A SURVEY of East Asia’s ivory markets has vindicated the decision in 1999 to relax the worldwide ban on ivory sales. Contrary to the fears of some conservationists, the sell-off of legal stockpiles by Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana did not stimulate the black market.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) allowed the 1999 auction because the three nations had vast stockpiles from culling their large elephant populations. All the tusks – 50 tonnes of ivory – were sold to Japan, which has a well-regulated internal market, and the proceeds were ploughed into elephant conservation. But critics argued…
