By November 2015, the price had dropped to $1,100, the study found. “I am hugely encouraged by this, but I am also very wary because I know how these things can drift with the pendulum of concern,” said Iain Douglas-Hamilton, one of the world’s most renowned elephant conservationists and founder of Save the Elephants. “What we are seeing by and large is that the uncontrolled killing of elephants is continuing in most of Africa, although there are some bright spots.” Douglas-Hamilton said he believed Xi’s pledge to ban the domestic trade in ivory – made in conjunction with President Obama last September -- had been crucially important in driving down demand. While he said he was excited by the leadership being shown by China and the United States, he added it was “really vital” that Xi’s promise is put into law as soon as possible. “We understand some ivory had been bought by speculators who may have been counting on the elephant being severely diminished or even going extinct, so they would be sitting on a pile of ivory they could profit from,” he said. “If President Xi has said all of this is going to be illegal anyway, suddenly they may have taken a very bad risk.” The report’s authors, Lucy Vigne and Esmond Martin, said they had not seen a single item of ivory changing hands during weeks of fact-finding in eight Chinese cities. Carvers and vendors complained that an economic slowdown – coupled with an anti-corruption campaign that has reduced the sales of all luxury goods – had hit the ivory trade hard, they said. An intricately carved ivory item has been both a status symbol and a popular gift to grease the wheels of business, but changing attitudes and the crackdown on corruption may have undercut that source of demand. Campaigns led by WildAid, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the African Wildlife Foundation and Save the Elephants, supported by Chinese state media and private companies, and fronted by local celebrities like basketball star Yao Ming, appear to have had a major impact. SOURCE - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/12/08/lifeline-for-elephants-ivory-price-halves-in-china-after-xi-pledges-ban/ RP @dp4k.m
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