pyone Naing, officer of the Ngaputaw forest department.

“Most hunters are not locals. They come from other areas and persuade locals to collaborate through bribery,” he added.

In Ngaputaw township, three wild elephants were killed since January, officials said.

U Khun Pyone Naing asked for the villagers’ cooperation to fight the plight of illegal wildlife trade and to protect endangered species.

“Before this elephant, two hunters who tried to kill elephants were arrested thanks to the cooperation of locals after the reward was advertised,” said U Khun Pyone naing.

Friends of Wildlife (FOW), World Wildlife Fund and the forest department are cooperating to reduce wildlife hunting by putting up posters which read: “Please, help and cooperate to reduce the killing of wild elephants and get a chance to receive K3 million by providing information on the whereabouts of the hunters”. Posters are displayed in Ayeyarwady Region’s Ngaputaw and Thapaung townships, according to FOW, which added that killings of elephants are still ongoing.

Last year, 29 hunters were arrested and 12 wild elephants were killed while six died of natural causes in Ayeyarwady Region, according to forest department.

“The hunters arrested will be judged according to the laws such as the protection of wildlife and conservation natural areas law,” said U Khin Maung Myint, director of the Ayeyarwady Region forest department.

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EU Calls on Myanmar to Take Action to Save Shrinking Elephant Population

Government urged to close down illegal wildlife markets around the country The post EU Calls on Myanmar to Take Action to Save Shrinking Elephant Population appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

 YANGON—The European Union urged the Myanmar government to strengthen efforts to protect its wild elephant population, which is on the brink of extinction due to poaching to supply the illegal trade in ivory and skins, as well as to end the open sale of elephant and other illegal wildlife parts in markets in its major cities, at popular tourist sites and along its borders.

In a statement to mark World Wildlife Day on Saturday, more than two dozen ambassadors of the European Union and its member states warned that Myanmar’s wild elephant population would be wiped out in a matter of years as poaching for tusks and other parts remains a huge challenge globally with Myanmar facing an “unprecedented elephant skinning crisis”.

In recent years, the Myanmar government has been working on strengthening the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Law, establishing more than 40 protected areas for wildlife, developing action plans for elephants and tigers, training and deploying rangers, and instituting wildlife training for government staff about the illegal wildlife trade. The EU and its member states have supported some of these efforts through the provision of technical support and capacity building.

“In particular, we would recommend that the Government of Myanmar ends the open sale of elephant and other illegal wildlife parts, which today are widely sold in markets in Yangon, Mandalay, Kyeikhteeyoe and along Myanmar’s borders,” the statement said.

According to WWF-Myanmar, at least one elephant is killed by hunters in Myanmar every week. Elephant skin, tail hairs, teeth and ivory are sold at tourist sites such as the Golden Rock (Kyaiktiyo Pagoda in Bago Region), while ivory is sold in Yangon and Mandalay. Large markets also operate in the ‘Golden Triangle’ border area Myanmar shares with China, Laos and Thailand.

In such markets, elephant skin is sold dried for traditional ‘medicine’ or polished into beads and sold as lucky charm bracelets. The tail hairs are put into silver rings and worn for luck.

Last month, the WWF-Myanmar met with the trustee members of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon to hold an awareness program for souvenir shop owners at the pagoda stairways to educate them on the harm done by selling ivory and other wild animal related objects.

The EU statement released on Wednesday added that as long as these markets continue to sell illegal wildlife products, Myanmar’s wildlife will be at risk, and Myanmar’s position as a global and regional illegal wildlife trade hub will continue and grow as other countries in the region close their domestic markets. China shut its domestic ivory market in January this year and Hong Kong has also committed to ban ivory trading.

“Concrete action, such as developing a more robust legal framework in line with global standards — and ensuring its effective enforcement — would send a clear message that Myanmar has a zero-tolerance approach to wildlife crime,” the statement said.

The EU ambassadors also encouraged the government to take action now so that Myanmar can attend the 2018 London Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade in October, not only to renew its commitments to the 2014 London Declaration on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, but also to take up its place as a regional leader in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade.

In mid-February, the government launched The Myanmar Elephant Conservation Action Plan (MECAP), a strategy for the next 10 years (2018–27) with the overall aim of securing viable and ecologically functional elephant populations in Myanmar for the next century and beyond with support from international and local organizations.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, 18 wild elephants were poached in 2016, and 30 were killed last year. The current population is estimated at just 1,400-2,000, compared to 10,000 in 1997.

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Police arrest elephant poaching ring in in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy region

At least one elephant is killed by hunters in Myanmar every week, says WWF-Myanmar.

The Forestry Police arrested an elephant poaching ring in Irrawaddy Region’s Ngapudaw Township in Myanmar, The Irrawaddy reported.

