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Campaign Updates:
Save Africa's Elephants
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between 175 Parties (governments). Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Today, it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 30,000 species of animals and plants, including elephants.
In January 2012 EarthAction asked people everywhere to send a message to their nation’s representative on the CITES ‘Animals Committee’ and ask them to move elephants from their current Appendix II classification, back to the more protected Appendix 1 classification where they were originally placed in 1979. Unfortunately, the Animals Committee didn’t consider the issue of elephants at their March 2012 meeting
This reclassification of elephants to the Appendix I list would ban all new trade in ivory and allow for strict monitoring of the sale and transport of ivory with the expected result being a dramatic decrease in black market trade. Many countries oppose this change. Under their current classification, it is estimated that every year 38,000 elephants are killed for ivory sales on the black market. We must act to make our voices ring louder than theirs and fight to protect Africa's elephants.
The CITES Conference of the Parties (COP), with representatives of all nations that have ratified the treaty, meets every three years. Their next meeting, COP 16, is set for March 2013. The deadline for a nation to submit a proposal for consideration of moving elephants from Appendix II to Appendix I is
4 October 2012.
> Protect Africa's Elephants: Take Action
> Click here to read the summary of the March 2012 meeting of CITES representatives.
> Read the EarthAction alert from February here.
> Read this article to learn more about recent proof that the ivory trade is strong, and taking the lives of a beautiful species with it.
Image Source: Flickr User @Doug88888
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Raising Awareness of Global Military Spending
In April, EarthAction supported the second annual Global Day of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS). GDMAS took place on April 17th and the organizers urged participants to focus political, public, and media attention on global military spending.
This year's event saw over 130 actions in 40 countries- all pointing out the human cost of military spending. One of the major events took place in Geneva, Switzerland. The International Peace Bureau organized a seminar at the UN to discuss the human costs of military spending and rising global military spending.
Keep your eyes and ears open for next year's GDAMS to continue reminding politicians, the public, and the media about the lives we could save if military funds were diverted from war and nuclear proliferation.
> Click here to read EarthAction's April action alert on GDAMS.
> Visit demilitarize.org, the official GDAMS website to get information about next year's event and a recap of GDAMS 2012.
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