WASHINGTON (June 2, 2016) – WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), founder of the 96 Elephants campaign, applauded the Obama Administration’s announcement of a near-total ban on the interstate trade in ivory. The final revision for of the 4(d) rule of the Endangered Species Act for African elephants allows for exceptions for items containing de minimis amounts of ivory and documented antiques.

华盛顿（2016年6月2日）--- 国际野生生物保护学会(Wildlife Conservation Society，简称WCS)作为“96头大象”活动的创办者，为奥巴马政府宣布象牙贸易禁令喝彩，这一禁令几乎全面实现了州与州之间的象牙禁贸。美国濒危物种法案中最新的4(d)条款中（Endangered Species Act for African elephants）仅允许两项例外的存在：一是极其微小的象牙装饰品，二是具有法律证明文件的古董。

The following statement was released by Cristián Samper, WCS President and CEO and a member of the U.S. President’s Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking:

以下声明来自Cristián Samper，WCS的总裁兼首席执行官，“打击野生动植物贸易·总统特别委员会”（the U.S. President’s Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking）的成员之一。

“The world knows that the very survival of elephants is imperiled by the ivory trade.

众所周知，大象的生存受到象牙贸易的严重威胁。 

“The USA is shutting down the bloody ivory market that is wiping out Africa’s elephants. The USA is boldly saying to ivory poachers: You are officially out of business.

美国叫停血腥的国内象牙市场——其存在对非洲象而言是灭顶之灾。美国对着象牙盗猎者叫板：你们已正式地失业！

“Today, the Obama Administration followed through on a promise, called for by African heads of state at the Clinton Global Initiative, and more recently by the Elephant Protection Initiative, and made by the president himself in Kenya in 2013, to do what we can in the United States to confront this threat to African elephants by banning ivory.

今天，奥巴马政府通过颁布象牙禁令，致力于解除非洲象面临的危机。奥巴马政府响应了 “克林顿全球倡议”（Clinton Global Initiative）中非洲国家元首提出的倡议，实现了近期“非洲象保护倡议”（Elephant Protection Initiative），兑现了总统于2013年在肯尼亚做出的承诺。

“This US ban on ivory sales, along with the commitment of a ban in China and several African nations, shows how two influential nations can join together to ensure a future for wild elephants. If these actions of the US and China are repeated by all nations, we could reverse the decline of elephants.

美国出台国内象牙交易禁令，加上中国及其他非洲国家也承诺会颁布禁令，这些举动表明了其中最具有影响力的两个国家可以联合起来，保证野生非洲象的未来。如果中国和美国的举动被世界上所有国家所仿效，我们将扭转非洲象数量锐减的局面。

“Illegal ivory hides behind ‘legal’ ivory, and the US is one of the largest markets for ivory in the world. Our scientists have found conclusive evidence that the only way to save elephants is to ban ivory sales. This is a wonderful day for those who care about saving this amazing species.

美国是全球最大的象牙消费市场之一，“非法”象牙混迹于“合法”象牙之中。我们的科学家有确凿证据证明，目前唯一保护非洲象的有效方法是及时有效的禁止象牙交易。对于那些在乎非洲象、并致力于保护好这一神奇物种的人们，这一天值得高兴！

“Between 2010 and 2012, 100,000 elephants were illegally killed for their ivory across the African continent—an average of 96 elephants per day or one every 15 minutes. And, between 2002 and 2013, central Africa’s forest elephant population declined by two-thirds, with heavy poaching continuing to this day. At this rate, forest elephants could be extinct in the wild within a decade.

在2010年至2012年间，非洲大陆上的100,000头大象由于象牙被非法杀害，平均每天有96头大象被杀，即平均每15分钟有一头大象消失。在2002年至2013年间，非洲中部的森林象数量下降了三分之二， 猖獗的盗猎至今还在发生。照这个速度，只需要10年的时间，森林象便会在野外灭绝。

“WCS has continually brought attention to the plight of African elephants, through the awareness-raising 96 Elephants campaign; advocacy for state ivory bans in New York, New Jersey, California and others; and its role in the Times Square ivory crush in 2015. 

WCS一直努力不懈地呼吁世人对非洲象困境的持续关注：举行“96头大象”传播活动，倡导纽约州、新泽西州、加利福利亚州和其他州的象牙禁令，参与了2015年在时代广场销毁象牙的行动。

“The US ivory ban is a key component of the US National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking and stopping the criminal syndicates who traffic in ivory. The American people have spoken loudly on this issue, based on the hundreds of thousands of letters sent to the US Congress through the 96 Elephants campaign as well as the 1.3 million comments submitted on this proposed rule, that this should be a priority for our federal government.

这一象牙禁令是美国国家策略中打击野生动植物非法贸易的重要组成部分，也是终止犯罪团伙走私象牙的重要措施。美国人民公开疾呼这一禁令，基于“96头大象”传播平台，美国国会收到了成千上万的请愿信和一百三十万条的评论要求推行象牙立法，促使这一诉求成为美国联邦政府的当务之急。

“Several African countries and the US have presented draft resolutions for consideration at the 2016 meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) which call on all nations to close their domestic ivory markets. With this final rule, the US is well placed to work with African governments to see those resolutions adopted.

很多非洲国家和美国共同努力，在2016年CITES (濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约)成员国大会上递交了决议草案，一致叫停各国国内的象牙贸易。今天美国的象牙禁令，很好地落实了与非洲各国政府的一致决议。

“WCS applauds this action by the US government and stands ready to continue educating the US public about the plight of the world’s elephants through campaign engagement, our field and policy conservation work across the globe, and in our zoos.

WCS为美国政府颁布的象牙禁令喝彩，并已准备好在美国民众中持续不懈地进行科普教育，通过在WCS全球（项目地）及动物园体系中开展公众活动、推动实地保护措施的落实、推进政策保护工作的开展，让人们更好地了解非洲象在这颗星球上的艰难处境。

“Actions like today spark hope that we can re-write the story of species facing multiple threats. We have many examples of how our concerted actions can lead to better news for threatened wildlife.

类似今天这个法案的出台，让我们燃起希望，去改写众多野外物种饱受各种威胁的历史。不胜枚举的例子，都说明了我们协同一致对于解除威胁产生的积极作用。

“In Tanzania’s Tarangire ecosystem, for one example,  WCS has been studying the elephant population for over 20 years. Here WCS has worked with communities to protect elephant dispersal areas and migration corridors, hired community game scouts to patrol outside the park and provided anti-poaching vehicles. For many years the population of elephants in Tarangire NP has been among the fastest growing in Africa, a testament to how elephants can increase when provided with good protection.  

 在坦桑尼亚，以塔兰吉雷国家公园的生态系统为例，WCS已经有超过二十年实地研究非洲象种群数量的历史。WCS与当地的社区一起保护非洲象的扩散区域和迁徙走廊，包括聘请社区的狩猎巡防队在国家公园的周边开展巡护，提供反盗猎的车辆进行及时保护。在整个非洲大陆来看，塔兰吉雷国家公园的大象种群数量是增长最快的。这是在提供良好保护措施之下，非洲象数量快速增长的成功典范。

“As we celebrate today’s announcement, we must never forget that we must stop the killing, stop the trafficking and stop the demand.”

在为如今的成绩欢欣鼓舞之时，我们必须铭记使命：终止对野生动植物的盗猎，阻止非法野生动植物贸易，节制对野生动植物制品的需求。

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