The outcome of the most highly anticipated vote at this months CITES may be becoming clearer, with the CITES Secretariat recommending that delegates support a proposal allowing Zambia to conduct a one-off sale of ivory while rejecting a similar request by Tanzania.

While many of the proposals to be tabled at CITES have drawn attention from conservationists but limited mainstream press coverage, the proposed sale of ivory stocks by Tanzania and Zambia has drawn wide-ranging interest and debate since it was first proposed many months ago.

The recommendation could go a long way toward shaping the final vote, which was expected as early as Monday. Zambia wants to sell 48,000 pounds (21,700 kilograms) of ivory while Tanzania is asking to sell almost 200,000 pounds (90,000 kilograms) of ivory.

Tom De Meulenaer, the elephant expert for CITES, said the Secretariat endorsed a conclusion by a panel of experts that Zambia had conservation measures in place while Tanzania allows poaching in several parts of the country and remains a transit point for illegal raw ivory shipments.

The findings against Tanzania could bolster the arguments of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, which have proposed a halt to the limited international trade in African elephant ivory currently permitted and a 20-year moratorium on any proposals to relax international trade controls on African elephants.

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