EIA’s Recommendations on National Ivory Action Plan

At CoP19 in 2022, Parties agreed the NIAP process should be reviewed to ensure it remained effective and fit for purpose. The independent Review concluded that, while the NIAP process remained a valuable tool for improving resilience to ivory trafficking and supporting implementation of CITES provisions, a number of improvements were necessary to ensure its continued effectiveness. In particular, the Review identified opportunities to strengthen implementation, assessment, verification, transparency, coordination and long-term relevance. It also highlighted concerns regarding the duration of participation and continued relevance of some NIAPs; at the time of the review, 11 of the 13 participating Parties had been in the process since 2013, which were first accepted between seven and 11 years ago.

At SC78, the Secretariat proposed amendments to the NIAP Guidelines to address aspects of the Review. While these proposals were welcomed by the Standing Committee, it was concluded that they did not fully address all of the Review’s findings. Consequently, CoP20 adopted Decision 20.101, directing the Secretariat and Standing Committee to undertake further work on the Review’s longer-term recommendations and report to CoP21, including on possible amendments to the NIAP Guidelines.

The documents for SC81 represent the next phase of this process. They seek to implement elements of the Review through proposed changes relating to indicators and means of verification, consultation with Parties identified through Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) analyses and additional considerations for identifying Parties that may warrant inclusion in the NIAP process. At the same time, the NIAP implementation assessments submitted for consideration at SC81 highlight persistent implementation gaps, weaknesses in reporting and international cooperation and broader questions regarding how progress should be assessed and how NIAPs should be kept responsive to evolving trafficking risks.

This briefing focuses on three key issues emerging from the SC81 documents: persistent implementation gaps; the need for more objective assessment of progress and transparent decision-making; and ensuring that NIAPs remain relevant to evolving trafficking profiles and national circumstances.