Ivory Trade - Hanya Awan

The ivory trade has been increasing in popularity throughout Asia and Africa. Ivory comes from elephant tusks that are often seen as valuable and expensive for economic and marketing value. Many countries are starting this form of trade and starting to accept these exports from other places to increase a good market for these parts that are extracted from elephants. China, a huge country in terms of land and population, has been one of the greatest supporters of the ivory trade and has the highest demand for ivory. Many Chinese individuals believe that ivory is a symbol of luck, wealth, and status and therefore has only positive perceptions and perspectives from many Chinese who want to purchase and desire to own the ivory. However, ivory does not only limit itself to the market in Asia but also in North America, with the United States creating many illegal ivory markets. CITIES, an international corporation and body that governs and regulates endangered species, currently prohibits the ivory trade and any form of anything similar

to the act because they comprehend the risks it demonstrates to elephant conservation. Despite the international body proposing a ban on the ivory trade, many countries are still hesitant to agree to it because many countries are in need of it or firmly support the idea. For example, some African countries oppose the trade ban, while others, such as Kenya, support it, which creates difficulty in creating the balance and ability to resolve tensions. Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks and teeth of elephants and therefore, each piece of ivory costs one life of an elephant. The ivory trade has led to an increase in the declining population of elephants, as in the 1970s and the 1980s was the start of the population declining due to the beginning of the ivory trade. It is imperative to note that despite the fact that this form of international trade was banned in 1989, and the elephant population has recovered, many nations still support this type of trade and desire the agonizing acts that put elephants at great risk. Each year around 20,000 elephants from Africa are illegally (for the most part) killed for their tusks to be sold in markets, museums, malls, and kiosks across Asia and Europe. There is some progress being made with bans, however, a lot of countries still choose to neglect the ban made by officials. With the implementation of a near-end ban on the sale of elephant ivory in 2016, countries including the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other markets also became part of this effort. In a significant development, the Chinese government shut down its legal domestic ivory market in 2017. In addition to China, other Asian countries with open elephant ivory markets are also being pressured significantly to act. Through WWF and its partners, international action at the highest level was successfully pushed, along with diplomatic and public pressure from all sides, which resulted in a game-changing China ban. Now, they are working to ensure the ban is successful by eliminating the remaining consumer demand for elephant ivory and black-market sales. Outside China, the proliferation of trade and demand for illegal ivory could threaten China's efforts to halt the trade and demand. The WWF wants to create a goal of creating the practice of purchasing tusks and other ivory trade materials from elephants, socially unacceptable. One promising strategy is the use of location-specific messages distributed on popular social media platforms, since consumers are likely moving around known elephant ivory markets in Asia in real-time. WMF can share messages known to demotivate ivory buyers, such as highlighting the negative effects of using elephant ivory, by connecting with them at such potential acquisition points as the deadly toll on elephants and the legal risks of trying to smuggle elephants ivory souvenirs from one country into another.

Works Cited

“Elephant Ivory | Pages | WWF.” World Wildlife Fund, 2019, www.worldwildlife.org/pages/elephant-ivory.

“Elephants and the Ivory Trade | Animal Legal & Historical Center.” Www.animallaw.info, www.animallaw.info/intro/elephants-and-ivory-trade.

“Stopping Elephant Ivory Demand | Initiatives | WWF.” World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/initiatives/stopping-elephant-ivory-demand#:~:text=The%20illegal%20elephant%20ivory%20trade.