Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/361673
photography by max orenstein/clinton foundation. opposite page: barbara kinney/clinton foundation (clinton); mike hill/getty images (elephants); alvaro canovas/getty images (garamba national park); jean liou/afp/getty images (weapons); illustration by shutterstock.com not only for the countries that are affected but for all of us to stop poaching. Having lived through 9/11, I think people will be very interested to know that poaching has direct links to terrorism and Al Qaeda in North Africa. There's irrefutable evidence that Al Qaeda in North Africa, the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the Janjaweed from Sudan who are coming into Uganda and the DRC are all engaged in poaching, because ivory is an easily accessible commodity to them. It's become a lubricant that continually greases the wheels for the shipment of drugs, guns, and people. I don't think many people realize the brutality involved when elephants are killed for ivory. One misconception is that taking off the tusk is like extracting a tooth. Elephants cannot live without their tusks; they are absolutely crucial to their survival. What happens with the ivory after the elephants are killed? Is there a black market? The tusks are removed and then trekked out to a port. In East Africa, a lot of ivory f lows out of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Mombasa, and Kenya, up and down the coast, and it largely goes to Asia. China, by far, is the biggest mar- ket; Vietnam and Thailand are also significant markets. The vast majority [of ivory] is transported in tusk form. When it gets to China, the tusks are then cut down and made into commodities and luxury goods—whether it be ivory Buddhas, chopsticks, hair clips, or the handles of a luxury handbag. Why the high demand for ivory in Asia? In China, historically, ivory has been synonymous with ascension into the middle class and prosperity. One of the challenges along the continuum with trying to stop the demand is to find replacement products—so that ivory is no longer synonymous with rising aff luence, but that, say, a Louis Vuitton handbag could be. When you went to Africa last summer, what did you learn from being on the ground? We went where there are indigenous elephant populations— from Malawi up to Tanzania. In Tanzania we were in Tarangire National Park; it was amazing not only to see the elephants in all of their magnificence but to see the families, to understand on a deeper level why it's so important that the matriarchs—which are increasingly the ones that are killed because they're the oldest and have the biggest tusks—not be slaughtered. Without the guidance of those older figures, it's hard for younger families to survive. And the park rangers are in such peril protecting the older elephants. Yes. More than a thousand rangers have been killed over the last decade protecting elephants and other wildlife. They feel called to this work for the elephants' sake, but also recog- nize this is important to their country's future. Why do you think elephants mean so much to you and your mother? The first elephants that I saw were in the Little Rock Zoo when I was a little girl. What I felt then was just magnified profoundly when I went with my mom to Africa as a teen- ager. It is this sense of a family, ultimately—the family unit of elephants and the affection and the commitment to their families and to the other elephant families in the area. Also, elephants are so crucial to the ecosystem. They're sort of the honeybees of the African savannah or their forest environment. Can you share any progress reports? Judith McHale—who worked for my mom in the State Department, liaising on conservation efforts there—is chairing the [President's Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking]. We fully support everything the Obama admin- istration has done and strongly support an ivory ban here at home. We think that's a critical move for the United States to make—not only for our own moral standing, but also because there is no argument for ivory being indispensable. There are very good substitute materials—whether it's for a piano or a musical pick, or any of the utilitarian uses of ivory—so we have been deeply enthusiastic about the commission's work. I understand you're planning on doing something during Fashion Week? Most of the major luxury goods houses don't use ivory. The challenge is: How do we help their products become substi- tutions for ivory, in East Asia in particular? Something like a Louis Vuitton bag or an Hermès scarf or Donna Karan dress? How can those become the same types of status sym- bols that ivory historically has been? Also, how can we work with the fashion industry here in the US to raise awareness about this issue so that American consumers become aware of why you should never buy ivory? How can someone who is reading this help? One, don't buy ivory, which sounds self-evident, but it isn't. You'll see stores that still sell ivory, because there is no carbon-dating equivalent for ivory. It's impossible to assess its age, so a lot of new ivory gets laundered through antiques stores. The second thing is to support organizations that are really making a difference in this fight—whether that's big organizations like the Wildlife Conservation Society, which has the most extensive efforts throughout Africa, or more localized organizations like the African Wildlife Foundation, which is helping to provide economic opportu- nities to many of the vulnerable communities around parks, often through eco-tourism programs. There's such a range of organizations doing tremendous work that are part of our CGI commitment—yet even more work could be done if there were even more resources to do it. And also use your voice to help educate others about why this issue is so important, particularly given the number of misconceptions around ivory. I think that's really where young people can help play a big role, using their voices off line and online, because a lot of people just don't know what a tragedy elephant poaching really is, not just for the elephants but for the most affected communities. Ultimately, we all bear responsibility. BC Be active in the Battle to stop elephant poaching. "Each day, it is estimated that 96 elephants are brutally killed in Africa for their ivory. Only a global movement will end the slaughter and help to ensure the survival of these magnificent animals. The Clinton Foundation is an important part of this movement," says Cristián Samper, president and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society. "Secretary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton have used their leadership to bring attention to the threat facing Africa's elephants and to help gather partners across the globe to join together in this fight. We are working on all fronts to stop the killing and to stop the trafficking and demand for ivory." to learn more aBout this crisis and to make a donation, go to: african Wildlife Foundation awf.org clinton Foundation's partnership to save africa's elephants clintonfoundation.org conservation international conservation.org international Fund for animal Welfare: ifaw.org nature conservancy nature.org Wildlife conservation society wcs.org World Wildlife Fund worldwildlife.org Save the elephantS bostoncommon-magazine.com 123