TAGUA: THE VEGETABLE IVORY Saving Elephants These Majestic Creatures

TAGUA

SAVING ELEPHANTS THESE MAJESTIC CREATURES

WRITTEN BY KENZA HENOUDA

WHILE MOST COUNTRIES ARE CALLING FOR A WORLDWIDE BAN ON IVORY (CHINA’S WENT INTO EFFECT IN 2018), THERE ARE STILL PLACES WHERE SELLING IVORY FROM LEGAL STOCKPILES IS ACCEPTABLE. THAILAND, THE UNITED STATES, UNITED KINGDOM AND JAPAN ARE ALL GUILTY OF THIS.

The ivory trade is brutal. At least 140,000 elephants have been lost to the ivory trade in the last 10 years, and as they continue to disappear. Bans on international trade have discouraged the slaughter of elephants, but the demand for polished ivory has pushed the world’s largest living land animal to the brink of extinction. Putting a stop to the trade is crucial and can be stopped just like anything else in history…awareness. People have to see, with their own eyes, how detrimental the absence of the elephants will be to the world we live in now, including the acceleration of climate change. They should be made aware of those risking their lives to save elephants every single day. They also need to know that the mere desire to possess ivory is greedy. Having an ivory trinket is not worth the devastation it causes, and thanks to the “Vegetable Ivory”, it’s can be obsolete.

The Tagua nut comes from a species of tree known as Phytelephas (“plant elephant”), or the ivory palm. They get their name from the hard white seed that they produce, known as the Tagua nut. Tagua palms can grow up to eight meters high! Every year one Tagua Palm can produce about fifteen large balls that consist of a hard shell adorned with thick thorns. The Tagua Nuts are edible, and have a brown skin with white pulp inside. When properly dried, hardened and polished bears a striking resemblance to elephant ivory. With the Tagua, artisans are making exceptional works of craftsmanship producing items that are eco-friendly and support conservation along with fair trade practices. The world is still waiting for the day when elephants no longer have to fear poachers, and Tagua presents a wonderful opportunity for just that. As the demand for ivory lowers, so will the constant, unnecessary slaughter of our beloved elephants. African elephant populations are actually growing in southern Africa, but continue to fall in other areas. Central Africa and parts of East Africa are seeing declining numbers, with an estimated 415,000 elephants on the continent itself. They are vulnerable, to say the least. Asian elephant numbers, on the other hand, have dropped by at least 50% over the last three generations. They continue to decline today. There are 40,00050,000 Asian elephants left in the wild, and they have been officially labeled as endangered. Awareness has risen to an all time high in countries around the world as elephants face certain extinction. Closing down any legal avenues of the ivory trade is an imperative step to the beginning of a much needed end.

THE WORLD NEEDS TO COME TOGETHER TO MAKE A GLOBAL DEAL TO SAVE NATURE

WE STILL HAVE TIME TO ACT

TO ENSURE A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR ALL LIVING THINGS, WE NEED TO URGENTLY CURB THE LOSS OF NATURE. THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE—AND BIGGEST OPPORTUNITY—LIES IN CHANGING OUR APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT AND REMEMBER THAT PROTECTING NATURE ALSO HELPS PROTECT PEOPLE.

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

ENSURE THE WORLD’S MOST ICONIC SPECIES, INCLUDING TIGERS, RHINOS, AND ELEPHANTS, ARE SECURED AND RECOVERING IN THE WILD. www.worldwildlife.org/species/elephant

Green Planet Alexandra Mor