TRAFFIC warns that 2011 has seen a record number of large ivory seizures globally, reflecting the sharp rise in illegal ivory trade underway since 2007.

Although official confirmation of the volume of ivory involved in some cases has not yet been registered, what is clear is the dramatic increase in the number of large-scale seizures, over 800 kg in weight, that have taken place in 2011 - at least 13 of them.

This compares to six large seizures in 2010, whose total weight was just under 10 tons. A conservative estimate of the weight of ivory seized in the 13 largest seizures in 2011 puts the figure at more than 23 tons, a figure that probably represents some 2,500 elephants, possibly more.

A recent case came to light when 727 ivory pieces were discovered on December 21 concealed inside a container at the port of Mombasa, Kenya, and destined for Asia.

Over the last 12 months, most large seizures of illicit ivory from Africa have originated from either Kenyan or Tanzanian ports.

"In 23 years of compiling ivory seizure data for ETIS (Elephant Trade Information System), this is the worst year ever for large ivory seizures - 2011 has truly been a horrible year for elephants," said Tom Milliken, TRAFFIC's elephant expert.

Milliken manages ETIS, the illegal ivory trade monitoring system that TRAFFIC runs on behalf of Parties to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). ETIS holds the details of over 17,000 reported ivory and other elephant product seizures that have taken place anywhere in the world since 1989.

Once the records of hundreds of smaller ivory seizures are at hand, 2011 could well prove to be the worst year ever for elephants in the database.

"The escalating large ivory quantities involved in 2011 reflect both a rising demand in Asia and the increasing sophistication of the criminal gangs behind the trafficking. Most illegal shipments of African elephant ivory end up in either China or Thailand," said Milliken.

The smugglers also appear to have shifted away from using air to sea freight: in early 2011, three of the large scale ivory seizures were at airports, but later in the year most were found in sea freight.

"The only common denominator in the trafficking is that the ivory departs Africa and arrives in Asia, but the routes are constantly changing, presumably reflecting where the smugglers gamble on being their best chance of eluding detection," said Milliken.

In six of the large seizures in 2011, Malaysia has been a transit country in the supply chain, a role that TRAFFIC first drew attention to in 2009.

A typical example occurred earlier this month, when Customs in Malaysia seized 1.4 tons of ivory (widely misreported as 15 tons) concealed inside a shipping container en route from Kenya to Cambodia.

Once inside Asia, the documentation accompanying an onward shipment is changed to make it appear as a local re-export, helping to conceal its origin from Africa.

"That's an indication of the level of sophistication enforcement officers are up against in trying to outwit the criminal masterminds behind this insidious trade," said Milliken.

"As most large-scale ivory seizures fail to result in any arrests, I fear the criminals are winning," he said.

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About TRAFFIC

TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature. TRAFFIC is a joint program of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and WWF.

(The writer is Communications Coordinator, TRAFFIC International)

Large-scale Ivory Seizures in 2011 & Numbers of Such Seizures 2001-11

China's Position on Ivory Trade

> China greatly values the endangered species and has banned ivory trade since 1991. The Chinese Government has adopted a series of laws and policies against the smuggling and illegal trade of ivories. With the policy loosing the regulation on ivory trade conditionally introduced by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1997, China is targeted as the destination of ivory trade by many businessmen internationally. Since May 2004, the Chinese Government has requested all the markets to earmark their ivory products with unified icon to check the flow of the products and set up a database information system on all ivory products to ensure no illegal ivory enters the legal market.

At the same time, the Chinese Government is engaged in wide range of educational campaigns. The relevant authorities hosted seminars to emphasize the importance of the ivory trade control, printed and dispatched posters on ivory trade control to be posted in the visa chambers of Chinese Embassies in African countries, as well as the Embassies of African countries in China. The Chinese Government requests its citizens in Africa to abide strictly by the local laws and regulations, and not engage in any trade or transportation of ivory or its products.

The aforesaid efforts have won the recognition by the representatives from many international organizations and CITES Parties upon their visit to China inspecting China's administration and law enforcement on ivory trade.

The Chinese Embassy in Kenya has made every effort to educate Chinese nationals not to engage in trade and transportation of ivory and its products. The embassy issues notices to the Chinese nationals in Kenya from time to time to remind them of the importance of this issue and the ambassador raises this issue many times during functions held by the local Chinese communities. The embassy has direct communications with the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) on the protection of wildlife and how to contain the smuggling of ivories.

The position of the Chinese Government on ivory trade is clear. It is open, sincere, and ready to work with relevant parties to address such issues in a manner that is objective and fair.

(Source: the website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs)