Amid conservation concerns, 1st ivory auction in a decade is held in Namibia

Tusks were displayed yesterday in Windhoek, Namibia. The sale took place under an exemption to the ban on ivory trade. (BRIGITTE WEIDLICH/AFP/Getty Images)

WINDHOEK, Namibia - The first ivory auction in a decade sold more than 7 tons of tusks to Chinese and Japanese bidders yesterday, raising more than $1 million for elephant conservation.

The sale took place under a special exemption to the international ban on trade in ivory.

Last year the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species ruled that Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe could make a one-time sale of 108 tons of government ivory stocks.

Some environmentalists have condemned the sales, fearing the practice will encourage smuggling and poaching.

In all, 7.2 tons of ivory were sold, fetching a total of $1.3 million at an average price of $164 per kilogram (2.2 pounds).

Proceeds will go to the Game Product Trust Fund, created in 1999 to promote conservation in communities where elephants range. Most of Namibia's elephants are found outside protected areas and have to compete for land and resources with communities, which often leads to conflict between people and the animals.

"Without a way of benefiting from elephants, elephants can only be seen as a liability or loss to rural communities, who lose significant subsistence crops and even human lives," Leon Jooste, deputy minister of environment and tourism, told reporters.

The two Chinese and two Japanese buyers were not named.

Most of the tusks came from elephants who died of natural causes.

Namibia had expected to sell more than 9 tons of ivory.

More than 44 tons will be sold in Botswana on Friday, while auctions next month will offer 51 tons for sale in South Africa and almost 4 tons in Zimbabwe.

No new sales from the four southern African countries will be allowed for the next nine years.

ASSOCIATED PRESS