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Ivory poaching, particularly the poaching of African elephants, has increased dramati-
cally in recent years. Dramatic declines in elephant populations caused by excessive
poaching during the 1970s–1980s was followed by increases in much of the Eastern
and Southern African regions.
INTRODUCTION
During the 1990s, elephant poaching in Southern and East-
ern Africa either dropped in areas where poaching had been
high or remained low in the areas where there had been
little poaching. In most of Central and West Africa on the
other hand, poaching gradually increased during this period
(Poilecot, 2010; Poilecot
et al.
2010a; Bouché
et al.
2010; Bouché
et al.
2012). By the mid to late 2000s, elephant poaching had
once again picked up across Africa, to a level similar to the
elephant killings of the 1970s and 1980s (Okello
et al.
2008;
Poilecot 2010; Poilecot
et al.
2010a; 2010b; Bouché
et al.
2010;
2011; 2012; Maingi
et al.
2012).
Rapid economic development and changes in consumption
patterns in Asia have increased demand for ivory, particularly
in China and in Thailand. Other products from endangered
wildlife species, including rhino horn, are also in demand in
Asia, particularly in Viet Nam. The demand for these products
derives from their use in alternative medicine and from their
use as symbols of status (Blanc and Burnham 2011; Christy
2012; Martin
et al.
2011).
This rise in demand coincides with an increase in the number of
potential consumers not just in Asia, but also on the ground in
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Spe-
cies of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international
agreement to which States (countries) adhere voluntarily.
States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention
(‘joined’ CITES) are known as Parties. The purpose of the
Convention is to regulate the international trade in endan-
gered species of fauna and flora to ensure their survival
is not threatened. CITES entered into force in 1975 and
today 177 States are signatories to the Convention (CITES
2013a).
CITES works by subjecting the international trade in speci-
mens of selected species to certain controls, and all Parties to
theConventionareobliged to implement a licensingsystemto
designateoneormoreManagement Authorities to the admin-
istrationof that licensing systemand todesignateoneormore
Scientific Authorities to advise them on the effects of trade
What is CITES and how does it work?
on the status of the species. All Parties have to report annu-
ally to the CITES Secretariat on the number of specimens
traded, as well as on what national measures they have
taken to fulfil their international obligations (CITES 2013b;
Lemieux and Clarke 2009).
Today, close to 35,000 species are protected under the CITES.
These are listed in three Appendices according to their sta-
tus of protection. International, commercial trade in species
listed in Appendix I is approved only in exceptional circum-
stances. The international trade in species listed in Appendix
II is allowed but is regulated and controlled to ensure that
it is legal and sustainable, and that it does not threaten the
species survival in the wild. Appendix III includes species
that are protected in at least one member country, which has
asked the other Parties for assistance in controlling the trade
of this species (CITES 2013b).