Leo Foundation submitted two motions to the IUCN World Conservation Congress, in close collaboration with a number of other IUCN members;
- motion 072 – Combatting the illegal trade in lion body parts.
- motion 109 – A call for increased consideration of genetic diversity in IUCN planning and actions.
Although the congress, which was planned to take place in France in January 2021, had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak, IUCN members voted electronically on the motions in October this year and both motions were adopted.
Motion no 72 is particularly close to our work, since it focuses on the illegal trade in lion bones and derivates. In this motion we request the IUCN to support robust, evidence-based research into the extent and drivers of the trade in African lion parts and derivatives on both African and Asian markets, and its impact on wild lion populations in Africa as well as of other big cats globally. Such information is essential to better inform decision-making and intervention measures.
The motion further encourages members to combat illegal and unsustainable exploitation of wild lion populations by improving law enforcement, improving and enforcing wildlife crime legislation, enhancing benefits to rural communities through maintaining and strengthening lion values and incentives for conservation, tackling governance and corruption issues, and engaging in efforts to reduce the consumer demand for lion bones and any other parts and derivatives from illegally killed lions.
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