Ivory markets in Central Africa

Central Africa has been identified as one of the main sources of illegal ivory fueling unregulated domestic ivory trade throughout West and Central Africa and overseas destinations, especially Asia, in recent years. This report presents the results of field surveys of ivory markets carried out in 11 cities of five Central African countries in 2007, 2009, 2014 and 2015 by two different researchers, one in 2007 and 2009, and another in 2014 and 2015, using the same methodology. The aim was to assess the status and trends of domestic ivory trade in the region following the last substantial study in Central Africa, undertaken by Martin and Stiles in 1999, which established a baseline in key markets from which future changes could be assessed (Martin & Stiles, 2000).