Carving out a living in a Delicate Area
- Published: 7/02/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: News
Mr Thi says most ivory craftsmen fear arrest and many have left to find new jobs. There has also been a shortage of ivory because of the crackdown.
TRUNK CALL: A pair of replica tusks stand at a roundabout in Phayuha Khiri district of Nakhon Sawan. The area is known as the country’s ivory carving centre. A shortage in ivory supplies, however, has put the trade under threat.
"At present, if we're not sure about the origins of the ivory, we won't buy it. We'll buy the tusks only if the sellers can show official papers to certify the ivory has come from domesticated elephants," he said.
Mr Thi said local ivory craftsmen in Phayuha Khiri have been in the business for generations.
In the past, ivory carving shops bought ivory without knowing Thailand is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife and Flora which lists African elephant ivory on its trade ban since 1989.
Mr Thi claimed shop owners only learned that they might have banned African ivory in their shops when the NRECD police showed up for a search last month.
Under the law, those importing and exporting endangered species are liable to four years in jail and a fine four times the price of the seized items.
"Besides the importation problem, we also don't have a chance to know where our buyers will send or export our ivory carvings to. And is this our fault?" Mr Thi asked.
Mr Thi said he could not speak English and has travelled overseas only twice in his life, to China and Singapore. He has no foreign contacts that would enable him to export his ivory products.
After a series of searches during the past few years, shop owners decided to meet forestry officials in Nakhon Sawan last year to discuss the problem and ask them to help find solutions for business operators.
The officials insisted the art of carving ivory should be promoted as the province's "One Tambon One Product (Otop)". They suggested shop owners ask ivory sellers to show them official papers to verify the origins of the tusks before any purchase.
All shop owners have abided by the instruction.
"We also fear people will think we order African ivory, order people to kill wild elephants to take their tusks for carving and exporting. We never do that," he said.
Charoen Khamsong, an ivory craftsman, said that after the crackdown on the illegal ivory trade and products there has been a shortage of ivory for carving.
For eight months, elephant ivory has been hard to find since those who possess it were afraid to sell the products if they had no papers to certify the origin.
"Now, we have to turn our hands to making wood sculptures and carvings to earn a living," he said.
Pol Lt Col Thanayot Kengkasikit, an inspector of the NRECD Division 1 responsible for suppression of the illegal wildlife trade, said the police campaign against illegal ivory would continue and would protect the country's reputation.
"We can't give details about the persons involved in the ivory trade now because we're keeping a close watch on a gang and hope to be able to arrest them soon," he said.
