7/29/2019 Press Release on Religious ivory
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Society for Conservation BiologyA global community of
conservation professionals
1
February 6, 2013
Contact: Nathan Spillman [email protected]
202 413-7115 (m) 202-234-4311 (office)
SCB Engages Religious Leaders to Help Protect ElephantsDemand
for ivory in Asia for religious purposes threatens elephants in
Africa
WASHINGTON Elephant poaching and ivory smuggling in Africa are
at their highest levels in more than
a decade, according to a 2012 report from the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Fueled in part by demand in Asia for ivory-made religious
products, the illegal trade in ivory threatens
the survival of elephant populations across the African
continent.
In a statement on the use of ivory for religious objects, the
Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) hascalled for conservation
biologists to work closely with religious leaders in Asia to raise
awareness of the
ethical and ecological issues behind illegal ivory, and engage
them in discussing the use of substitute
materials that are most readily available and sustainable from
both environmental as well as religious
perspectives.
In an October 2012 cover story on blood ivory, National
Geographic magazine shed light on the link
between religion and the illegal ivory trade, which involves the
brutal removal of ivory from African
elephants and the subsequent sale of ivory products such as
religious artifacts and trinkets in Asia.
Those who use the products for worship or other religious
purposes are generally unaware of the link
between the decline of the African elephant and the ivory
trade.
African elephants are listed as Vulnerable to extinction by the
International Union for Conservation of
Nature. If poaching continues unabated, scientists predict that
the African elephant will be driven to
extinction across most of its range by 2020. Researchers have
estimated that the continents remaining
470,000 elephants are declining at an annual rate of eight
percent.
SCB is concerned at the alarming rate at which elephants are
dying as a result of illegal poaching
activities to supply the ivory trade, said conservation
biologist Stephen M. Awoyemi, a member of
SCBs Religion and Conservation Biology Working Group. Their
decline is also problematic for their
habitats in which they serve as ecosystem engineers and key seed
dispersers. Population decline from
killing of elephants and other large animals will impact the
long-term prospects for forest regeneration
and healthy ecosystems, Awoyemi added.
Blood ivory involves violence against elephants and the people
that protect them and the illegal trade
disrupts social harmony and threatens the livelihoods of local
communities. The malevolence of the
ivory trade violates the principles and values of good
stewardship and respect for all life, which is the
foundation of all global religions. Furthermore, the demand for
ivory in Asia lies in contradiction to the
respect bestowed specifically on the elephant in Asian culture.
The Asian elephant is closely related to
the African elephant and is a national symbol of Thailand.
7/29/2019 Press Release on Religious ivory
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Society for Conservation Biology 1017 O Street NW Washington, DC
20001 USA
Phone 202-234-4133 Fax 703-995-4633 [email protected]
www.conbio.org
SCB is encouraged that religious leaders and groups have spoken
against ivory smuggling and the brutal
massacre of the African elephant. The Religion and Conservation
Research Collaborative (RCRC), part of
SCBs Religion and Conservation Biology Working Group, has
reached out to Buddhist and Catholic
religious leaders in Asia to encourage them to positively
influence the survival of the African elephant.
For more information, please refer to the Position Statement by
the Religion and Conservation Research
Collaborative of SCBs Religion and Conservation Biology Working
Group.
The Society for Conservation Biology is an international
professional organization dedicated to
promoting the scientific study of the phenomena that affect the
maintenance, loss, and restoration of
biological diversity.
Kwek Yan Chong, Jame Schaefer, Dhaval Vyas, Stephen M. Awoyemi,
Andrew G. Gosler
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