International and Domestic Measures to Combat Illegal Ivory Trade

In 1989, members states of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES Convention) agreed to place elephants on Appendix I of the treaty, thereby banning the international trade in ivory. The U.S. was one of the first countries in the world to ratify CITES in the mid-1970s, and since then has been a strong supporter in the fight against illegal wildlife trade.

Although the ban on ivory trade has been in place for over twenty years, there has been a marked rise in poaching in recent years. In response to this disturbing trend, later this month the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will destroy its stockpile of 6 tons of illegally traded ivory as message to poachers [read more in NYT].

Earlier this year, eight CITES member states submitted National Ivory Action Plans in an effort to step up measures against poaching. China, Kenya, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Uganda, Tanzania, and Vietnam will take urgent measures to put their plans into action before summer 2014, when the CITES Standing Committee will review their progress.

Elephant poaching increasingly involves organized crime, and international law enforcement efforts have been made to combat the issue. See, for example, this recent report from INTERPOL on online ivory trade in the European Union.