Despite Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s recent promise to put an end to Thailand’s ivory trade, the standing committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which is meeting in Bangkok this week, has put Thailand on an ivory trade watch list.
Thailand shares real estate on this less-than-auspicious document with Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and China.
The Nation reports that the CITES committee’s next move will be to look at a plan of action the watch list countries have proposed to curtail the ivory trade. Depending on whether the countries in question have made measurable strides toward ending the trade within their borders, the CITES committee will then decide whether or not to impose sanctions.
Though the PM has voiced her willingness to ban Thailand’s ivory trade, the lack of a measurable timeline or concrete slate of initiatives has left many observers skeptical of her ability to make good on her promise.
For more information on the difficult task of banning the ivory trade within Thailand, check out our latest feature.
