Lift the Ivory Trade Ban

Mar 16, 2010 Mark Somerfield
African Elephants: Should the trade ban be lifted? - Public licence
Discussions regarding trade in elephant tusks have tended to dominate CITES (Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species) meetings for many years. Many African Elephant species are listed as endangered by the IUCN and most count as Appendix I banned trade items under CITES.
Yet several African nations have submitted motions to allow restricted trade on their own elephant populations, in some cases on repeat occasions. Ivory is big business, particularly in Asia, where there is a high demand for it for use in traditional family seals, handicrafts and art work. Furthermore, combating elephant poaching is a costly process and many nations argue that the proceeds for managed sales of elephant tusks could be used to help conserve them.
In 1989, African Elephants were listed under CITES as an Appendix 1 endangered species, effectively banning the international trade in ivory. A number of petitions to downgrade the listing by some African nations were rejected in subsequent years, until 1997 when Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe were allowed to sell raw ivory stocks to Japan in a one off sale. Petitions to allow further trade in 2000 were rejected.
In 2002 Namibia, Botswana and South Africa were allowed to trade a further 60 tons, and in 2008 a further seven tonnes were sold, fetching around £700,000 from bidders in Japan and China. A subsequent 10-year moratorium was imposed on further proposals for ivory trade - yet in 2010, ivory trade discussions are back on the table. This time, it is Tanzania and Zambia who are the main protagonists.
Before the 1950s it is estimated that there were around 5 million elephants in the wild. But the increasing globalization of trade coupled with ready markets in Asia meant that the ivory trade boomed in the subsequent decades. In the 1980s it is estimated that 100,000 elephants were being killed a year, decimating herds by upward of 80% in some regions – Kenya suffered the worst, losing 85% of its population between 1979 and 1983.
Yet in other countries, such as Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa, populations were either sustained or even increased. This geographical disparity that has caused disagreement over the best way of handling the ivory trade.
Those who argue for regulation believe that money made from the sale of ivory could be invested in stopping poaching. Poaching in many regions is on the increase. In 2007, 45 elephants were killed by poachers in Kenya, but in 2009 that figures was 271. For poachers the high value of ivory as a commodity and the ready markets in Asia make poaching worth the risk.
But others believe that the rise in poaching has come about as a direct result of the ivory sales in 2008 and that legalising the trade in ivory would simply lead to market growth. Moses Litoroh, one of the co-ordinators of Kenya's elephant programme, has described that market as 'insatiable' and believes that the evidence shows that supply of ivory creates further demand.
The IUCN, the parent organisation of CITES, has a commitment to maintaining an a dialogue with human development agencies and a careful approach is needed to balance economic, social and environmental concerns.
While the CITES delegates all realise that the welfare of such species is paramount, disagreement will continue over the best management solutions to ensure that welfare. There are case studies that demonstrate both successes and failures of both blanket bans and management schemes and recommendations based on science are often filled with caveats, due to the difficulty of implementing rigorous methodologies in such complex environments.
Whatever the outcome of the latest petitions, the trade in ivory is a complex issue that is unlikely to disappear in the near future.
References
Telegraph "Elephant Tusks Sold Legally For First Time In A Decade", 28 Oct 2008.
Elephant Voices, "CITES and the Ivory Trade" (January 2010)
CITES (March 16 2010)
Copyright Mark Somerfield. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
African Elephants: Should the trade ban be lifted? - Public licence High demand for ivory in China and Japan - Public licence Poaching is on the rise in Kenya - Lord Mountbatten$(function() {$(".imageCarousel").jCarouselLite({btnNext: ".next",btnPrev: ".prev",visible: 3});});
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Total ban to Ivory Trade- The Petition Site

The dramatic increase in ivory poaching across Africa is being fuelled by organised crime based in china and the Far East, according to a new report.
This has resulted in a surge in ivory prices from around $241 per kilogram in 2004 to more than $6,446 today.Scientists now estimate that between eight and 10 per cent of Africas elephants are being killed each year.
The report which is based on the latest analysis of seizure data in the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) suggests an increased involvement of organised crime syndicates in the illicit ivory trade, connecting African source countries with Asian end-use markets.
According to the latest statistics, more than 14,000 products made from the tusks and other body parts of elephants were seized last year  an increase of more than 2,000 since 2007.The Etis data shows that such crime syndicates have become stronger and more active over the last decade.
Etis analysis identifies Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Thailand as the three countries most heavily implicated in the global illicit ivory trade. china, which along with Japan was an approved destination of the legal Cites sanctioned one-off ivory sale in 2008, faces a persistent illegal trade challenge from its nationals no based in Africa.

Ongoing evidence highlights widespread involvement of overseas chinese in the illicit procurement of ivory, a problem that needs to be addressed through aggressive outreach and awareness initiative directed at chinese communities living in Africa, the report says.
Situation has really become alarming and scientists estimate that between 8% and 10% of Africa's elephants are now being killed each year to meet the high ivory demand. World's largest animals are once again under great jeopardy, and many of them are being each year viciously slaughtered by merciless poachers that care only for money.
Sadly, as long as there is high demand for ivory, merciless elephant poaching will continue, and the solution to this problem is hard to find. One fact is sure, elephants, especially the ones in Africa, need much more protection because poaching gangs are becoming more and more organized, and there are not enough rangers to stop them.
Another big problem is hunger in Africa that is becoming worse and worse, especially as many African countries are suffering terrible drought, and people are hungry without food and money. Hungry people are desperate people, and poaching brings good money, so many local people turn to elephant poaching.
Current estimates say that more than 40,000 elephants were killed last year. Stop this slaughter!

