Africa’s elephant populations are being threatened by greed for their ivory.
Just how bad is the situation? Here are eight facts around elephant poaching…
How Many Elephants Have Been Killed?
Elephant populations are declining at a staggering rate. In the decade between 1979 and 1989, their numbers fell from 1.3 million to 600,000 - more than half. Today it is estimated there are as few as 400,000 elephants roaming the wild. Despite a global ban on ivory trade in 1989, numbers keep declining. In 2011, between 17,000 and 25,000 elephants were killed and on average at least 50 elephants are killed every day. Two thirds of the world’s forest elephants were killed in just the past ten years.
Why Elephants?
Hunting elephants for their ivory has been popular for centuries, if not longer. Most of this goes towards ornaments and jewellery - some regard ivory as a good investment and a sign of status. Today a kilogram of raw ivory can easily sell for over $1,000. Elephants are also easier to target, as their populations are often found in regions with little stability, extreme poverty and poor government resources.
What’s Fuelling The Fire?
Poaching of elephants has doubled in the past decade, while seizures of illegal ivory have tripled. 2011 holds the record for the most ivory seized - 40 metric tons - but 2013 may be on track to beat that. Several things push for poaching: legal markets in the Far East, unregulated markets in Africa and regional instability all play a role. Poor people are usually enlisted to do the hunting and often paramilitary and terrorist groups are also involved in the trade. This has been made worse with high-calibre weapons smuggled out of Libya. Poor laws, corruption and a lack of resources also make it hard for many countries to stop the poaching. Then there is China, where the demand for ivory is so high it pays well to smuggle the product.
How Does The Illegal Ivory Trade Work?
Illegal trade of ivory has doubled since 2007, particularly due to demand in countries like China and Thailand. Both have legal domestic ivory markets, but these are often used to launder illegal ivory from Africa. Criminal organisations and terrorist groups are heavily involved in the trade, as the pay is lucrative and the risk relatively low. Most countries have banned the trade of ivory since 1989, but this has led to a higher demand and very good paydays for the criminals involved. Poachers often find themselves well supported by criminal groups and illicit traders, who in turn facilitate the trade and smuggling of ivory through bribery and other means of corruption.
Who is involved?
Most ivory is illegal - this was the case even before the 1989 global ban and is even truer today. Eight countries are considered the major players in the ivory trade. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are the main sources for ivory, while Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines are often used to transport and launder ivory. The main buying markets are China and Thailand. Poor locals are often recruited to poach, though paramilitary and terror groups also tend to get their hands dirty. For example, the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been accused of killing elephants for their tusks.
Where Are The Poaching Hotspots?
The worst poaching is taking place in central Africa: Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Central African Republic and Chad have all experienced incredible massacres of local elephant populations. The picture is somewhat better if you look south: elephant conservation in countries like Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana have allowed herds to flourish and even made it possible for limited trade in legal ivory. But as demand for the product rises, poaching has become a bigger problem in these areas.
What Are The Long-Term Consequences?
Quite simple: the extinction of the species. While it may seem unthinkable to have an Africa without elephants, some researchers and conservationists have warned that this is a very big possibility. Most recently it was remarked that if Kenya did not move to curb poaching, it may be without its iconic giants within a decade.
How Are The Poachers Being Fought?
Numerous countries have started to tackle the problem with their own firepower. Places such as Cameroon have sent in their armed forces, supported by military hardware such as helicopters. Some wildlife organisations and countries are also using drones to watch over elephants and spot poachers - the WWF is doing this with a grant from Google. CITES, the global body overseeing the trade of animal products, have recently threatened countries with sanctions if they do not help stop the trade in illegal ivory - this has prompted Thailand to reconsider its laws allowing domestic ivory markets. And the U.S. created a task force to look at poaching, as it has become a big revenue source for terrorist groups. But this is not nearly enough: China still turns a blind eye to the problem, while affected African nations say they lack the resources to take on the criminal syndicates.
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