2017年CRI Activists and industry insiders hail China's ban on ivory trade

 

A craftsman¹ working at the Beijing Ivory Carving² Factory, March 31, 2017. China's State Council has announced that all ivory processing and trade in the country will be phased out by the end of 2017. [Photo: China Plus]

As of the last day of March, China had phased out a third of its ivory factories and retail³ stores, under the instruction of the government's ivory trade ban.

All retail outlets⁴ commercially selling ivory products will be shut down by the end of 2017. The aim is to save more African elephants from illegal slaughter⁵.

Activists⁶ and industry insiders have shown a positive attitude towards the measures.

John Scanlon, the Secretary-General of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna⁷ and Flora⁸, also known as CITES, said he was deeply impressed by the outstanding skills of the master craftsmen⁹ during an inspection¹⁰ tour to the Beijing Ivory Carving Factory on Friday.

Managing director of the Beijing Ivory Carving Factory gives John Scanlon, Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), a tour of the factory, March 31, 2017. [Photo: China Plus]

Managing director of the factory, Xiao Guangyi, says ivory carving is part of China's traditional culture, but it's time to make some changes.

Xiao said: "Ivory carving has been an important part of China's traditional culture for thousands of years, and the materials we use were all legally imported with CETIS' accreditation¹¹. Chinese carving masters have a wish, to use their skillful hands and the ivory from the dead elephants to create beautiful artworks, as a continuation of the life of elephants. We support the decision made by the government. China, as a big country in the world, should set a good example of wildlife conservation to the world."

China's Forestry¹² Administration has indicated that by the end of 2017 this licensed¹³ factory will be shut down along with another 21 remaining factories and 89 outlets, marking the full implementation¹⁴ of the ivory trade ban in the country.

John Scanlon says the enforcement of the law by Chinese authorities is a game changer in curbing¹⁵ elephant poaching and illegal trade in wildlife.

Managing director of the Beijing Ivory Carving Factory gives John Scanlon, Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), a tour of the factory, March 31, 2017. [Photo: China Plus]

He said: "This is not a criticism of master craftsmen of this skill and what they're doing. What we're doing here is illegal trade which has not being able to be stopped, has a devastating¹⁶ impact on the African elephants, on the people they rely on it. We need to stop it. China is taking very strong measures, making a bold decision to close its domestic markets, and we're seeing the first round roll out today. This is a strong measure to say, this illegal trade is not tolerated is going to be brought to an end, and China is leading by example."

China has long been regarded as the world's largest importer and end user of elephant ivory tusks¹⁷.

According to researchers from Save the Elephants, the wholesale¹⁸ price of tusks was valued at 2,100 US dollars per kilogram in 2014, dropping to 730 dollars in February this year, just two months after China announced a ban on ivory trade.

A former ivory seller, Ai Cunqiang, says every Chinese citizen has the responsibility to protect the elephants and endangered wildlife as a whole.

He said: "From the point of view of the industry, because the whole world is banning this there might be some people who want to buy or sell, but I think that as a Chinese person we need to respect the law and I trust every Chinese person won't continue to trade or cause harm."

Managing director of the Beijing Ivory Carving Factory gives John Scanlon, Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), a tour of the factory, March 31, 2017. [Photo: China Plus]

John Scanlon is calling for tightened¹⁹ global cooperation on the issue, now China has already set an example.

He said: "The inter-agency collaboration²⁰ is extremely strong, and the collect of cross international borders with a range of states, working together within the international community. It's not easy. As the fourth largest country in the world, the largest population, 14 international borders, second largest economies, massive amount of trade in and out. So it's challenging to do with the issues. But the efforts along the way are quite extraordinary. And we've seen that the benefits of that are starting to be realized, with illegal trade to be brought down."

Sub-Saharan African countries lost an estimated 30,000 elephants annually²¹ when poaching was at its peak between 2008 and 2013.

1 craftsman   

n.技工，精于一门工艺的匠人

参考例句：

• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。
• The craftsman is working up the mass of clay into a toy figure.艺人把一团泥捏成玩具形状。

2 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

3 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

4 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 fauna   

n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系

参考例句：

• This National Park is an area with unique fauna and flora.该国家公园区域内具有独特的动物种群和植物种群。
• Fauna is a biological notion means all the animal life in a particular region or period. 动物群是一个生物学的概念，指的是一个特定时期或者地区的所有动物。

8 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

9 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

10 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

11 accreditation   

n.委派，信赖，鉴定合格

参考例句：

• a letter of accreditation 一份合格证明书
• This paper gives an overview of the Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) in High Level Architecture(HLA). 对基于高层体系结构(High Level Architecture,简称HLA)的仿真系统的校核、验证与确认(Verification, Validation and Accreditation,简称VV&A)问题进行了详细的介绍及分析。 来自互联网

12 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

13 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

14 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

15 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

16 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

17 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

18 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

19 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

20 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

21 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。