The environment ministry on Thursday sa🌜id a news report on Namibia seeking India's support for lifting a UN ban on trade of ivory as part of the cheetah deal "largely relies on speculation, hearsay and not on facts". India and Namibia had on July 20 signed a 𝔍pact on "wildlife conservation and sustainable biodiversity utilisation".
The MoU sa🉐id the two countries "should seek to promote biodiversity conservation with specific focus on conservation and restoratio💜n of cheetah in their former range areas from which they went extinct" and "sharing and exchange of expertise and capacities aimed at promoting cheetah conservation in two countries".
The report said: "While the word ivor♔y has not been mentioned, Namibia has already sought India's backing, under the commitment to support 'sustainable management' at CITES, for its longstanding proposal to allow trade in ivory derived from ෴elephants."
The ministry in a statement said: "The story 'Under Cheetah deal, sought India's🌟 support on lifting ivory ban: Namibia' published by Indian Express on 13th October, 2022 largely relies on speculation, hearsay and not on facts."
&qu🎃ot;Though the agreement signed between the Government of the Republic of Namibia and Government of the Republic of India include𓂃s 'wildlife conservation and sustainable biodiversity utilization' as one of the areas of cooperation, this cannot be construed as support for lifting the ban on trade in endangered species," the statement read.
It said the Indian government has not received any written communication from Namibia regarding lifting of the ban on ivory trade. "As sovereign countries, both India and Namibia will evaluate their positions on sustainable biodiversity utilisation within🧸 the ambit of agreement based o𒉰n the principles of mutual respect, sovereignty, equality and in the best interest of the parties," it said.
Trade of wildlife body parts is banned under the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Namibia and a few other countries such as Botswana and South Africa want CITES to lift the ban on certain wildlife products so that th𝕴ey can sell stockpiles of ivory and other wildlife parts internationally and generate revenue for wildlife conservation.
(With PTI inputs)
