Elephant in the Room: The Illegal Ivory Trade, Wildlife and War

Mar 7, 2018 | Anton Peez
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The African Elephant is a keystone species, strongly affecting the ecosystems in which they live. The recent drop in elephant populations across the African continent are therefore cause for major concern in the realm of wildlife conservation. However, this downturn is not only cause for ecological concern. The illegal trade in ivory is an important source of revenue for armed groups across the African continent, and highlights questions of governance, corruption, and organized crime. What are the key drivers of illegal elephant killing? What consequences does the trade have, ranging from the local to the international level? How can the trade be halted as a means of warfare financing and ongoing corruption? The ivory trade and elephant hunting have made headlines in recent months. U.S. President Donald Trump briefly revoked the United States’ ban on elephant trophy imports in November 2017, while China banned its domestic trade in ivory in January 2018. The renewed public interest in elephant conservation comes at a time of unprecedented data quality and availability on the subject. This offers a window of opportunity to tackle declining elephant populations, to examine the socio-economic drivers of elephant killing, and ultimately to address the decline in elephant populations by combatting the illicit trade in an evidence-based manner. Ivory poaching is not only worth considering from a conservation perspective, but also as a question of conflict studies and political economy.