KAMPALA, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) on Tuesday lauded China's ban on ivory trade as a major milestone step.
UWA Executive Director Andrew Seguya told Xinhua that China's decision will go a long way in the conservation and protection of the African elephants.
"We are very grateful that the Chinese government has found in its heart to stop trading in this commodity," said Seguya.
"It gives us a lot of hope for elephants of Uganda, elephants of Africa and elephants of the world. So we congratulate the Chinese government for that decision," he said.
The doors to the ivory trade in China closed on Dec. 31, 2017, as it became illegal to process or sell ivory and its products in China.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the population of African elephants declined by 111,000 over the past 10 years. The overall trends in the poaching of African elephants show a decline from the 2011 peak, but are still at levels too high when viewed continent-wide.
China's State Forestry Administration has said that by honoring its commitment to ending commercial processing and sales of ivory by the end of 2017, China has sent a "new year gift to the elephant".
Chinese government figures show that the move will affect 34 processing enterprises and 143 designated trading venues, with all of them to close, in the world's once largest ivory market.