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Everything Dinosaur :: Mammoth Ivory Trade

Trade in Siberian Mammoth Tusks could Aid in Elephant Extinctions
The once diverse and widespread Order Proboscidea (animals with trunks) have very few representatives left on planet Earth.  Of the Elephants, these once quite common creatures are restricted to Africa and parts of Asia, however, trade in the ivory of long-dead members of the Elephantidae family - Mammoths, could harm existing populations of these animals.
Mammoths have been known for many thousands of years.  Humans relationship with the Mammoth goes back a very long way, the cave paintings of these hairy, long tusked creatures by our ancestors are testament to this relationship.  They are perhaps the most well researched animals from the Ice Ages and recent films such as the Ice Age trilogy have made "Manny the Mammoth" almost as popular as Tyrannosaurus rex.  Indeed, in the Everything Dinosaur annual prehistoric animal popularity survey, the Woolly Mammoth usually comes out in the top ten and is the often the most popular non-dinosaur animal.
The permafrost in Siberia is melting, as climate change takes affect.  So much fossil material is being discovered that a trade in dead Mammoth ivory has sprung up.  The trade has actually been around for over 100 years or so.  In the 19th Century, the native herds-people of Siberia used to regard the exposed carcases of Mammoths with fear.  Many of these people believed the Mammoths to be giant moles that were very much alive and to approach a thawing carcase would bring disease and bad luck.
The very last Mammoths, a population of dwarf Woolly Mammoths lived on Wrangel Island, to the north of Siberia. This isolated population became extinct only 4,000 years ago, just a few hundred years before the great Egyptian civilisation came about.
An Ice Age Woolly Mammoth HerdPicture Credit: Schleich of GermanyTo view Schleich prehistoric animals: Schleich Prehistoric MammalsA new study, undertaken by Care for the Wild, a conservation charity, suggests that up to sixty tons of ivory is taken from Siberia each year.  The amount of Mammoth ivory entering the global market now exceeds that from elephants, most of which is obtained by illegal poaching in sub-Saharan Africa.  So plentiful are the Mammoth remains, that some Russian businessmen have taken to hiring planes to scour the vast tundra so that rotting carcases can be spotted and the ivory removed.  This growing trade in prehistoric ivory has raised concerns over the effect on extant species of elephant.  The Mammoths may be fossils, but they are not permineralised, the ivory is not replaced by minerals.  The fossils are firstly, too young for full permineralistion to occur and their method of preservation, essentially frozen in the permafrost, like being stored in a giant freezer permits the organic ivory and other material to remain intact.Some conservation groups are concerned that real elephant ivory could be passed off as Mammoth ivory, thus permitting the poaching network a route to market.The author of this new study, Esmond Martin, an expert in the ivory trade; stated:"Every year from mid-June when the tundra melts until mid-September, hundreds of people search the tundra in northern Siberia looking for Mammoth tusks".Scientists have estimated that the frozen north of Russia may still contain an estimated 150 million dead Mammoths, however, the exploitation of the Mammoths as a resource is also denying palaeontologists the chance to study these extinct animals.A spokesperson for Everything Dinosaur commented:"It is important to remember that we still have a great deal to learn about these amazing creatures [Woolly Mammoths], the ransacking of the tundra for Mammoth ivory is denying scientists the opportunity to study the remains properly.  As climate change affects our own species, we have the opportunity to learn about how temperature changes led to the demise of another large mammal species."The report is published in "Pachyderm" a journal focusing on elephant conservation.  It is published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.  Rather than taking the pressure off those elephant species that remain, the huge amount of Mammoth ivory coming onto the global market could lead to increased demand for ivory from any source, including extant elephants.Esmond Martin, commented that the greatest threat on modern elephants lies in the possibility of Mammoth ivory being exported to Africa, where shipments could be mingled with tusks from African elephants.  The Indian Government has already imposed a complete ban on Mammoth ivory, fearing just such a threat and wanting to protect the few wild Indian elephants that remain.Mark Jones, a spokesperson for Care for the Wild said:"The trade in elephant ivory is illegal and we need to monitor anything that might increase the threat to elephants.  The hope must be that this Mammoth ivory will reduce demand but it is changing the whole market and we need to monitor it."There is another factor that needs to be considered when examining the trade in Mammoth ivory.  When scientists are working on the thawing carcase of a Mammoth such as Lyuba, the remarkably well preserved baby Mammoth found a few years ago, great care is taken to avoid contamination from germs and other pathogens that may be de-frosting too.  Some of these bugs could be quite harmful to our own species, after all, we have not been exposed to them for thousands of years.  When working with such fossil material there is always the risk of exposure, we suspect that no precautions are taken by the Mammoth ivory hunters.  Trade in Mammoth ivory may not just be deadly to elephants.
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