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The leaders of southern African countries discuss lifting the ivory sale ban for conservation. Caroline Cox highlights the issue of funding conservation efforts.

Image courtesy of interviewee. January 8, 2024

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This video video discusses the significant decline in elephant populations from approximately 10 million in the 1920s-1930s to around 600,000 by the 1970s, prompting international action. In 1973, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was established to regulate the trade of endangered species, including elephants. While CITES is not primarily a conservation tool, it aims to ensure that trade does not threaten species.

By 2019, Southern African nations like Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Botswana advocated for the right to sell their stockpiled ivory legally, arguing that their elephant populations had successfully recovered. Zimbabwe’s elephants increased from about 6,000 at their lowest point to approximately 83,000 by 2019, yet many areas could not support such a large population, leading to increased human-wildlife conflict.

Despite their significant recovery efforts, Zimbabwe faced pushback from both African neighbors and Western countries that opposed lifting the ivory ban, emphasizing the economic and conservation value of maintaining elephant populations. The call for opening ivory trade faces ongoing resistance, both internally and externally, and previous attempts to change this policy have not succeeded, with no current appetite for lifting the ban.

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Here are some key quotes extracted from the video regarding elephant conservation and related issues:

1. **Decline of Elephant Population**: "Elephant numbers were dropping literally like stones. [...] you could visit Africa and bump into one of maybe 10 million elephants roaming around doing their thing."

2. **Significant Population Decrease**: "fast forward that to the 1970s and the number of elephants had dropped to around about 600,000."

3. **Reason for Conservation Action**: "So that was why something had to be done."

4. **Formation of CITES**: "in 1973, international governments got together and formed this new convention called CITES, the control of trade and endangered species of wild fauna and flora."

5. **Purpose of CITES**: "the idea of CITES, it wasn't just about elephants, but it was about how best to conserve species that were at risk of extinction."

6. **Trade versus Conservation**: "CITES isn't really a conservation tool. It's about trade."

7. **Southern African Range States' Dilemma**: "we've kept our side of the bargain. We're not exporting ivory, not legally anyway."

8. **Stockpile Issue**: "we have got stockpiles of ivory that we've impounded from people doing it illegally [...] when it could be sold on the open market and could bring us money for things like conservation efforts."

9. **Change in Attitude in 2019**: "this is when we really see some of those Southern African range states really take a step forward and say, no, enough is enough."

10. **Zimbabwe's Success**: "By 2019, there was a population of wild elephants inside Zimbabwe of around about 83,000."

11. **Human-Wildlife Conflict**: "we saw this increase in human wildlife conflict, not just in Zimbabwe, but across the southern African range states."

12. **Economic Importance of Elephants**: "elephants are really, really popular and they are really, really important to the economies of Southern African range states in terms of safaris."

13. **Pressure from Western Countries**: "a lot of pressure was coming from the United States. A lot of pressure was coming from the United Kingdom."

14. **Lack of Support for Ivory Trade**: "there is no appetite either outside of Africa or inside of Africa other than in those particular range states for the ivory ban to be lifted."

These quotes encapsulate the main themes of elephant conservation, the challenges faced, and the socio-political dynamics influencing conservation strategies and policies.

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Elephant numbers were dropping literally like stones.

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Um, if you think back to the 1920s

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and 1930s, you could visit Africa

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and bump into one of maybe 10 million

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elephants roaming around doing their thing.

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And fast forward that to the 1970s

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and the number of elephants had dropped to

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around about 600,000.

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So a huge drop in the number

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of WA elephants across Africa,

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and particularly the southern African range states, which is

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where they really like to be.

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So that was why something had to be done.

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And in 1973,

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international governments got together

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and formed this new convention called

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ces, the control of trade

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and endangered species of wild foreigner and flora.

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You can see why they call it ces.

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It's quite a mouthful, isn't it?

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And the idea of ces, it wasn't just about elephants,

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but it was about how best to conserve species

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that were at risk of extinction.

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And the interesting thing, ISEs

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isn't really a conservation tool.

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It's about trade.

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It's about limiting

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and, ensuring that trade is not too great,

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that the animal is put at risk.

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So that's society works basically every person who signs up

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to it or every state that signs up to SOEs agrees

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by its terms and animals that are on the society register

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are categorized at most at risk to

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least at risk.

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And the amount of which

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that animal can be traded is in accordance with the,

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the appendix it falls under.

