African park ranger hits out at Hong Kong ivory trade

Democratic Republic of Congo Garamba National Park manager Erik Mararv (centre) sits next to Josias Mungabwa (left) a former investigator with the Zambian Wildlife Authority and WWF Hong Kong's director of conservation Gavin Edwards (right) at the city's legislature in Hong Kong on June 6, 2017. -AFP

HONG KONG: A frontline park ranger from the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday delivered an emotive testimony to legislators against the ivory trade in Hong Kong, as the city faces criticism over how it plans to phase out the trade.

The southern Chinese city, a major hub for ivory sales, announced last year that it would ban the import and export of the goods, but later clarified that it would only completely abolish the trade by 2021.