New research measures impacts of China’s elephant ivory trade ban

Research released last month by WWF and TRAFFIC, the wildlife monitoring network, found that there has been a substantial decline in the number of Chinese consumers buying ivory since the ivory trade ban went into effect on December 31, 2017. But there is still work to be done to diminish both the supply and demand for elephant ivory in China.

Of 2,000 Chinese consumers surveyed, 14 percent claimed to have bought ivory in the past year — significantly fewer than the 31 percent of respondents who said they’d recently purchased ivory during a pre-ban survey conducted in 2017. Some ivory sales have simply gone international, however: 18 percent of regular travelers reported buying ivory products while abroad, particularly in Thailand and Hong Kong.

TRAFFIC reports that all of the formerly accredited (i.e. legal) ivory shops the group’s investigators visited in 2018 have stopped selling ivory. But the illegal ivory trade has not been so thoroughly shut down. TRAFFIC investigators also visited 157 markets in 23 cities and found 2,812 ivory products on offer in 345 separate stores.

When China banned all commercial trade in elephant ivory and shuttered its domestic ivory markets at the end of 2017, conservationists applauded the measure. But they also warned that if China’s neighbors didn’t take similar action, the ivory trade would simply shift to those countries.

New research finds that those concerns were absolutely justified, though China’s ivory ban has had some decidedly positive impacts all the same.

Research released last month by WWF and TRAFFIC, the wildlife monitoring network, found that there has been a substantial decline in the number of Chinese consumers buying ivory since the ivory trade ban went into effect on December 31, 2017. Of the 2,000 Chinese consumers surveyed for a study titled China Ivory Consumption Research Post-Ban 2018, 14 percent claimed to have bought ivory in the past year — significantly fewer than the 31 percent of respondents who said they’d recently purchased ivory during a pre-ban survey conducted in 2017.

Chinese consumers overwhelmingly view the ban favorably, according to the survey, which found that 9 out of 10 respondents support it. Or at least, 9 out of 10 respondents said they supported the ban once they were made aware of it. Just 8 percent of respondents knew about the ban without having to be prompted, but that is twice the amount of awareness that existed pre-ban. These results suggest that, while word is slowly spreading, China needs to do more to increase public awareness around the ivory trade ban.

That’s especially true of the Chinese consumers who travel internationally, as the study found that 18 percent of regular travelers reported buying ivory products while abroad, particularly in Thailand and Hong Kong.

“We are seeing some positive trends in post ivory ban China that indicate the new legislative changes may be yielding positive results,” Margaret Kinnaird, Wildlife Practice Leader for WWF, said in a statement. “But persisting demand and a lack of awareness among consumers in some parts of the country as well as weak spots with insufficient regulation and enforcement means we need to redouble efforts in strengthening these areas.”

In another study, China’s Ivory Market after the Ivory Trade Ban in 2018, TRAFFIC reports that all of the formerly accredited (i.e. legal) ivory shops the group’s investigators visited in 2018 have stopped selling ivory. But the illegal ivory trade has not been so thoroughly shut down. TRAFFIC investigators also visited 157 markets in 23 cities and found 2,812 ivory products on offer in 345 separate stores. That’s 30 percent less ivory for sale than was found in a similar 2017 survey, but still a high level of trade considering that the sale and purchase of ivory is illegal.

Ivory trafficking hotspots identified by the WWF and TRAFFIC include a handful of provincial cities like Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, and Pingxiang, as well as the city of Dongxing, which sits on China’s border with Vietnam. In fact, according to the research, those five cities were the site of more than half of all the ivory products TRAFFIC found for sale.

Sales of illegal ivory online also have yet to be eradicated, though they do appear to be in decline as well. According to the study, the average number of new ivory advertisements have decreased by nearly 27 percent on websites and close to 11 percent on social media platforms since the ban went into effect.

“We are encouraged by the decline in both trade and consumer demand since the ban went into effect, but there’s still work needed to address the persistent demand and lack of awareness among consumers in some parts of the country,” Jan Vertefeuille, who oversees WWF’s ivory work, said in a statement. “And particularly concerning is the finding that people who regularly travel outside mainland China have actually shown an increase in intent to buy ivory this year.”

Xu Ling, who coordinated WWF’s and TRAFFIC’s research efforts in China, said that the findings support the call for China’s neighbors to take steps to outlaw the ivory trade in order to safeguard a future for elephants.

“Closure of the legal ivory market is a critical tool for Chinese government efforts and sets a benchmark for other countries and regions where domestic ivory markets remain active,” Xu Ling said in a statement. “Only a united global effort will achieve the goal of stamping out ivory trafficking for the benefit of elephant conservation.”

Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/new-research-measures-impacts-of-chinas-elephant-ivory-trade-ban/

Campaigners reveal illegal ivory trading across EU

Traders are selling illegal ivory openly across the European Union (EU), a campaign group said in a report on Tuesday.

The campaign group Avaaz said more than 100 ivory pieces it bought in 10 EU countries were found to be illegal after they were tested at Oxford University in Britain, indicating a loophole in relevant regulations.

