Latest figures from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species are encouraging – but African elephant populations continue to drop.

The CITES figures show elephant poaching down for the the fifth year.

Nevertheless illegal killings, land transformation and  rapid human expansion still gravely threaten elephant numbers.

Last year saw the highest number of large scale seizures of ivory. Authorities confiscated 40 tons of it – the most in 28 years.

CITES head John Scanlon says this is because of increased vigilance, scaled up enforcement and people holding ivory taking more risks to get rid of it because wagering on extinction of the species  has become a bad bet.

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This means all trade in this valuable  wood found in the wild is now banned.

Timber policy expert at the World Wildlife Fund Vanessa Dick says listing the entire ROSEWOOD genus, promotes a practical approach that avoids issues in species identification that previously hindered effective implementation.

CITES secretary general JOHN SCANLON explains why the broad brush was applied

“We had to include all 303 species, although some are not threatened with extinction, because they are so difficult to tell apart,” he said

He says from having 80 species of timber on its list when it started in 1975, CITES now extends its protective umbrella over nearly 1 000 endangered wood species

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