Ivory Becoming a New Conflict Mineral

Garamba National Park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was created around 70 years ago to protect the rare white horned rhinoceros. Once numbered around 1,000, rangers in the park have failed to spot a rhino in the past 5 years. The demise of the white horned rhino is attributed to the belief in Asia that the horn of the rhino is thought to cure cancer and other illnesses and goes for $30,000 per pound. Now, tens of thousands of elephants have been poached in Garmaba for their ivory tusks that go for $1,000 per pound. Just last year 38.8 tons of ivory was confiscated worldwide: equivalent to 4,000 slaughtered elephants. This is due in part by the increase in poaching particularly fueled by corrupt militaries, rebel groups and the huge demand in China.

Ivory has become the latest conflict resource such as blood diamonds and other conflict minerals in Africa. The underground ivory trade has infiltrated across Africa and the sale of ivory has fueled conflicts across the region as a source of revenue for weapons. Organized crime groups are partnering with these groups and coordinate smuggling and transport of ivory across continents. Experts claim that 70% of ivory is going to China. The director of Garamba says that the ivory trade is like the drug war because as long as people continue to buy ivory, poaching won’t stop and without the demand from China this would all dry up. 

Poaching in Garamba has become a transnational issue stemming in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some of Africa’s most infamous rebel groups are using the ivory trade to fund their mayhem. One of the world most wanted notorious criminals, Joseph Kony, and his Lord’s Resistance Army have started slaughtering elephants for their ivory tusks. The Janjaweed militia of Darfur are rumored to have killed hundreds of elephants in January and the Congolese military says even an element of their army is involved. Rangers continue to battle South Sudan’s military, the People’s Liberation Army, but even some of Garamba’s rangers poach the animals they are trusted to protect. The militant Islam group in Somalia, the Shabab, are also involved and encourage villager to bring them tusks in exchange for cash and the port town of Mombasa, Kenya provides lenient inspections for shipments. Additionally, just this April, the South Africa conservation organization that manages Garamba got footage of a military transport helicopter in the park that is assumed to have slaughtered a handful of elephants. The helicopter was eventually traced back to the Ugandan military. 

Garamba once had over 20,000 elephants but just last year, the park estimated that only 2,800 remain. Not only does the ivory trade contribute to the demise of elephants, it fuels conflicts that result in genocide and the loss human lives.  The ivory trade has become a conflict mineral just like other natural resources that plague the region such as conflict or blood diamonds.  In 2000, the United Nations recognized that conflict diamonds, and other conflict minerals are, “a crucial factor in prolonging brutal wars in parts of Africa” and adopted a resolution on conflict diamonds (United Nations Department of Public Information). The United Nations, governments, NGOs and many other actors have helped reduce the illicit trade of conflict diamonds and help reroute the diamond industry to the legitimate market. The United Nations has even issued sanctions on UNITA in Angola and rebels in Sierra Leone that still use conflict diamonds as their main source of funding. Although anti-conflict diamond efforts have yielded success, the ivory trade cannot be transferred into the legitimate market like diamonds. 

The solution rests mainly in the halting of Chinese demand for ivory and in the security and capacity of a state to protect itself and all entities within its territory. First, the international community should provide harsh punishment to those involved in the ivory trade and even provide strict punishment on China for allowing ivory to pass through its ports.  Additionally, other states militaries, such as South Sudan and Uganda, should not be in another states territory and there should be consequences for these actions. The US also provided considerable aid to many of these militaries that have been spotted in the park and the US should reassess aid allocation or provide consequences. Perhaps NGOs can help provide more technology to protect these wildlife parks and save these endangered animals. If security and monitoring of these parks can improve and we can help decrease the demand of ivory in China, perhaps we can save and help repopulate the elephant population in Garambia National Park and reduce funding to rebel groups and corrupt governments that are fueling regional conflict.

 

Gettleman, Jeffrey. "Elephants Dying in Epic Frenzy as Ivory Fuels Wars and Profits." 3 9 2012. Africa. 10 11 2012 <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/world

/africa/africas-elephants-are-being-slaughtered-in-poaching frenzy

.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

United Nations Department of Public Information. Conflict Diamonds. 1 3 2001. 10  11 2012 <http://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html>.