Home / Environment / Ivory Trade Crackdown: How CITES Saved the African Elephant
Ivory Trade Crackdown: How CITES Saved the African Elephant
15 Aug
Summary
- Kenyan president burned 2,000 ivory tusks in 1989 to protest poaching
- CITES banned all ivory trade in 1989, leading to elephant population recovery
- Controversial ivory sales amnesty in 2008 sparked surge in elephant killings
In July 1989, Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi set fire to a massive stockpile of 2,000 ivory tusks, worth around $7.5 million today. This powerful gesture was part of a broader crackdown on poaching and the ivory trade, which had decimated African elephant populations.
At the time, the number of African elephants had plummeted from 5 million in 1950 to fewer than 1 million, driven by soaring demand for ivory. Just three months after Moi's ivory burning, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) announced a ban on all ivory trade, a policy that has remained in place ever since.
The CITES ban played a crucial role in helping African elephant numbers recover over the following decades. However, in 2008, a controversial one-off sale of ivory stockpiles was permitted, reopening a portal that led to a resurgence in poaching. Today, less than half a million African elephants remain in the wild, as the battle to protect this iconic species continues.
