Although the international trade in ivory was banned by the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1989, the illegal ivory trade and
elephant poaching are alive and well.
One cause of the resurgence may have been CITES' slight
easing of the ivory trade ban. In 1997, bombarded with requests
from Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, CITES transferred the
African elephant populations of those countries to CITES
Appendix II, which opened the door to a one-time sale of
stockpiled ivory from these countries to Japan. In 2000, the
South African population was also placed on Appendix II, but
the country was not allowed to export ivory.
As soon as the first downlisting was allowed, both poaching
and illegal trade in ivory surged, though neither has yet
reached pre-ban levels. Between January 1, 2000, and May 21,
2002, more than 5.9 tonnes of ivory, 2,542 tusks, and 14,648
pieces of ivory have been seized worldwide—representing more
than 2,000 dead elephants. During the same period, at least 965
African elephants and 39 Asian elephants have been poached and
their ivory tusks removed. Furthermore, unconfirmed reports
indicate that as many 200 elephants were killed in the Central
African Republic in 2001.
