The Dynamics of the Illegal Ivory Trade and the Need for Stronger Global Governance

Q2 Social Sciences

Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy Pub Date : 2022-01-02 DOI:10.1080/13880292.2022.2077393

Zhen Miao, Qiang Wang, Xiaofeng Cui, Kirsten Conrad, Wei Ji, Wei Zhang, Xuehong Zhou, Douglas Craig MacMillan

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Abstract The illegal ivory trade is the main driver of elephant poaching in Africa. In recent years, China—long regarded as the main destination of illegal ivory trade—has undertaken a series of policy interventions to curtail ivory imports, such as the closure of ivory carving enterprises. In this article we explore the impact of these recent interventions on the price of ivory and poaching and the wider drivers connected to the illegal trade, such as China’s macro-economic performance. The research demonstrates that the price of illegal ivory in China has dropped significantly, mainly due to measures taken under China’s “Ecological Civilization” (EC) programme and ivory trade ban to curb demand and supply. The number of illegal ivory seizures decreased over time but remains active, with a high proportion of seizures categorized as minor infringements (ivory pieces under 2.4 kg) often imported by tourists as souvenirs. We also find that the price of ivory is recovering in other destinations such as Vietnam, and it is becoming clear that all countries should make more political commitments on the existing basis to elephant conservation and curtailing illegal ivory trade.

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非法象牙贸易的动态和加强全球治理的必要性

非法象牙贸易是非洲大象偷猎的主要驱动力。近年来，中国一直被视为非法象牙贸易的主要目的地，采取了一系列政策干预措施来减少象牙进口，例如关闭象牙雕刻企业。在本文中，我们将探讨这些近期干预措施对象牙价格和偷猎的影响，以及与非法贸易相关的更广泛的驱动因素，如中国的宏观经济表现。研究表明，中国的非法象牙价格大幅下降，这主要是由于中国在“生态文明”计划和象牙贸易禁令下采取的措施来抑制需求和供应。随着时间的推移，非法查获的象牙数量有所减少，但仍然活跃，其中很大一部分被归类为轻微侵权(2.4公斤以下的象牙)，通常由游客作为纪念品进口。我们还发现，在越南等其他目的地，象牙的价格正在回升，越来越明显的是，所有国家都应该在现有的基础上做出更多的政治承诺，以保护大象，减少非法象牙贸易。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy Social Sciences-Law

CiteScore

0.90

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Drawing upon the findings from island biogeography studies, Norman Myers estimates that we are losing between 50-200 species per day, a rate 120,000 times greater than the background rate during prehistoric times. Worse still, the rate is accelerating rapidly. By the year 2000, we may have lost over one million species, counting back from three centuries ago when this trend began. By the middle of the next century, as many as one half of all species may face extinction. Moreover, our rapid destruction of critical ecosystems, such as tropical coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries, and rainforests may seriously impair species" regeneration, a process that has taken several million years after mass extinctions in the past.