Poaching as a Factor in African Elephant Eradication

African elephants play an important part in the upkeep of their environments, which is being jeopardized by poaching occurring across wildlife reserves as well as forests and savannahs. There are two types of African elephants, savannah and forest elephants, from which both genders possess ivory in the form of tusks. Ivory poaching, which is fueled by a large market in Asia, is leading to a rapid decline in elephant populations across Africa.

This is a multi-faceted issue that must be addressed soon in order to prevent the eradication of African elephants. Poaching is an increasing factor in the endangerment of elephants, however, there are ivory substitutes being used to combat the controversial trade. These substitutes vary in quality and many might not have a profound impact on the ivory market, as certain factors such as social and cultural situations might not be open to the replacement of ivory.

Poaching is an issue that African countries have struggled with for decades. Elephant poaching has reached a point where one out of twelve elephants were being killed in 2011(Scriber). This issue is growing due to the lack of government support as well as increasing pressure to produce more ivory from Asian countries such as China and Thailand. Elephants are regularly killed for their tusks illegally which is called poaching. This has led to a 62% decline in forest elephants between the years 2002 and 2011 (Maisels et. al.). Evidence like this portrays the situation quite well, as it shows how nature reserves, as well as their general environment, are not safe anymore. There is a severe lack of government funding as well as a lack of protection for elephants, due to their herds moving through land rapidly.

This means that the existing wildlife parks, that often do not have a sufficient amount of rangers, cannot provide herds with enough safe roaming space, meaning it is easier for poachers to kill them. Bribery and corruption is also a large issue when dealing with the ivory trade, as many African governments do not release information that states how many elephants were illegally killed, this has led to some countries studies or data being over ten years old (Scriber). As well as not releasing records, the illegal ivory trade brings in a lot of economic wealth as well as prosperity to countries that may be lacking funding.

Elephant tusks can sell for up to 6000 $ on the black market, of which some money may be used to bribe officials out of arrests. After removing the ivory from poached elephants it is shipped from major ports in central and east Africa to China, which is the worlds leading capital for worked ivory and Thailand, which receives the largest amount of raw ivory. Although there are many issues surrounding poaching and its status, there are substitutes that are useful in targeting the problem from the consumer's side, therefore driving poachers out of their businesses.

Ivory is mainly used for decorative purposes such as jewelry and statues, meaning that any substance that has similar properties to it could be used instead. The ivory nut palm is a solution with a growing interest due to it being natural and having many similar characteristics to ivory, as opposed to plastic alternatives. Phytelephas aequatorialis, or the ivory nut palm, which is found in tropical American forests, has been known for its ivory substance like producing seeds for decades. It had been used in Europe before the creation of modern plastics, for buttons and other small items.

The palm carries large, brown fruit clusters at its base, which contain seeds that produce endosperm, which is the substance used in creating the ivory substitute. The endosperm is the substance found in between the stone like shell of the seed and the middle of it (Barfod). This substance is milky white and hardens as it matures, which means it has to be cut open using force. Due to its density, the endosperm carries a lot of similarities to ivory as it can be carved and polished similarily to it. Its density is achieved due to its multiple dead cell walls, giving the material a rating of 2.5 on the scale of mineral hardness (Palomar).

The density compares to ivory, which means it can be used in similar crafts, particularly carving. As well as being characteristically similar to ivory, the endosperm also emulates the natural feel of it, which is an important factor that many other substitutes cannot accomplish. This means that the endosperm behaves in a similar way to ivory because it is a completely natural material, as opposed to engineered plastics. Although there is a limit as to how much can be done with the ivory nut endosperm due to its small size, one plant can produce up to 50 pounds of nuts per year, which averages out to one tusk (Armstrong). The produced endosperm is therefore mainly used for jewelry or smaller statues. The ivory nut palm is extremely similar to ivory in terms of material quality and characteristics but lacks the social and historical values behind it.

A material valued in societies for centuries, ivory is transcending its cultural values and becoming a status symbol among upper-middle-class people, particularly in Asia. Most poached ivory is shipped towards Thailand and China, where population shifts are happening in terms of the middle class. There are many new upper-middle-class citizens that can now afford to buy products such as ivory, therefore boosting production and fueling the trade. Ivory has always been an important product in Asian countries due to its cultural values in terms of healing. Throughout the last few decades, this has led to a shift in societies, where owning ivory jewelry or statues shows wealth, therefore becoming a social status symbol. This has led to the ivory trade doubling from 2007 to 2011 (Underwood et al.).

Due to ivory being more of a status symbol, the ivory nut palm would only be interesting towards customers who are looking for the creativity and art presented in ivory carvings as opposed to customers looking for the monetary value. In order to expose more people to the substitute, campaigns concerning the saving of African elephants would have to be created in order to sway certain groups ways of thinking. The substitute would be more cost effective than ivory, meaning it would be available to more people. Although the ivory nut palm is one of the closest natural materials to ivory there will continue to be issues concerning the societal place of ivory.

Poaching is an illegal practice, which is continuing to take the lives of thousands of elephants yearly. As this issue spans multiple continents and many countries, there are many steps to take to ensure that ivory is no longer sold. The ivory nut palm is the best substitute for ivory, as it is the closest to it physically and can be manipulated similarly. Although there is a sufficient substitute there are social and cultural factors hindering its success. This issue must be confronted from both the consumer and the producer's side, with the assistance of the ivory nut palm. In order to eradicate elephant poaching, consumers must stop buying ivory and cut off the money flow to poachers.