Stop the Trade and Protect our Wildlife

I have seen more and more people coming out now more than ever before to speak out against the illegal ivory trade as the country sets out to destroy its stockpile of ivory. On 30th April 2016 Kenya will be the focus of conservationists as 105 tonnes of ivory get set on fire. This includes ivory recovered from the traffickers over the years and also elephants that have died from natural causes and from human-wildlife conflicts. Another 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn will also be burned.



Poaching is a big threat to tourism and the economy in general. Much of this ivory seized is usually destined to China and the surrounding Asian countries and is used to make jewellery, and decorative items such as trinkets and bracelets. One question that I have heard many ask is whether the destruction of ivory will really help in elephant and rhino conservation.  I believe it will have an impact but not a major one because it only works to reduce supply rather than demand. However, this helps send out a strong statement to show that Kenya will not tolerate trade in elephant tusks and rhino horns. It also gives an indication that no intercepted ivory will be reintroduced into the market again. Studies show that poaching has been on a decline for the last 4 years going down by as much as 80%. Various initiatives have been put in place that have led to this decline. Previously poaching was rampant due to reasons such as corruption, ignorance and poor laws. Some of the reasons for this success include increased media coverage on the issues of wildlife conservation. In recent times the media have been in the frontline to champion this cause with issues such as human-wildlife conflicts, poaching and court cases for poachers and traffickers being highlighted more and more. We are also seeing more public figures such as the president Uhuru Kenyatta, the first lady Margaret Kenyatta and US ambassador Bob Godec come out to support initiatives towards wildlife conservation. In terms of laws, they were strengthened to hand out more harsh penalties for those found guilty of engaging in wildlife trade.  A new wildlife act came into effect in 2013 which made poaching a very serious crime. This has seen more poachers being prosecuted and jailed for their crimes. The harsh penalties have acted as a deterrent to the poachers to give up their trade with some turning to aid in wildlife conservation. More efforts are required to fight corruption, poverty and ultimately terminate the demand for elephant tusks and rhino horns. With an end to demand for ivory then poachers will have no reason to kill wildlife. This can be achieved through initiatives such as educating the buyers of ivory on the cruelty that is inflicted on these animals, and also the impact and illegality of wildlife trade. The main challenge is created by the coexistence of legal and illegal ivory trade in China hence legal trade has become a cover for the black market trade. In 2008 China was allowed to buy ivory from Africa under a regulated market as a way of fighting illegal trade but that seems not to have borne any fruits at all. The Chinese government at one time pledged to take steps toward a complete end to domestic commercial trade of any form in ivory, and there is need for this to be immediately implemented. Kenya is focussed on pushing for a total ban on trade of ivory at the next CITES conference in South Africa in September. As we celebrate the move by the Kenyan government to burn and destroy the largest ever ivory stockpile in the world let one message come out clearly, ivory is worth more when it is on the elephant and no one should benefit from the death of these majestic animals.