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Acting on a tip, combined forces from the Forestry Police, Nga Yoke Kaung sub-township police department, the Forestry Department, village administrators and Elephant Emergency Response Units (EERU) cornered the ring in Myittayar Forest Reserve in Ngapudaw Township. Two poachers were arrested and one escaped, local village tract administrator U Kyaw Myint Tun told The Irrawaddy.

“We arrested two hunters with poaching equipment. Another poacher got away, but we are going after him. We are undertaking plans to prevent elephant poaching in our region,” he said.

The two hunters who were arrested are respectively from Rakhine State’s Taungup Township and Ngapudaw Township. The third poacher from Magwe Region is still at large.

Percussion firearms, metal bolts, iron rods, arrows, gunpowder and more were seized from the poachers, according to the Forestry Police.

“It is important to arrest poachers before they kill an elephant,” said Ko Sai Zaw Oo, an official of a local elephant conservation group in Ngapudaw Township.

Police have opened a case against the two poachers. Last year, 13 wild elephants were killed in Pathein, Ngapudaw and Thabaung, and Irrawaddy Region remains the main elephant poaching ground in Myanmar.

In February, the European Union urged the Myanmar government to strengthen efforts to protect its wild elephant population, warning that it is on the brink of extinction due to poaching to supply the illegal trade of ivory and skins.

EU ambassadors also urged the Myanmar government to end the open sale of elephant and other illegal wildlife parts in markets in its major cities, at popular tourist sites and along its borders.

According to WWF-Myanmar, at least one elephant is killed by hunters in Myanmar every week. Elephant skin, hair, teeth and ivory are sold at tourist sites such as the Golden Rock (Kyaiktiyo Pagoda in Bago Region), while ivory is sold in Yangon and Mandalay. Large markets also operate in the ‘Golden Triangle’ border area Myanmar shares with China, Laos and Thailand.

In mid-February, the government launched The Myanmar Elephant Conservation Action Plan (MECAP), a strategy for the next 10 years (2018–27) with the overall aim of securing viable and ecologically functional elephant populations in Myanmar for the next century and beyond with support from international and local organizations.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, 18 wild elephants were poached in 2016, and 30 were killed last year. The current population is estimated at just 1,400-2,000, compared to 10,000 in 1997.

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Wildlife traders arrested with elephant tusks and tails in Tak

Tak provincial police yesterday (Mar 14) arrested two wildlife traders after finding 24 elephant tusks and 16 elephant tails in their pickup truck.
 
The two suspects Saitarn Maliwan, 45, the driver, and his passenger Bunoeng Uttawat, 54, a mahout, were ordered to stop for search after their vehicle passed Huay Ya-u checkpoint in Tak.
 
Both confessed to the police that they bought the elephant tusks and tails from Myanmar poachers at the border for resale to customers in the northeastern provinces. They said the tusks were meant for home decoration while the tails for talismans.

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Myanmar gov't to shut down illegal wildlife trade markets in Golden Triangle region by 2020

Myanmar government has planned to shut down at least 20 illegal wildlife trade markets in Golden Triangle border region by 2020 with the help of the Wildlife conservation groups, official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Wednesday.

In Golden Triangle border region which is between Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, wildlife species such as tigers, elephants are mostly traded as well as rhinoceros, serow, helmeted hornbill, gaur, leopard and turtles are also traded in the region.

Due to increased numbers of wildlife trade, hundreds of wildlife species are endangered, according to an official from World Wildlife Fund (Myanmar).

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Terrifying new elephant poaching epidemic to meet demand for ‘health’ jewellery made from their skin

Lying slaughtered in a forest ­clearing, its skin half-peeled, the elephant is one of 20 found dead the same day, many of them mothers and calves, all killed by poisoned dart.

But these animals were not butchered for their precious ivory tusks; they were killed for their thick, grey hide.

It is hacked off while their bodies are still warm. The rest of the beast is left to rot.

Just last week Environment Secretary Michael Gove announced plans to ban all ivory sales in the UK, in an attempt to help save elephants across the globe.

But the Mirror has learned that record numbers of Asian elephants face a terrifying new poaching epidemic – for a sick trend of jewellery made from their skin.

Monica Wrobel, head of conservation at wildlife charity Elephant Family, said: “These elephants were killed to order. The herd were tracked, slaughtered, and every bit of skin taken.”

The skin is polished and made into blood-red beads, which are sold as bracelets and necklaces at up to £75 each. Traders claim they can ward off illness.

Demand for the illegal jewellery is already so high in China that dealers are demanding more elephant skin from smugglers.

Last year, rangers found more than 60 elephants butchered for skin in Myan­mar, formerly Burma – now the epicentre of this poaching epidemic.

This year has been worse. Investigators seized 66 trunks in a single haul. Two herds were slaughtered, with a further six skinned elephants found in six weeks in the summer.

And if demand for beads ­continues to grow at this rate, these already endangered ­animals could be poached to the brink of extinction within two years.

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WWF-Myanmar sounds alarm about illegal wildlife trade

Trafficking of wild animals continues to haunt Myanmar despite attempts to curb the crimes, and experts warn that the trend could damage animal populations if it goes unchecked.

