Japan had an all-round bad meeting. It not only suffered defeats on whaling
and ivory, but also lost out when the conference defeated a proposal from Cuba
to be allowed to sell shells from its sustainable harvest of the endangered
Caribbean hawksbill turtle. The shells would have gone to Japan, where the
ancient art of bekko—which turns them into sculpture, jewellery and
trinkets—is itself endangered.
Life
Shell shock
By Fred Pearce
29 April 2000
