Africa: Long-term ivory trade ban defeat

Kenya's proposal to introduce a 20-year moratorium on the ivory trade has been rejected at a meeting in Bangkok. The idea did not get the votes needed for approval at the biennial summit of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites). The Thai gathering also turned down a request from Namibia for an annual export quota of two tonnes of ivory. But delegates did back a continent-wide plan by African nations to crack down on domestic, unregulated ivory markets. Countries with these home markets will now either strictly control their trade or prevent it completely.