Elephant Poaching: Cities Failure to Combat the Growth in Chinese Demand for Ivory
By Joseph Vandegrift
INTRODUCTION
The recent spike in Chinese demand for ivory threatens to renew the poaching of the African Elephant. Chinese buyers have traditionally seen ivory as a symbol of wealth and power, but current Chinese demand has grown rapidly over the past several years due the increased buying power of its emerging middle class. This change in demand has resulted in a dramatic increase in the price and sales of ivory since 2008. While the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (“CITES”) should control all international trade in elephant ivory, the treaty may not be capable of preventing the continued importation of illegal ivory into China. CITES has never before dealt with such a sudden increase in demand for any endangered animal product. Instead, CITES relies upon Chinese domestic market enforcements to combat the spike in illegal trade. This paper argues that neither CITES nor the Chinese regulators are capable of battling the domestic ivory market because of China's unique spike in demand, and so China should ban the trade entirely.
The recent spike in Chinese demand for ivory threatens to renew the poaching of the African Elephant. Chinese buyers have traditionally seen ivory as a symbol of wealth and power, but current Chinese demand has grown rapidly over the past several years due the increased buying power of its emerging middle class. This change in demand has resulted in a dramatic increase in the price and sales of ivory since 2008. While the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (“CITES”) should control all international trade in elephant ivory, the treaty may not be capable of preventing the continued importation of illegal ivory into China. CITES has never before dealt with such a sudden increase in demand for any endangered animal product. Instead, CITES relies upon Chinese domestic market enforcements to combat the spike in illegal trade. This paper argues that neither CITES nor the Chinese regulators are capable of battling the domestic ivory market because of China's unique spike in demand, and so China should ban the trade entirely.
