Tanzania and Zambia are requesting a one- off ivory sale of their current stocks. The move has raised enough eyebrows to become the primary subject of discussion at the next CITES meeting in March.

As much debate as this has created, it is important to note that having already allowed two such sales in past, any stand that CITES takes now is going to be controversial; especially since the two countries claim that the approximate $16 million made from the sale could be invested in preventing further poaching and killing of elephants. And with weak economies, as Tanzania and Zambia, this much money could indeed help significantly.

Furthermore, some experts feel that the best way to stop poaching is to put the reigns of trade in the hands of individual governments and allow sale of those items that are procured from naturally dead elephants. In long run, this can help in stopping illegal trading and yet keep a control on elephant population.

However, the sale is opposed by other nations like Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Rwanda and Sierra Leone that are working hard to protect their own wildlife from poachers and believe that such sales are detrimental to their elephant protection plans.

Campaigners argue that such ivory sales provide a smoke screen to increase the illegal trading market however the premise of these claims is disputed since no official figures can be found. “Unfortunately the evidence is not clear whether stockpile sales increase demand for ivory or help to control it,” said Heather Sohl of the WWF.

Meanwhile, the surge in illegal trading has reached 14,000 products made from ivory and other parts of elephants in 2009 an increase of more than 2,000 from 2007.  This demand is met by killing 8 to 10 percent of African elephants each year and at $6,446, it’s becoming a very lucrative illegal market.

The one off ivory sales are sure to whet the appetite of new age collectors, who feel that they are losing to a generation of sanctions and restrictions to show off their wealth. While western collectors are the perennial, the recent emergence of wealthy Asians has further boosted the value of ivory and other illegal wildlife sales making it one of the biggest illegal markets, just after drugs and weapons trade. This in addition to largely unregulated markets, curbing and catching the illegal trading of ivory in Asian market will remain an arduous task.

Now it’s up to EU bloc to tip the balance of votes in March at the CITES convention but what will actually happen remains to be seen as there is no unanimous stance by EU countries on the matter so far.

Keeping all this in mind, it is essential to ask how much power does CITES actually has to control poaching? Can mere agreements work to protect elephants or should stricter sanctions should be in place? And if this sale is not allowed, will they the ivory still find its way into the illegal market?

A look at the high corruption rate and poor track record of enforcing laws in these countries, these questions should not be hard to answer. At the same time, its essential to understand the importance of the amount of money this can create for such impoverished nations.  It’s a tough decision and the CITES EU representatives have just one more month to decide the future of ivory trade and, in turn, the fate of elephants.

Pallavi Malhotra

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