In its report "Europe's Deadly Ivory Trade", Avaaz said a fifth of the items it bought had come from elephants killed after the global ivory trade was banned in 1989 and three quarters were from animals killed after 1947.

Under EU laws, government certificates are legally required for the sale of ivory acquired after 1947 and before 1990. Avaaz said none of the ivory it bought had certificates.

Avaaz campaign director Bert Wander said: "This bombshell evidence proves beyond doubt that illegal ivory is being sold across Europe. It must spark the end of this bloody trade. Every day (when) the sale of these trinkets continues is a day closer to wiping out majestic elephants forever."

The campaign group said it bought the items, both on-line and in shops, from antique dealers and private sellers over a four-month period in Britain, Ireland, Belgium, France, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

It said the study counters claims by the European Commission that there was no evidence of illegal ivory trade in the 28 members of the EU.


To read the full article, click on the story title.

Africa: China to Shut Down 22 Domestic Ivory Carving Factories, 88 Outlets

By Joseph S. Margai

Beijing — In a bid to protect wildlife and other endangered species in both China and Africa, the Chinese government has taken drastic action to shut down 22 ivory carving factories and 88 outlets by the end of 2018.

Already, the country's State Forestry and Grassland Administration, through the Endangered Species of Wild Fuana and Flora Import and Management Office, has shut down 12 ivory carving domestic factories and 55 outlets in March 2017.

Many African and non-African tabloids have been accusing China of exporting tusks and ivory from Africa, thereby destroying Africa's wildlife and souring the relationship between both parties.

For instance, QUARTZ Africa published in its headline "Ivory smuggling continues to hurt China's alliances in Africa", adding that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni personally accused local officials and two Chinese diplomats of smuggling 1.3 metric tons (about 2,900 pounds) of ivory out of the country in 2014.

Another story published on August 29, 2017 by The Guardian, headlined "Under pressure: the story behind China's ivory ban" stated that for years Chinese government officials were followed around the world, at every meeting, by a single issue: the scores of dead elephants across Africa, and the international community that blamed China for this "ivory holocaust".

The African Geographic (AG) on 12th July 2017, with its headline "Exposing illegal ivory trade in China - the Shuidong Connection", published that even though China has taken steps to close their domestic ivory market by the end of 2017, there was still a complete lack of enforcement against Chinese nationals who are involved in the illegal ivory trade.




To read the full article, click on the story title.

China support instrumental in reducing elephant poaching in Kenya

By Lenah Bosibori

The Chinese government has completely closed down its domestic ivory market leading to the rise of African elephants in the wild.

In Kenya, – for instance-, the Chinese government has provided state of the art equipment like night goggles and, – camouflage gear, funding, vehicles for patrolling and tents for warmth at night.

Chinese President Xi Jinping made the announcement in September 2015, in a move that was widely celebrated by wildlife conservation organizations across the world. Since then, the Asian nation has taken actions to help reduce poaching and funded conservation efforts in several African countries.

Back in China, some charity organizations have been carrying out campaigns to educate the ordinary citizens on how illegal ivory trade in their country is threatening the African elephant.


To read the full article, click on the story title.

Drones to combat wildlife poachers in Malawi

China’s ambassador to Malawi have gifted the country two drones tasked with fighting poachers who are threatening the survival of the African nation’s rapidly declining wildlife.

The Chinese ambassador was quoted in the Nyasa Times saying: “This is the technology that has helped us in the monitoring of our wildlife, this will help Malawi in dealing with poaching.”

Drones have an inherent advantage over human rangers in monitoring wildlife in that they can cover a lot more ground in a shorter period of time. New software have been developed that enable the drones to identify poachers from high in the sky and track the movements of groups of wildlife.

In other African nations battling poaching, the simple addition of drone patrols at nights that shine their lights at would-be poachers have caused many of them to give up and run away.

The main animals with populations considered under threat in Malawi are elephants, rhinos and lions. The problem has gotten so serious that Malawi have started importing animals from South Africa including 500 elephants and other ‘big five’ animals to maintain the country’s tourism industry.

In 2016, the World Bank produced a report showing Malawi had one of lowest per person incomes in the world with average citizen taking home less than US$1,045 per year. Against this backdrop, poaching can be an attractive option for some Malawians who stand to make comparatively enormous sums from dealing in illegal wildlife goods. In Kenya, terrorist group Al Shabab are reported to earn between $200,000 and $600,000 USD per month from the illegal ivory trade.

To read the full article, click on the story title.

Chinese customs strengthen overseas ties against illegal ivory trade

Chinese border customs have strengthened cooperation with other countries and wildlife protection organizations to crack down on ivory trafficking, after China implemented an ivory ban at the end of last year.

Customs authorities in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, seized around 200 grams of ivory products from a Chinese traveler who recently returned from Myanmar, the customs press office told the Global Times on Tuesday.

After China imposed a ban on the ivory and ivory products trade at the end of 2017, the Kunming customs office enhanced coperaowittion h law enforcement departments, customs offices of major ivory producing and transit countries and wildlife protection organizations to crack down on ivory trafficking, the office said.

Laos became the fastest growing ivory market since China banned its sales, with Chinese customers making up 80 percent of the Laotian business, said ASEAN Today, a Singaporean news outlet.

