The Ivory Project
Increasing Awareness of the Role of Ivory in Sustainable Elephant Conservation
The Ivory Project was created in 2004 by journalist and conservationist John Frederick Walker to examine one of the most controversial issues in elephant conservation: the role of ivory. Among its initiatives are the publication of Walker’s forthcoming history of ivory by Atlantic Monthly Press, the development of a traveling museum exhibition based on the book, and a related educational outreach lecture tour.
Ivory – the remarkable treasure that comes from the teeth of elephants – has been universally coveted for its beauty, ability to be finely carved, and scarcity throughout human history. Each age, each culture, from ancient Egypt to nineteenth-century America to modern Japan, has found its own uses for this precious organic substance: artistic, devotional, utilitarian, decorative, extravagant, frivolous.
| John Frederick Walker is a veteran journalist whose writings have appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Wildlife Conservation, and dozens of other publications. He is the author of A Certain Curve of Horn: The Hundred-Year Quest for the Giant Sable Antelope of Angola (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2002), a narrative of his search for an endangered species in war-torn Africa, which was praised both by the media and international conservation organizations. He has lectured at every major natural history museum in the US, as well as zoos, universities and many other institutions, and made over 200 appearances on radio and television. Walker brings to The Ivory Project a life long passion for African wildlife and a commitment to objective in-depth journalism. |
The seductiveness of ivory has not only been recognized throughout history; it has helped to shape it. The desire to find new sources of ivory spurred the exploration – and exploitation – of Africa. The ivory trade became linked with the slave trade as manufacturers of combs, buttons, scientific instruments, billiard balls and piano keys demanded an endless supply of elephant tusks.
With the abolition of slavery, attention fell on ivory’s other dark cost. By the final decades of the twentieth century, the routine slaughter of elephants the trade depended on came to threaten the very existence of these extraordinary creatures. Illegal poaching reached record levels in East Africa, provoking a global outcry that led to listing the African elephant as endangered, and to a worldwide ivory ban.
Yet there is recognition that the yearly stockpiling of legitimate ivory recovered from elephants that die of natural causes in Africa’s parks and reserves can be sold to fund the protection of the last remaining herds – but does this only encourage poaching? Finding answers will require a deeper examination of the issues involved – an examination that The Ivory Project will undertake.
Walker has already conducted research at museums and zoos and in libraries and archives in US and Europe. He will be traveling to Africa and the Far East to meet with conservationists, government officials, and biologists, conduct research, and see first-hand how ivory issues are impacting elephant conservation.
AWF believes that Walker’s effort to research and communicate to the public the complex role ivory has played in history and continues to play in elephant conservation today is of great importance. AWF supports the Ivory Project and its goal of increasing public awareness of what is required to ensure the long-term survival of the elephant.
For further information on the Ivory Project, and how you can to donate directly to it, please contact Craig Sholley, AWF's Director of Development, at Csholley@awf.org or +1-202-939-3333 or +1-888-494-5354.
You can also download a copy of the Ivory Project Brochure by clicking here.
