Ivory Everywhere, Tusk, Tusk
Theme: Environment
Grade: 7-9
Introduction
The Parks Board in South Africa has warehouses filled with ivory. The world curio and fashion market would pay high prices for ivory, yet the ivory may not be traded. Elephants populations in southern African parks are too large and elephants have to be culled or relocated. Proceeds from the ivory sales could provide employment for many people and vastly improve our park management. The ivory may not be sold. Is this logical?
Task
Amid the controversy on the possibility of lifting the ban on ivory trade, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) will reconvene in order to make a decision. It has invited input from the countires which hold major elephant populations. The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) will be representing our country. They have commissioned your team to provide a balanced report on the situation with a recommendation on what its viewpoint should be at the convention.
Your committee must complete the following tasks:
- Research the history of the ivory trade, its impact on the biodiversity, and the financial impact of the ivory trade ban on the South African economy and ecological management. You will also need to gather statistics on population sizes of the elephants.
- Analyse the data and create a graph to illustrate your elephant population statistics.
- Reach a consensus with your committee either to recommend that CITES lifts the ban on ivory trade or continues to enforce the ban.
- Create a multimedia presentation to present your recommendation and the data and statistics that support your committee's recommendation. You can use Microsoft PowerPoint or Microsoft FrontPage to present your recommendation.
- Write a letter to CITES that explains the position your committee has taken on the ivory trade issue.
If you use FrontPage to create your presentation, you may want to post your finished Web site to the Internet so you can share your conclusions with a global audience.
Process
For this assignment, you will work in teams of four and you will divide your task into roles as follows (click on each role for more information):
Conclusion
By completing this activity you and your team would have gained an insight into the ivory trade issue. You will also have experienced how any one issue has many viewpoints because each of you represented a different interest group during the activity.
