Chinese demand for tusks has been driving African elephants toward extinction, experts say. The Chinese government in recent years has taken steps to stop the trade in ivory, which is used for ornamentation and souvenirs.
China's ivory factories are to be shut down by Friday, followed by the closing of retail outlets by the end of this year.
The new report surveys the price of ivory in markets across China between 2014 and early this year. It found the price dropped from USD 2,100 per kilogram in early 2014 to USD 730 in February.
Past estimates of Africa's elephant population have ranged from 420,000 to 650,000. Some conservationists estimate that up to 20,000 elephants are killed by poachers every year to meet demand.
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"With the end of the legal ivory trade in China, the survival chances for elephants have distinctly improved. We must give credit to China for having done the right thing by closing the ivory trade. There is still a long way to go to end the excessive killing of elephants for ivory, but there is now greater hope for the species."
"Findings from 2015 and 2016 in China have shown that the legal ivory trade especially has been severely diminished," said Lucy Vigne, a researcher with Save The Elephants.
The 130 licensed outlets in China gradually have been reducing the quantity of ivory items on display for sale, and recently have been cutting prices to improve sales, the report says.
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