 |
| AFRICAN ELEPHANT FAMILY. PHOTO:ELEPHANTS IN THE WILD, WILDAID.ORG/ELEPHANTS |
 |
VIRGINIA W. MASON AND BRAD SCRIBER, NGM STAFF
SOURCES: COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY; SAVE THE
ELEPHANTS; MONITORING THE ILLEGAL KILLING OF ELEPHANTS (MIKE);
DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD; KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE.
|
It is time policymakers step in to tackle this major issue. The first step would be to raise awareness among the public masses and exert pressure to stop illegal trading for ivory. More can be done in terms of campaigns, protests and advocacy to highlight the plight of elephants. With a fall in demand for ivories, there will be a fall in poaching, and less elephant lives will be lost.
August 12 may be World Elephant Day, but if awareness is low, regulations are not enforced and strict measures are not taken to clamp down on illegal poaching, then the declaring of this day would be pointless.
Literature Cited
BBC News. (2014) Elephant poaching deaths reach tipping point in Africa. [ONLINE] Available from: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28842965. [Accessed 19 August 2014]
Ghosh, N. (2014) Tears for elephants - their numbers are dwindling. The Straits Times [ONLINE] 17 August. Available from: http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/asia-report/trends-transitions/story/tears-elephants-their-numbers-are-dwindling-20140. [Accessed 19 August 2014]
National Geographic. (2014) 100,000 Elephants Killed by Poachers in Just Three Years, Landmark Analysis Finds . [ONLINE] Available at: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140818-elephants-africa-poaching-cites-census/. [Accessed 19 August 2014].
Save The Elephants. (2014) Save The Elephants - Protection. [ONLINE] Available at: http://savetheelephants.org/protection/. [Accessed 19 August 2014].
Nirmal Ghosh
Nirmal Ghosh
Nirmal Ghosh
Great post, good that you pointed out some of the ecosystem services of elephants. Megafauna like elephants are also ecosystem engineers as they cause huge changes to their environment whether it be through feeding or migrating. They are particularly vulnerable to poaching because they are slow-growing and populations can't keep up with the rapid rates of exploitation. There are many drivers to illegal wildlife trade. Ivory is used to make religious objects, while the horns of the saiga are also exploited for TCM. It may be difficult to change the cultural mindset of people who rely on animal parts for food, medicine, artifacts through public campaigns alone. Perhaps there is a more sustainable and ethical way of obtaining ivory...Or maybe substituting it altogether?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Sarah! (: I agree that it's difficult to change the ideologies and cultural mindsets of people. Public campaigns I was referring to are for those already against poaching, and utilizing democracy to exert public pressure on policymakers. Then again, you're right in saying that alternatives have to first be put forward to persuade and convince others that poaching is wrong and should be stopped.
Delete1. Small steps have already been taken to find alternatives:
http://www.ivoryalternative.com/index.html
2. Another alternative is vegetable ivory! It involves using the fruit of the Ivory Nut Palm, as the nuts contain a substance called hemicellulose, that is extremely tough and dense when it is dried, allowing it to be carved, stained, and polished just like elephant ivory.
Unfortunately, not only is there little demand for vegetable ivory today (public education would be needed to raise awareness), the very habitat which this tree thrives in (rainforests such as the Amazon) is facing threats of deforestation as well. Sigh.
And some poachers turn to natural substitutes such as walruses, whales and hippopotamuses, which is still bad as it is still sacrificing a life. I guess the best way would be to convince people that artificial or synthetic ivory is as good as, or maybe even more solid and hardy than natural ones. It will be tough convincing though. :/