The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) on Saturday allowed the sale of 60 tons of ivory to Japan, media reported on Sunday.
CITES decided to permit the one-off sale of ivory from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, saying it would monitor closely the impact on poaching and population levels.
South Africa, Botswana and Namibia are selling the ivory from stocks gathered from elephants that have died naturally. All three countries pledged to deposit the revenue in trust funds for further conservation.
The decision preceded the formal opening on Sunday of a 12-day conference by the 171-nation CITES, which meets every two to three years to consider amending its lists of trade restrictions.
The sale was conditionally approved in 2002 but was held up until an adequate monitoring system against poaching could be put in place, and until Japan — the only designated buyer — provided assurances it could control its use and prevent its re-export.
Scientists and environmentalists say the killing of elephants for their tusks, mainly in central Africa, has now reached levels not seen since 1989, as Asian-run organized crime gangs push the illegal ivory trade to unprecedented heights.
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