The 1989 ivory trade ban has led to government stockpiles of ivory (from seizures/arrests and herd culling), and no legal means of selling the stuff. In recent years, “countries considered to have well-managed stocks of elephants and reliable systems for tracking tusks have three times been allowed to sell consignments from government stockpiles.” Recent requests for permission to sell ivory stockpiles from Tanzania and Zambia, however, were denied by the U.N.’s?Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Some environmentalists applauded the decision, on the grounds that any ivory sales encourage elephant poaching (the data on this is mixed), while others pointed out that occasional legal sales are not the biggest problem facing elephants today. “While the issue of whether sales should be allowed to proceed or not has dominated much of the discussions here… the key driving force behind the ongoing elephant poaching is the continued existence of illegal domestic ivory markets across parts of Africa and Asia,” said one expert. Meanwhile, Foreign Policy‘s Joshua Keating wonders if the ivory decision may have been politically motivated. Do any Freakonomics readers have a novel way of eliminating government ivory stockpiles without encouraging poaching? (HT: Eric M. Jones)[%comments]
Addressing the Ivory Surplus
TAGS: environment
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Don’t let it be sold–let them give it away! An influx of free ivory on the market will put downward pressure on the market price, reducing the profitability of poaching.
give them back to the elephants. adorn elephant exhibits at zoos with ivory.
I don’t really think there is a point when a person says to themselves, “I know poaching is illegal, but even if I get caught at least the government makes money.”
Have countries where the rule of law exists and laws on poaching have a reasonable chance of being enforced.
Seems to me that such limitations on supply will force prices higher, thus incentivizing poachers.
It would be cool if there were a “certified legal” ivory trade that ensured that all of the ivory was from legal stockpiles or (if they have them) legal hunts. This would likely keep the demand moderated.
Of course, what I imagine will really happen is that those poor African nations, unable to sell their legal ivory on the legal market, will find a way to enrich themselves by selling it illegally.
They are sitting on “gold mines,” so to speak–and they will do what is best for them.
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“The elephant death rate from poaching throughout Africa is about 8 percent a year based on recent studies, which is actually higher than the 7.4 percent annual death rate that led to the international ivory trade ban nearly 20 years ago, said Samuel Wasser, a UW biology professor.”
[Source: Science Daily]
It appears that the original trade ban has done little to eradicate elephant poaching, so maybe the UN needs to seriously consider giving permission to requesting countries to sell off their stockpiles. There’s really no point in allowing it to go to waste…Maybe instead of giving ivory away as emw (#1) suggests, it should be sold at “fair” prices to local artisans/craftsmen-allowing them the opportunity to make jewelry and other items for a profit. That way, the government reduces their inventory and poorer citizens are allowed to feed their families (and stimulate the economy).
Well, any increase in the amount of ivory in the market should reduce prices, and make ivory poaching less profitable. A good solution would be to sell the ivory, and donate the proceeds to charity that helps to protect elephants (or even other endangered animals).
Although, the government should be trying to protect elephants anyways, especially those that are allowed to sell ivory in the first place (well managed population, etc.) so letting them keep the money does pretty much the same thing.
The only question I’m left with is how to set the price to sell the ivory? Should it be at market prices, which will maxmize revenue to be used to protect elephants in the future, or below market prices, to drive prices down even further and hopefully dissuade some potential poachers.
I guess it depends on the ratio of goverment stockpiles to the overall market. The higher the ratio, the more the government can influence prices, and they’ll be able to push them lower, longer.
Of course the real solution is to focus on the demand side of the equation, when governments can no longer find a buyer for ivory we’ll know they’ve been succesfull.
I have to agree with EMW…
My first thought was that putting it on the market may help lower demand of illegal ivory and thus the need for poachers. I’d be curious to know how big the stockpiles are though.
I don’t think it does any good to keep all of it in a secluded warehouse collecting dust. What’s done is done and if you can slow or diminish demand it could help.