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So that's a little bit of the background to

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really the early 1980s.

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And this is whereby now since 1975,

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when SOEs came into force,

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the Southern African range states, so you mentioned them,

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Sam, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, the,

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those Southern Africa, those Southern African range states

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were starting to think about, eh,

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is this really good for us?

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You know, our elephant populations are growing,

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we've kept our side of the bargain.

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We're not exporting ivory, not legally anyway,

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ivory's not getting exported from our states.

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And yet we have got stockpiles of ivory

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that we've impounded from people doing it illegally

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that's just sitting there when it could be sold on the open

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market and could bring us money

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for things like conservation efforts

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or community programs, all of those kinds of things.

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So this debate really started to rumble quite early.

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And then if you fast forward a little bit to 2019,

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this is when we really see some

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of those Southern African range states really take a step

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forward and say, no, enough is enough.

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We wanna be able to sell our ivory on the open market.

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And that was led by Zimbabwe.

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And I think it's really worth understanding

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what an amazing job Zimbabwe had done

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with its elephant population.

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You know, at the, at its worst, it was dwindling in the,

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you know, single digit thousands, six, 7,000 elephants.

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By 2019, there was a population of wild elephants

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inside Zimbabwe of around about 83,000.

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I know that's a huge increase.

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And the real problem for Zimbabweans was

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that the protected areas were the

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elephants were supposed to be just weren't big enough.

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You know, these are incredibly massive creatures

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and that just wasn't the space to keep them.

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Uh, and the problem with elephants is they're so big,

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it's a bit like having a really big hungry

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ramp paging pet dog.

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You know what, we've got a beagle Sam.

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So I speak from experience here.

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When that dog wants his dinner, he wants his dinner

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and nothing is gonna stand between him and his dinner.

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Elephants are like beagles, but on a massive scale.

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So when they wanna go across a fence to get to some crops,

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they're gonna go, you can't stop them.

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Uh, and we saw this increase in human wildlife conflict,

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not just in Zimbabwe,

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but across the southern African range states.

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And that was getting to be a real problem for those peoples.

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Elephant is like the magic word in conservation.

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Um, you know, it's like trying to take

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a pop at at the queen, you know,

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it's like trying to have a go at the royal family.

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They are, they are there, they're, they are

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what we look up to.

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And elephant conservation is so vital.

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Um, and there's a good reason, Sam, it's not just

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'cause they're elephants, but have you ever been

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to southern Africa for a safari?

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Get yourself on a safari to Southern Africa.

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And I bet when you go, there will be

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animals at the top of the list that you must see.

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And I would not be at all surprised if the animal at

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that top of that list

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Is, I wanna see an African savanna elephant in the wild.

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Well, of course, and that's why lots

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of people go on safari to southern Africa.

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They wanna see a a, a savanna elephant.

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So, elephants are really, really popular

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and they are really, really important to the economies

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of Southern African range states in terms of safaris.

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What's interesting is when Zimbabwe backed up

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by Botswana and Namibia, interestingly,

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Southern Africa wasn't there

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with them at this point when they made their application

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to have their elephants.

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And it was only their elephants lifted from the

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CES convention

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so they could sell the iry on the open market.

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They were met by the coldest of cold shoulders

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from the other, other African states.

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And I think there are a couple of reasons for that.

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One is possibly

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because other African states where

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you find elephants are trying really, really hard

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to keep their populations healthy

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and keep them increasing

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because of all of those economic factors we talked about.

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You know, it brings tourists in

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to see them, et cetera, et cetera.

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It's a great thing to have, you know, to be able to show

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that you have elephants on the ground in your country.

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So there was that problem,

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but the bigger call really was from the

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outside, outside Africa.

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And this was Zimbabwe's big gripe with this, how dare

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these Western powers tell us how we can use our resources?

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Um, so a lot of pressure was coming

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from the United States.

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A lot of pressure was coming from the United Kingdom.

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We were really, really vocal here on what should

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and shouldn't happen.

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And there was pressure from coming inside of Africa as well.

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So an awful lot of pressure on three,

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southern African range states

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that this should never get through ces.

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And of course it didn't.

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So the first time was, 2019, they tried again.

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And of course they, there's no doubt about it,

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they will try again.

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But there is no appetite either outside of Africa

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or inside

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of Africa other than in those particular range states

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for the ivory band to be lifted.

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No appetite at all.

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