The report said that although the Laos government joined the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) in 2004, which prevents all members from trading ivory from African and Asian elephant tusks, it has been cavalier to enforce the ban.

The Kunming office said that it specifically targeted Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos as sources of ivory trafficking.

The embassy of Laos in Beijing did not respond to an interview request from the Global Times as of press time.

In late February, Shenyang customs seized 560 grams of ivory products from a parcel from the UK, China's General Administration of Customs said on its website.

The illegal ivory trade has been moving to second-tier cities with weaker enforcement and people less aware about animal protection, Sun Quanhui, a senior scientific adviser at the international NGO World Animal Protection, told the Global Times.

According to a report sent to the Global Times previously, wildlife conservation organizations WWF and TRAFFIC said they found that some ivory was smuggled directly into China from Africa, and some transited through Vietnam to South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

 Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
http://www.ecns.cn/2018/03-28/297292.shtml

Most Chinese consumers support an upcoming ban on elephant ivory in China—if they know about it

By the end of December, it will be illegal to sell or buy elephant ivory in China. But will the new and critical ban succeed in a country that’s home to the largest legal ivory market in the world?
Encouragingly, a new study shows that 86% of those surveyed support the pending ban on ivory trade in China when informed of it. Unfortunately, just 19% could recall any news of the ban unprompted—and fewer than half remembered it when prompted.

WWF and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, commissioned a survey of more than 2,000 people across 15 Chinese cities with active ivory markets to determine how consumers may behave once the ban is in place Dec. 31. The research also investigates what motivates people to purchase ivory—and what may stop them from doing so.

China made history last year after announcing the closure of its legal elephant ivory trade by the end of 2017. Many experts around the world hailed the decision as a game changer for elephants, which poachers kill by the tens of thousands each year for their tusks, primarily to satisfy the demand for ivory products in Asia.

 

Although the ban attracted global attention and support, awareness of it within China is low—a situation that needs to change for the ban to succeed, according to the study. Of those unaware of the upcoming ban, 43% said they would still buy ivory in the future. But once informed that ivory sales and manufacturing will become illegal, that number decreased dramatically to 18%.

The fact that purchasing ivory will soon be illegal is the biggest reason why people say they’ll stop buying it—and that’s a good sign. This suggests that if the ban is both communicated effectively and enforced, it could lead to a significant drop in demand for ivory and provide a much-needed lifeline for elephants.

Promisingly, major markets such as Beijing show a significant decrease in recent sales, with demand shifting to smaller cities in which enforcement and awareness of the ban may lower.

Despite these promising trends, a small but significant percentage of people still intend to purchase ivory despite the ban. Those who regularly travel overseas to places with domestic ivory markets like Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar are most likely to continue buying. The perceived social status of those who own ivory and the “artistic beauty” of carved trinkets still drive some individuals to keep buying ivory despite the ban. This suggests the need to focus efforts on changing the behavior of this group of people, which WWF intends to prioritize in the new year.

“By closing its ivory markets, China is showing its commitment to end its role in the poaching epidemic plaguing Africa’s elephants,” said Ginette Hemley, senior vice president of wildlife conservation at WWF. “It is critical that efforts to enact the ivory trade ban are accompanied by efforts to change consumer behavior in order to reduce demand. There remains strong evidence that the illegal ivory trade is still widespread both online and in unlicensed shops across China, as well as markets in neighboring countries across Asia.”

 Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
 https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/most-chinese-consumers-support-an-upcoming-ban-on-elephant-ivory-in-china-if-they-know-about-it

Seizures of elephant ivory hit 30-year high

Elephant ivory seizures have hit their highest level for almost 30 years while poaching incidents have stabilised, according to the world conservation body.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, known as Cites, said that last year about 40 tonnes of ivory were seized from poachers and from people trying to import into places such as mainland China and Hong Kong. It was the best return since 1989.

The organisation’s secretary-general, John Scanlon, said that the prospect of tougher enforcement, greater awareness about illegal wildlife products among the general public and a growing number of countries banning the trade in ivory appeared to have dampened enthusiasm in the market.

To read the full article, click on the story title

Ex-undercover investigator urges more fellow Chinese to fight ivory trade

Undercover investigator Huang Hongxiang could almost smell the grim consequences when his bag carrying a hidden camera was opened by a villager in Vietnam, where almost everyone in the hamlet had a finger in the pie of the illegal ivory trade.

Huang, 29, was in the country last year to document how rampant the illegal business was by meeting smugglers and wearing his pinhole camera.

“If he ever looked closer, things could have been very bad,” the avowed animal-lover said as he stacked up three smartphones to illustrate the gadget’s size.

That was the most dangerous of Huang’s encounters during his career in wildlife crime investigation dating to 2013. His exploits took him to more than a dozen countries spanning Africa, Asia and Latin America.

But Huang retired from the field after deciding to show his face in The Ivory Game, a documentary made last year depicting the blood-soaked paths of elephant poaching and ivory trading. The film was co-produced by movie star and UN climate change ambassador Leonardo DiCaprio.

To read the full article, click on the story title