The Ivory Trade and Elephant Poaching: Global Trends
Current poaching upsurge, caused by increased demand for ivory, leading to elephant population collapse
Document created 15 April 2009, last updated 21 September 2012
Initially the ban was effective, poaching dropped and ivory prices plummeted. However since the late 1990s the trend has been reversed and an increasing demand for ivory has caused poaching to climb back to very high levels (see IFAW, 20 Oct 09, link below).
Two main causes are put forward to explain the revival of the ivory market. First, one-off sales of ivory stockpiles by some African states may have re-ignited demand. And second, a growing demand from Asian countries such as Japan and especially China, where economic rise and new affluence have spurred renewed interest in ivory (see Reuters, 9 Nov 2009, and The Independent, 18 Aug 11, links below).
The result is that African elephant populations are in strong decline again and could become extinct by 2025 if the current rate of poaching is allowed to continue (see Mongabay, 20 Oct 09, link below).
Links to external websites:
[wb1] The Independent - 5 Apr 09 - £20m of ivory seized as poachers return to their prey The decision to allow a sale of ivory to China and Japan could be fuelling a rise in smuggling, reports Cahal Milmo
[wb2] Mongabay - 20 Oct 09 - Illegal ivory demand could wipe out Africa's elephants by 2025 - Nearly twenty years ago the ivory trade was banned by Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
[wb3] Reuters - 9 Nov 09 - China ivory demand bodes ill for Africa's elephants - Tucked into a grimy building in Guangzhou, a small band of Chinese master carvers chip away at ivory tusks with chisels, fashioning them into the sorts of intricate carvings that were prized
[wb4] IFAW - 20 Oct 09 - More than 100 elephants a day slaughtered by poachers - This alarming level of illegal hunting could drive the African elephant to extinction across much of the continent in just 15 years.
[wb5] Environment 360 - 23 JAN 2012: INTERVIEW - Monitoring a Grim Rise In the Illegal Ivory Trade - For two decades, TRAFFIC’s Tom Milliken has tracked the illicit ivory trade that has led to the continued slaughter of Africa’s elephants. In an interview with Yale Env
[wb6] Environment 360 - 20 SEP 2012: INTERVIEW - Shining a Bright Light on Africa’s Elephant Slaughter - Fueled by a rising demand for ivory, the mass killing of African elephants has reached extraordinary levels. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, New Yor
Comments
No comment available for this document
Ratings
Related documents Quick look
Below: the latest documents in
Open this category in Headlines for full navigation options and access to all categories and documents.
You can also use the navigation links located here in the right column.