Elephants, symbols of wisdom and strength in African and Asian cultures, have terribly declined in numbers over the last century, and are now facing a terribly risk of extinction. The yearning for ivory has resulted in an explosion of hunting and poaching: just over the last seven years, Africa reported a 30% loss of its elephant population. Today, only 352,000 elephants are living in the wild, compared to the few millions at the beginning of the 20th century.

“At the current rate of poaching, these magnificent species will be gone from the wild within our lifetime unless we act now,” says Ellen O’Connell, executive director of Tusk USA, an organisation for the conservation of wildlife in Africa. “But ending the illegal wildlife trade and poaching crisis is all within our power.”

At the beginning of this year, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) developed some new action plans aimed at tackling the illegal ivory trade in Asia and Africa. Over the last few years, some of the primary affected countries such as China and Kenya have reported to have “substantially achieved” progresses on pledges like legislation on ivory trade and enforcement action.