[JURIST] The State Council of China [official website] announced [press release, in Mandarin] on Friday that it will ban all trade of ivory by the end of 2017. It is anticipated [BBC report] that the commercial processing of ivory will end in March 2017, and steps will be implemented to transition the cultural skill of carving ivory into carving of other materials such as tooth and bone. The government will also strictly manage the collection of ivory materials, placing some in museums and exhibits while allowing, under strict supervision, the transfer through inheritance of ivory goods and some auctioning. The Chinese government, with the help of other organizations, will also strengthen the enforcement of the bans and encourage education on the issue. The move has been lauded by several organizations, as China is the largest domestic ivory market.

In 2014, the UN published [JURIST report] a108-page report, entitled “The Environmental Crime Crisis,” which detailed the ways in which illegal trading of charcoal, timber and poached wildlife, worth approximately $213 billion annually, helped to fund terrorist and criminal groups, as well as threatened the security and development of many countries. Poaching and illegal trade of environmental goods has been a growing threat worldwide. Wildlife conservation agency CITES reported in one month more than 20,000 African elephants were killed for their ivory in 2013 alone. In May, it was reported that Brazil has participated in illegal logging on a massive scale. The European Parliament in 2008 adopted new rules to criminalize acts [JURIST report] that cause serious environmental damage.