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South Africa auctions last of 'legal' elephant ivory to China, Japan mongabay.com November 7, 2008
Like the earlier auctions — held in Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe over the past two weeks — the proceeds will go towards conservation efforts in the country. Nevertheless the auctions have been condemned by some conservation groups who say the sales will legitimize the market for elephant ivory and encourage poaching, especially in countries and regions where governance is poor. A study published last year showed that elephants are being killed at the highest rate since the international ban on the ivory trade took effect in 1989.
Across the four countries, the auctions of around 101 tons of ivory from national stockpiles raised some $15 million for conservation. African elephant populations have plunged from millions in the 1970s to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals due to poaching and loss of habitat. In response to a rapid decline in the 1980s, CITES in 1989 listed the African elephant on Appendix I, effectively prohibiting all international trade in elephants and their derivatives, including ivory. In 1997 some populations were down-listed to Appendix II, allowing trade with special permissions from CITES. The recent auctions were the result of this downlisting — but only contraband ivory and ivory from "problem" elephants were sold. Related articles Ebay bans the sale of elephant ivory (10/21/2008) Ebay banned the sale of ivory products to help protect elephants from poaching, the company announced Monday. African elephants being poached at record rate (8/1/2008) African elephants are being killed for their ivory at a record pace, reports a University of Washington conservation biologist.
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