IELP Goes to The Hague to Protect Endangered Species

June 5, 2007

The Hague, Netherlands

This afternoon several of us IELPers attended a side event to the CITES meeting of the Conference of the Parties which was presentation by Professor Sam Wasser on "Elephant DNA profiling, technological advancements and wildlife law enforcement." Professor Wasser is a Research Professor and Endowed Chair in Conservation Biology at the University of Washington, in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. For the past seven years Prof. Wasser has worked to develop an accurate method for determining the origin of ivory within the illegal ivory market in an effort to aid enforcement against still rampant elephant poaching. In his presentation Prof. Wasser explained the effectiveness of his current efforts and prayed support from additional African nations in his efforts to map genetic differences among the populations of African elephants and stressed the need for public efforts to eliminate the demand for ivory.

Despite the fact that trade in ivory has been highly regulated since 1989, poaching—driven by demand for ivory—has resurged to account for the death of approximately 37,000 elephants each year, over 7% of the estimated African elephant population. Using contested, but arguably conservative estimates, Wasser uses his estimates not to support the actual number of elephants killed by poachers each year, but rather to show that elephant poaching still remains a major hurdle to the effective protection of elephants. Wasser asserts that poaching is largely driven by a high demand for ivory which has quadrupled the price of ivory since the early 90s and has induced sophisticated and highly aggressive smuggling rings. These smugglers have exploited weak domestic laws which leave them largely unregulated after avoiding international laws. Further, the high prices for ivory have led to investment from commodity speculators who view the illegal ivory trade as an opportunity for large gains in a relatively short period of time. This illegal trade has left elephant populations open to continued exploitation. Further, even when illegal trading is detected it is virtually impossible to identify where the actual poaching occurred and thus many range states are unable to effectively regulate poaching within their countries. In response, Prof. Wasser has used genetic identification to better identify the origin and trade routes of confiscated ivory.

In order to determine where a specific tusk originated, Prof. Wasser must first determine the differences in gene frequency among elephant social groups across Africa. The resulting map of gene frequencies allows Wasser to compare the genetic make up of a confiscated specimen and determine, in a highly accurate manner, the area from which the ivory came. This in turn allows for more targeted wildlife monitoring in areas where poaching is posing the greatest threat. For example, in 2002 Interpol seized 6.5 tons of ivory. Many of the tusks were abnormally large, suggesting that the ivory was likely being transported to wealthy buyers and making it more likely that a group of sophisticated smugglers were involved. After genetic analysis Wasser determined that the ivory had originated from Zambia. While the smugglers themselves were never brought to justice, Zambia was made aware of the significant poaching occurring within its country and acted to remove its Director of Wildlife and several members of the judiciary from the apparently venerable area. Although this particular event greatly reduced poaching in Zambia, the African countries cannot eliminate poaching without assistance.

Because of a high demand for ivory, a powerful incentive continues to fuel the illegal ivory trade. Further, weak domestic laws and the difficulty of tracking ivory smuggling rings mean that few ivory smugglers are ever prosecuted. While Prof. Wasser's techniques will play an important role in increasing the prosecution of ivory smugglers, elimination of demand remains the most important factor in decreasing the slaughter of African elephants. Wasser remains hopeful that continued data on gene frequencies within African elephant social groups will aid in mapping gene frequencies across Africa, identification of poaching hot spots, and therefore greater national enforcement. However, Wasser maintains that increased awareness within Western countries is a vital component for eliminating the illegal ivory trade. Further, eliminating the threat that viable elephant populations pose to local communities will allow the African nations to focus on fighting elephant poaching, fight market incentives, and further educate Western countries on the importance of fighting the illegal ivory trade. Through increased media attention, and thus public awareness, elimination of the demand for ivory may still present an opportunity to protect the African elephant from the threats of the illegal ivory trade.

Today also saw decisions made on export quotas for leopards (allowing export of leopard skins) and the beginning of a working group session on a new strategic vision for CITES. These issues are fascinating and we are learning how this international convention and international law can affect conservation efforts.

We’ll keep you posted!

Colin Olivers and Jason Gray

Links

CITES Secretariat
Species Survival Network