The ivory poaching crisis: Which way forward?

Flamingh, Alida de

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/99698 Copy

Description

Title

The ivory poaching crisis: Which way forward?

Author(s)

Flamingh, Alida de

Issue Date

2018-04

Keyword(s)

Ecology, Evolution and Conservation biology

Abstract

In 2017, it was estimated that there are less than a quarter of the expected number of elephants in Africa’s protected areas, yet poaching for ivory is a persisting pandemic. I picked up this piece of ivory, that had naturally chipped off the tip of an elephant tusk, while doing fieldwork in Botswana. In monetary value, I would guess that it was worth about U$500, but to some the value of this piece of ivory could falsely mean life or death. Luckily, it seems that the use of ivory for medicinal and recreational purposes has become less popular as more countries ban the use and trade of ivory. My PhD research focusses on finding long term conservation solutions for elephants in southern Africa. I use genetic and ecological methods in an integrative way to find conservation strategies that could hopefully assuage some the negative consequences of poaching. After photographing this piece of ivory, I threw it as far back into the bush as I could, nobody in this world needs an elephant tusk but an elephant. Camera: Canon EOS 450D, lens Canon EFS 18-55mm.

Type of Resource

• text
• image

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/99698

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2018 Alida de Flamingh

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