Delhi: Despite ivory trade being banned 20 years ago, hundreds, if not thousands, of wild elephants continue to fall prey to poachers across their distribution range, each year.

A recently published report has revealed that illegal hunting could drive the elephant to extinction across much of Africa in just 15 years, even as the survival of Asian elephants – which are relatively fewer in number – continues to be challenged.

Trade in ivory was internationally banned in 1989, when CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Parties listed the African elephant on Appendix I. Initially, the ivory moratorium worked and there was a general decrease in elephant poaching, and ivory market prices plummetted. However, in 1997, certain populations were downlisted to Appendix II to facilitate ‘regulated’ stockpile ivory sale, neglecting concerns raised by conservationists that illegal ivory would be laundered into the mainstream market.

“The first stockpile sale, as predicted, had devastating effects, not only on the African elephant but the Asian elephant too. Across India, poaching of elephants for ivory drastically increased in the late 90s, hitting the peak in 97-98. As the sale went ahead, about 50 tonnes of ivory from Africa was sold legally to the sole buyer – Japan, which continues to permit public ivory sale. It would be naïve to believe that the amount of ivory traded remained within the approved limits,” said Ashok Kumar, Vice-chairman, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).

These facts notwithstanding, the second stockpile ivory sale was sanctioned with a conviction that the revenue could be used in elephant conservation. The auction went ahead in October 2008, with four African nations selling more than 100 tonnes of ivory to Japan, and the newly approved importer, China, believed to be the world’s largest illegal ivory market.

However, as evidenced by numerous ivory seizures from across the world, and now, the report ‘The Ivory Trail’ by Samuel K. Wasser, Bill Clark and Cathie Laurie, poaching of elephants for ivory continues unabated.

“It is obvious that these stockpile sales can only be detrimental to elephants. Although, the report speaks for African elephants, the threats to Asian elephants should be clear. They are as much in danger, if not more,” added Kumar.

Poaching can have serious implications on Asian elephants, which are already threatened by habitat loss, conflicts and accidental deaths in railway tracks in India. Unlike the African species, only males (although not all) bear tusks in Asian elephants; selective poaching of males causes imbalances in the gender ratio in Asian elephant populations. Moreover, it has been established that Asian ivory is preferred to African ivory for making hankos or signature seals which form a major proportion of ivory use in Japan.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW – www.ifaw.org) – WTI’s partner – is calling for urgent action to protect elephants. It urges the European Union and all CITES Parties to stop supporting one-off ivory sales, legal ivory trade and elephant down-listing proposals. Instead, they must support Kenya’s proposal to extend the current “resting period” on elephant and ivory decisions from 9 to 20 years when it is introduced at the next meeting of CITES in March 2010. IFAW also calls upon the EU to help the range states that are requesting assistance to fight poaching.

“20 years on from a ban on international ivory trade, elephants in Africa are still threatened by commercial poaching. The ivory trade must be banned once again, and comprehensively, if we want to prevent the extinction of elephants. The truth is that ivory trade anywhere is a threat to elephants everywhere. On the 20th anniversary of the ban, let’s do all we can to end the ivory trade and safeguard elephants for the future,” says IFAW.