'Elephants in the Dust' report - UNEP
'Elephants in the Dust' report - UNEP
'Elephants in the Dust' report - UNEP
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Asia<br />
Today, most ivory is obta<strong>in</strong>ed illegally from Africa and manufactured<br />
and sold <strong>in</strong> Asia. Ivory is legal to work and sell <strong>in</strong> this<br />
region, with certa<strong>in</strong> restrictions. Commercial ivory is illegal <strong>in</strong><br />
Indi a, Sri Lanka and Nepal, and <strong>the</strong>se countries have small ivory<br />
markets, though illegal activit y exists (Menon et al. 1998; Mart<strong>in</strong><br />
and Stiles 2002).<br />
From <strong>the</strong> 1970s to <strong>the</strong> mid 1990s, <strong>the</strong> majority of <strong>the</strong> world’s<br />
worked ivory was aimed at export, except <strong>in</strong> Japan, where local<br />
buyers predom<strong>in</strong>ated. The largest local markets at <strong>the</strong> time<br />
of <strong>the</strong> 1989 CITES trade ban were found <strong>in</strong> Hong Kong, Japan,<br />
Thailand and Taiwan. Ivory manufactur<strong>in</strong>g had decreased<br />
significantly <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a and Hong Kong. In 1985 <strong>the</strong>re were a<br />
comb<strong>in</strong>ed total of 2,000 to 2,500 ivory craftsmen <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a and<br />
Hong Kong, while <strong>in</strong> 2002 <strong>the</strong> number was probably less than<br />
200, not count<strong>in</strong>g those who worked mammoth ivory. Ch<strong>in</strong>a’s<br />
ivory factories and workshops went from at least 20 large ones<br />
to about 10 smaller ones <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> same time period. These <strong>in</strong>dicators<br />
suggest a clear decl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> market demand for ivory manufactured<br />
<strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a immediately follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> CITES trade ban,<br />
which was caused ma<strong>in</strong>ly by <strong>the</strong> drop <strong>in</strong> demand from Western<br />
export markets and buyers.<br />
Some evidence po<strong>in</strong>ts to a rise <strong>in</strong> domestic ivory market activity<br />
<strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g around 1996. This view is supported by <strong>the</strong><br />
rise <strong>in</strong> ivory seizures that have occurred <strong>the</strong>re s<strong>in</strong>ce 1997, <strong>the</strong><br />
significant <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> number of ivory retail outlets and<br />
items displayed for sale between 2002 and 2011 <strong>in</strong> Guangzhou,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> number of registered ivory factories<br />
from 20 <strong>in</strong> 2002 to 36 by <strong>the</strong> end of 2011 (Milliken et al. 2002,<br />
2007, 2012; Mart<strong>in</strong> and Stiles 2003; Mart<strong>in</strong> and Vigne 2011b;<br />
Gabriel et al. 2012). Additionally, <strong>in</strong>formation from Hong Kong<br />
<strong>in</strong>dicates that ivory market scale has rema<strong>in</strong>ed stable s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />
1990, support<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> view that elephant ivory activity <strong>the</strong>re has<br />
dropped, except for <strong>the</strong> rapid growth <strong>in</strong> mammoth ivory use<br />
(Mart<strong>in</strong> and Stiles 2003; Mart<strong>in</strong> and Mart<strong>in</strong> 2011). Ivory carv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong> Taiwan has also dw<strong>in</strong>dled, where new ivory is now be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
imported from ma<strong>in</strong>land Ch<strong>in</strong>a (Mart<strong>in</strong> and Stiles 2003).<br />
While ivory market activity appears to be on <strong>the</strong> rise <strong>in</strong> C h<strong>in</strong>a,<br />
it has been more variable <strong>in</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r parts of Asia, such as <strong>in</strong><br />
Japa n, Thailand, Viet Nam and Myanmar (Vigne and Mart<strong>in</strong><br />
2010; Stiles 2009; Stiles 2008; Shepherd and Nijman 2008),<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>a has a thriv<strong>in</strong>g counterfeit antique ivory market, which<br />
facilitates export<strong>in</strong>g to Western countries.<br />
Although <strong>the</strong>re are many gaps <strong>in</strong> knowledge about recen t ivor y<br />
activit y <strong>in</strong> South and South East Asia s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> year 2001 (Marti n<br />
and Stiles 2002), data from <strong>the</strong> Elephant Trade Infor mation<br />
System (ETIS) shows a significant <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> numbe r of<br />
large-scale shipments to Asia. Low-level illegal ivory market<br />
activity carries on <strong>in</strong> countries <strong>in</strong> South and South East Asia<br />
(Mart<strong>in</strong> and Stiles 2002; Nijman and Shepherd 2012; Mart<strong>in</strong> et<br />
al. 2011). Ch<strong>in</strong>a, Thailand and Viet Nam have been identified as<br />
significant problem countries <strong>in</strong> illegal ivory activities and <strong>the</strong><br />
trade of o<strong>the</strong>r wildlife products (Milliken et al. 2012; Mart<strong>in</strong> and<br />
Vigne 2011b; Stiles 2008, 2009).<br />
Worked ivory markets <strong>in</strong> Asia were historically aimed ma<strong>in</strong>ly<br />
at exports and foreign visitors. However, due to regional economic<br />
development, Asians have <strong>the</strong>mselves have become significant<br />
consumers of worked ivory.<br />
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