In 25 years the number of elephants on the Earth has been cut in half. The reason behind the rapid decline is ivory. Although it was banned in 1989, poaching continues to be a problem in many parts of the world. China is where most of the ivory from poaching ends up. That is why this Chinese news was so surprising.
In 2017, China will terminate its domestic ivory market. This will significantly cut down the demand for ivory. As a result, we hope to see a decline in poaching as the ivory market shrinks in the new year. In 1989, many thought that the ivory ban would reduce the killing of elephants for their tusks when in fact it did the opposite.
The location of highly concentrated elephant populations makes it difficult to enforce these bans and other laws. Hopefully, reducing demand all together will be the push needed to stop these killings. Where there is no demand, there is no supply.
The Chinese government has prepared and the economy will not take a large hit from closing down this market. Existing ivory carvers will work of ivory that is already in the country. They will be in charge of the upkeep of some of the country's most sacred pieces but no new projects may be started.
In the United States, President Obama has been working throughout his term of office to shut down all domestic ivory markets. Additionally, many states have banned the trade of ivory.
The most important this that the United States and China can do is educate the public about ivory trading and expose them to some of the negative consequences. If the public can stand behind their governments, the countries will pave the way for others.
The Chinese decision will hopefully persuade other Asian countries to shut down their ivory markets as well. Although ivory is still in demand around many countries world wide, China's ban is a huge step in beginning to minimize the size or the ivory market and poaching worldwide.
