An Alang scheme
Within the framework of adapting the fishing fleet to the European policy, hundreds of boats will be demolished in France from now until the end of the year. Each owner receives a substantial compensation bonus from the European Union and the French State which could reach up to 600,000 €. The bonus is calculated taking into account the age of the vessel, its size, the type of fishing and the related catch quota and finally the engine’s power. The paying of this bonus is triggered by a proof of destruction or of the incapacity to navigate.
Beijing 2008 : rings made of ivory
On 16th July, 2008 in Geneva, three weeks before the opening of the Olympic Games, China was given authorization to act as a commercial licensed partner within the legal elephant ivory traffic. Thus, the biggest black market for ivory in the world will consolidate its position. Thousands of ivory retailers throughout China can hold their heads up high as they cooly welcomed the tourists of olympic games. Within a couple of months according to the CITES program (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), the price of 108 t of ivory stocks auctionned by South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe is expected to increase after China’s accreditation, Japan being till now the only legal candidate. As a matter of fact, little legal ivory is sufficient to launder a lot of illicit ivory and there is no doubt the price of ivory will skyrocket after China’s entry into ivory stock exchange.
