On the last day of the first Giants Club summit, President Uhuru Kenyatta has set fire to a huge stockpile of ivory in an effort to show Kenya’s commitment to saving Africa’s elephants.
More than 100 tonnes of ivory was stacked up in pyres in Nairobi National Park where it is expected to burn for several days.
The ivory represents nearly the entire stock confiscated by Kenya, amounting to the tusks of about 6,700 elephants.
Some disagree with Kenya’s approach, saying it can encourage poaching.
Photo AP
Before igniting the first pyre, President Uhuru Kenyatta said: “The height of the pile of ivory before us marks the strength of our resolve.
“No-one, and I repeat no-one, has any business in trading in ivory, for this trade means death of our elephants and death of our natural heritage.”
The burning comes after African leaders meeting in Kenya urged an end to illegal trade in ivory.
Experts have warned Africa’s elephants could be extinct within decades.
However, some conservationists have expressed opposition to the ivory burn in Kenya, the biggest in history.
They say destroying so much of a rare commodity could increase its value and encourage more poaching rather than less.
Botswana, which is home to about half of Africa’s elephants, is opposed to the burn and its president did not attend the event in Nairobi.
Demand for ivory comes largely from Asia, with the main trafficking route being through the Kenyan port of Mombasa.
Africa is home to between 450,000 and 500,000 elephants but more than 30,000 are killed every year for their tusks. Tanzania has lost 65% of its elephant population in the past five years.
The Kenyan ivory pyres are seven times the size of any stockpile destruction so far, and represent about 5% of global ivory stores.
Some 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn will also be burned.
The street value of the ivory to be destroyed is estimated at more than $100 million, and the rhino horn at $80 million.
The Giants Club is holding its inaugural summit in Laikipia, Kenya, from April 29 to April 30, to discuss how to save Africa’s elephants from extinction.
The exclusive forum brings together African Heads of State, global business leaders and elephant protection experts to secure Africa’s remaining elephant populations and the landscapes they depend on.
The summit will be led by the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
As well as heads of state, the conservation group will bring together business leaders and scientists.
The Giants Club was founded by President Uhuru Kenyatta with the presidents of Botswana, Gabon, Kenya and Uganda, with support from Space for Giants and its patron, Evgeny Lebedev, the owner of The Independent and London Evening Standard newspapers. The body was formed to combat the poaching crisis by bringing together visionary leaders who can work together to provide the political will, financial resources and technical capacity required to protect Africa’s remaining elephant populations.
The summit is to be staged at Mount Kenya Safari Club. Delegates will also be invited to visit local conservation projects to see practical examples of Kenya’s leadership in the area of wildlife protection. Attendance is by invitation only.
According to experts, Africa’s elephant population has fallen by 90% over the past century. They warn that the animal could be extinct within decades.
After the summit, Kenya will set fire to nearly its entire confiscated stock of ivory, 105 tonnes, equivalent to the tusks of more than 6,700 elephants.
The ivory has been piled into a dozen giant pyres, which will be lit by dignitaries at the summit.
The mass burning on April 30 will be seven times the size of any stockpile destruction so far, and represents about 5% of global ivory stores.
Some 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn will also be burned.
The street value of the ivory destroyed is estimated at more than $100 million, and the rhino horn at $80 million.
Kitili Mbathi, director general of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), said: “We don’t believe there is any intrinsic value in ivory, and therefore we’re going to burn all our stockpiles and demonstrate to the world that ivory is only valuable on elephants.”
Africa is home to between 450,000 to 500,000 elephants, but more than 30,000 are killed every year for their tusks.
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