Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally elephant's) and teeth of animals, that can be used in art or manufacturing. It consists mainly of dentine (inorganic formula Ca10(PO4)6(CO3)·H2O)), one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is the same, regardless of the species of origin. The trade in certain teeth and tusks other than elephant is well established and widespread; therefore, "ivory" can correctly be used to describe any mammalian teeth or tusks of commercial interest which are large enough to be carved or scrimshawed. It has been valued since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, and dominoes. Ivory is seen as a luxury item as it has a clean white look which is heavily associated with wealth. In Asian countries where it is popular (an estimated 70% of ivory ends up in China) the ivory is used in many traditional medicines and for ornaments. Therefore the product is heavily desirable. It also holds its value incredibly well and as more ivory is confiscated the price will go up. Some African countries and many Asian investors have stores of ivory which will further increase the value and demand for ivory. Currently a pound of ivory can be worth upwards of $1,000
Around Africa there are many nature reserves / safari such as the Masai Mara which are used for conservation and are a tourist destination. Much of the money gained through tourism is used to maintain the population of elephants. CITES also approved the ‘one-off’ sale of almost 50 tonnes of ivory stockpiled by Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe to Japan. Born Free predicted that poaching would continue. At least 6,000 elephants were killed and 17,000kg of ivory seized by customs. Born Free highlighted that this likely represented just 10-20% of the total slaughter and campaigned to ban the global ivory trade once more. The problem with these sales is that they blur the line between legal and illegal sales of ivory. The law is that the ivory sold must also be legally procured from elephants that have died of natural causes. However the ivory itself is no different so it is impossible to tell if it is legal or illegal. The buyers, who are generally from China and Japan all have to be certified traders who are decided by the CITES Standing Committee who also oversee all operations within legal trade .Another rule is that these countries that sell the ivory must use the proceeds to conserve the remaining elephants, this is ensures by the CITES Secretariat and makes sure that the trades are correctly entered in the national register. The African Elephant Conservation Act was passed in 1988. It allows the US government to take legal action against illegal ivory imports and authorizes government funding for conservation projects. A limitation of this, like the CITES agreement is that ivory purchases before the ban is still legal to be traded. Charities such as WWF have programs called ‘adopt an elephant’ in which you donate in exchange for updates and money received goes towards; increasing public support, strengthening antipoaching initiatives and protecting elephant habitats
Sources
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/ivory/elephant-ivory-poaching-graphic
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150812-elephant-ivory-demand-wildlife-trafficking-china-world/
https://cites.org/eng/news/pr/2008/081107_ivory.shtml
http://www.bornfree.org.uk/animals/african-elephants/projects/ivory-trade/
https://seaworld.org/en/animal-info/animal-infobooks/elephants/conservation-and-research
http://www.elephantconservationcenter.com/
https://elephantconservation.org/programs/africa-programs/
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/elephant
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/09/what-is-it-about-an-elephants-tusks-that-make-them-so-valuable/262021/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/34571732
Around Africa there are many nature reserves / safari such as the Masai Mara which are used for conservation and are a tourist destination. Much of the money gained through tourism is used to maintain the population of elephants. CITES also approved the ‘one-off’ sale of almost 50 tonnes of ivory stockpiled by Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe to Japan. Born Free predicted that poaching would continue. At least 6,000 elephants were killed and 17,000kg of ivory seized by customs. Born Free highlighted that this likely represented just 10-20% of the total slaughter and campaigned to ban the global ivory trade once more. The problem with these sales is that they blur the line between legal and illegal sales of ivory. The law is that the ivory sold must also be legally procured from elephants that have died of natural causes. However the ivory itself is no different so it is impossible to tell if it is legal or illegal. The buyers, who are generally from China and Japan all have to be certified traders who are decided by the CITES Standing Committee who also oversee all operations within legal trade .Another rule is that these countries that sell the ivory must use the proceeds to conserve the remaining elephants, this is ensures by the CITES Secretariat and makes sure that the trades are correctly entered in the national register. The African Elephant Conservation Act was passed in 1988. It allows the US government to take legal action against illegal ivory imports and authorizes government funding for conservation projects. A limitation of this, like the CITES agreement is that ivory purchases before the ban is still legal to be traded. Charities such as WWF have programs called ‘adopt an elephant’ in which you donate in exchange for updates and money received goes towards; increasing public support, strengthening antipoaching initiatives and protecting elephant habitats
Sources
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/ivory/elephant-ivory-poaching-graphic
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150812-elephant-ivory-demand-wildlife-trafficking-china-world/
https://cites.org/eng/news/pr/2008/081107_ivory.shtml
http://www.bornfree.org.uk/animals/african-elephants/projects/ivory-trade/
https://seaworld.org/en/animal-info/animal-infobooks/elephants/conservation-and-research
http://www.elephantconservationcenter.com/
https://elephantconservation.org/programs/africa-programs/
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/elephant
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/09/what-is-it-about-an-elephants-tusks-that-make-them-so-valuable/262021/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/34571732