WWF-Myanmar raised the alert over the intensified illegal wildlife trade in the country, which targets pangolins, bears and elephant skin.

Cases are on the rise – 28 cases led to arrests in 2013 and 34 last year. So far this year, 24 cases have been reported through August, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation.

Dr Sapai Min, project manager for illegal wildlife trade for WWF-Myanmar, warned about widespread illegal wildlife trading in the border towns of Tachileik and Mong La that mostly thrive on wildlife species found in the country.

“I had been to Tachileik and Mong La three or four times. I went to Mong La early this year. When I went there in 2015, there were 15 places selling wildlife products. This year, there are already 42 markets for the illegal wildlife trade. This could greatly damage wildlife in Myanmar,” she cautioned.

WWF-Myanmar is seeking to minimise, if not completely eradicate, the illegal wildlife trading in Mong La  in cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, as well as law enforcement agencies, such as the police and customs department.

Dr Sapai Min noted an increase in the demand for both elephant and tiger skins, as well as for pangolins and bears.

“We can see as many as 20 pairs of hands of bears in Kyihteeyo Pagoda,” Dr Sapai Min said. “In the not so distant future bears will become rare and endangered species in the country.”

Mong La is a notorious place for illegal wildlife trading in Myanmar border with China and authorities have found it very difficult to control the illegal wildlife trade in the area.

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Conservationists alarmed over rising elephant skin trade

Conservationists have raised alarm over the increase in elephant skin trading in the country that targets mother elephants and calves, which could lead to the extinction of wild elephants in the country.

“Unlike ivory poaching, which targets tusked males, the sudden increase in the demand for the skin means the poaching is indiscriminate, with mothers and calves being poisoned and skinned,’’ said Nay Myo Shwe, Tanintharyi Conservation Programme coordinator, Fauna & Flora International Myanmar.

“If this continues it could lead to the extinction of wild elephants in Myanmar,” Nay Myo Shwe warned.

On World Elephant Day on August 12, national and international conservation organisations FFI, WCS, WWF and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute expressed grave concern about the plight of Myanmar’s declining wild elephant population following a surge in demand for the skin.

The wild elephant population in the country has plummeted, with estimates at between 1400 and 2000, however the numbers could be far lower, conservationists said.

They noted that while elephant skin has long been part of the illegal wildlife trade but never at the current levels.

According to Mark Grindley, manager of Tanintharyi Conservation Programme, Fauna & Flora International Myanmar, elephant skin is traded illegally and turned into jewellery or consumed as medicine that has no proven medical value.

He noted that elephant skin and other wildlife trade products are openly sold in tourist destinations in the country, such as Yangon and Kyaiktiyo.

“Closing these markets is a key step if we are to ensure the future of Myanmar’s wild elephant,” said Mark Grindley.

“At least 30 wild elephants have been killed so far in 2017. This is far above the previous yearly killing average for Myanmar,” said Aung Myo Chit, country coordinator of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

Christy Williams, country director of the WWF-Myanmar, urged people to report any sale of elephant products or any suspected poaching to the authorities.

Myanmar had an estimated 10,000 wild elephants a few decades ago. Since 2010, government figures record at least 35 human deaths and 95 elephant deaths due to poaching and conflict in Myanmar.

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Myanmar rebel group recovers ‘sacred’ elephant tusks stolen from Thai village

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), an insurgent group operating in Myanmar along the Thai border, handed over a pair of carved elephant tusks to Thai authorities today, ending a hunt that started on Friday.

The elaborately engraved tusks vanished from a pavilion in a Kayin village in Thailand’s Umphang district on Friday. Leaders of the village suspected a former village head named Baisu Khiridujjinda, who had come to the village and asked to sleep in the pavilion the night before the tusks went missing. They accused him of stealing the tusks and fleeing across the border to Myanmar’s Kayin State.

Within the next couple days, the DKBA located Baisu and the tusks in a newly opened monastery on top of Mount Mulayit in Kayin State, about 80 kilometers from the Thai border. Baisu had reportedly become a hermit and planned to use the sacred tusks to attract disciples, The Nation reported.


A 10-member team led by the chief of Umphang district travelled to the Thai-Myanmar border on Monday to retrieve the tusks from the DKBA. However, the insurgent group did not hand over Baisu, who remains at large in Myanmar.

A source on the Thai recovery team told The Nation that Baisu denied stealing the tusks, saying he had only borrowed them long enough to “perform a ritual” at the mountain-top monastery.

The source also said Baisu’s alleged theft might have had backing from armed groups in Myanmar, since the tusks came from a male elephant named Kwang Phu that was born on Mount Mulayit more than 200 years ago and taken to what is now Thailand by a Kayin mahout.

The stolen tusks are one of two pairs of tusks kept in the village pavilion in Umphang district there that are considered sacred by locals.

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