Dot Earth Blog: A Pitch to Have Ivory on the Agenda as Obama Meets His Chinese Counterpart

Needless to say, there?s pressure on President Obama to address a host of issues in his weekend summit in the California desert with?President?Xi Jinping?of China. Think computer security, trade disputes, North Korea?s destabilizing behavior.

But there?s another one to add, says Dot Earth reader?Margaret McCarthy: the destructive illegal trade in ivory.

McCarthy,?the chief financial officer of?WideOrbit Inc., made this point by e-mail and I invited her to make it a ?Your Dot? contribution.

Here?s McCarthy?s pitch to the White House (I?ved added some links for context):?

??here we are in the midst of one of the most tragic and outrageous assaults on our shared inheritance that I?ve seen in my lifetime?where an elephant?s dead?ivory?is prized over its living condition, where corruption feeds on its body and soul, and where money only makes matters worse.? ? then Senator John Kerry, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, May 24, 2012.

I read with great interest the reports of the first extended meetings between President?Obama?and Chinese President Xi Jinping?occurring at the end of this first week of June. The two presidents will spend several days together, along with Xi?s charismatic wife, Peng Liyuan. I see an incredible opportunity for this group to address?ivory?consumption and elephant slaughter during their formal and informal time together.

The New York Times and others have consistently and compellingly highlighted the horrific levels of elephant poaching occurring daily. The demand for?ivory?is led by China, followed by the U.S.? With so many concerns about the relations between China and the U.S. prominent in the news, I see an agreement between the two countries to stop their?ivorytrade as a spectacular ?win? for the meetings this week.? Both countries participate and both countries win.? How many other ?low cost? efforts would accomplish so much good including

? Striking a blow against terrorism funding,

? Attacking a multi-billion dollar source of worldwide illegal trade,

? Disrupting an income source for militias plaguing African countries,

? Preserving ecotourism, a major economic force in many African countries, and

? Saving the world?s largest and arguably best-loved land mammal.

And this truly is low-cost. While elephant?ivory?sales provide astronomical funds for criminals and terrorists, the consumer?ivory?market is small compared to autos, solar panels and electronics. The demand for?ivory?is for trinkets, for ?bling? to be worn or displayed, easily satisfied by a substitute luxury good. Buy jade, for goodness sakes. The very popular first ladies alone could change the trajectory of?ivory?demand by joining Ms. Le Bingbing and Mr. Yao Ming in helping to make?ivory?ownership socially unacceptable.?In the long term, that change of attitude is needed to truly save the elephants.

Source: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/a-pitch-to-have-ivory-on-the-agenda-as-obama-meets-his-chinese-counterpart/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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