A long-dormant threat to Africa's elephant population is back with a vengeance, thanks to rising demand for ivory from newly affluent Chinese consumers.

　　威脅非洲大象數(shù)量的活動曾有很長一段時間銷聲匿跡，現(xiàn)在這些活動又再度卷土重來，而這一切要拜中國新富階層不斷上漲的象牙需求所賜。

　　Reflecting this demand, ivory prices in China have soared to as high as US$7,000 a kilogram in 2011 from US$157 a kilo in 2008, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency, a nongovernmental organization based in London. Estimates from other researchers and NGOs put ivory prices in China as low as US$300 to US$750 a kilo, which nevertheless reflects at least a 100% increase in price over three years.

　　據(jù)倫敦的非政府組織環(huán)境調查機構(Environmental Investigation Agency)的統(tǒng)計，中國的象牙價格已從2008年每公斤157美元飆升至2011年每公斤7,000美元，從中可以看出中國對象牙的旺盛需求。據(jù)其它研究者和非政府組織的估計，中國的象牙價格最低也在每公斤300美元和750美元之間，即使按照這個數(shù)字，也說明中國的象牙價格在三年時間里至少漲了一倍。

　　Official data on the extent of the ivory trade are difficult to come by, as much of the trade is illegal. From 2009 to June 2011, mainland China and Hong Kong seized more than 6,500 kilograms of illegal ivory in four large shipments, according to a report released by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or Cites.

　　由于很多象牙貿易屬違法活動，因此很難得到有關象牙貿易活躍程度的官方數(shù)據(jù)。據(jù)《瀕危野生動植物種國際貿易公約》(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora，簡稱：Cites)發(fā)布的報告，2009年至2011年6月，中國內地和香港查獲了四大批貨物，繳獲非法象牙6,500多公斤。

　　“China has overtaken Japan as the world's largest consumer market for illegal ivory products,” the Cites report said.

　　這份報告說，中國已超過日本，成為世界上非法象牙產(chǎn)品最大的消費市場。

　　Malaysian authorities this month confiscated nearly 700 African elephant tusks destined for China from Tanzania, the third seizure of illegal ivory since July, officials and wildlife activists said, according to the Associated Press. A week earlier, Hong Kong authorities had seized $1.6 million in African ivory from a container that arrived by sea from Malaysia.

　　Getty Images2011年9月12日，倫敦動物園“瀕危物種”展覽會上展出的由非法像牙雕刻而成的大象。該展覽由“魅力行動”（Operation Charm）主辦，該機構是一個大都市警方合作組織，旨在打擊瀕危野生動物非法貿易。這次活動將歷時一個月。據(jù)美聯(lián)社(Associated Press)報道，官員和野生動植物保護人士說，馬來西亞當局本月沒收了近700根從坦桑尼亞運往中國的非洲象牙，這是自今年7月以來查獲的第三批非法象牙。一周前，香港當局查獲了一批價值160萬美元的非洲象牙，這些象牙裝在一個從馬來西亞經(jīng)海路抵達香港的集裝箱內。

　　In China, sales have been driven by ivory's appeal as a traditional symbol of wealth and status. “Lately, we've had a lot of mainland Chinese customers,” said Alice Chan, sales manager at Exquisite Crafts, an antique shop in Hong Kong filled with figurines carved from both elephant and mammoth ivory, including two enormous carved tusks on display in the shop window. “They're rich now.”

　　在中國，象牙歷來是財富和地位的象征，這種獨特的吸引力推動了象牙銷售。香港古玩店Exquisite Crafts的銷售經(jīng)理Alice Chan說，最近有很多內地客戶來我們這里，他們現(xiàn)在很有錢。店里隨處可見由大象牙和猛口象牙制成的小雕像，櫥窗里還陳列著兩根巨大的經(jīng)雕刻的象牙。

　　Mammoth ivory is legal to import and export from Hong Kong, but Ms. Chan says that the Chinese typically want elephant ivory, which is considered of higher quality. Cites says almost all of the current demand for elephant ivory comes from the Chinese market, including Hong Kong and Macau. The Geneva-based Cites is an international agreement among 175 governments, including the U.S. and China, that aims to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants doesn't threaten their survival.

　　從香港進出口猛口象牙屬合法貿易，但Chan說，中國人一般喜歡大象牙，覺得大象牙質量更好。Cites說，目前幾乎所有的象牙需求都來自中國市場，包括香港和澳門。Cites是一項國際協(xié)議，秘書處設于瑞士日內瓦，目前共有包括美國和中國在內的175個締約成員，協(xié)議宗旨是確保野生動植物的國際貿易不會危及它們的生存。

　　Outlets that legally sell elephant ivory from old stocks in China are supposed to be licensed and monitored by the government, with certificates accompanying all legal ivory. Taking ivory out of China or importing it into most other countries, including the U.S., is illegal.

　　中國合法出售原有庫存象牙的零售店應該都獲得了中國政府的準許并受到政府監(jiān)管，所有合法象牙都配有證書。從中國攜帶象牙出境或包括美國在內的絕大多數(shù)國家進口象牙都是非法的。

　　“More than 90% of wildlife seizures made by the Chinese Customs in recent years have involved elephant tusks and ivory carvings,” said Wan Ziming, a Chinese government employee and director of Cites Enforcement Coordination for China.

　　中國瀕危物種進出口管理辦公室Cites執(zhí)法培訓處處長萬自明說，中國海關近年來查獲的90%以上的野生動植物都與象牙和象牙雕刻品有關。

　　Since the late 1970s, Africa's elephant population has fallen by more than half, from about 1.2 million to between 472,000 and 690,000 today, according to the 2007 African Elephant Status Report, which is sponsored by a network of multiple governments, NGOs, and volunteers.

　　據(jù)2007年《非洲象狀態(tài)報告》(African Elephant Status Report)，20世紀70年代末以來，非洲大象種群數(shù)量已經(jīng)從120萬頭左右下降到今天的47.2萬頭到69萬頭?！斗侵尴鬆顟B(tài)報告》是在多個政府、NGO和志愿者資助下完成的。

　　In 1989, Cites banned the international ivory trade to try to curb the rapid decline in Africa's elephant population. For years, experts considered that ban, to which China is one of the 175 signatories, a success in reducing the poaching of elephants, as the number of illegally killed elephants fell drastically and the total population became stable, albeit at a much lower volume than before the rampant poaching of the 1970s and 80s. But newfound interest in ivory from China is reversing those gains, researchers and NGOs say.

　　1989年，Cites對國際象牙貿易下達禁令，以求遏制非洲象種群數(shù)量的快速下降。中國是這條禁令的175個簽署國之一。多年來，專家都認為禁令起到了減少偷獵象牙活動的作用，因為被獵殺的非洲象數(shù)量急劇下降了，總量也趨于穩(wěn)定，只是數(shù)量遠遠低于70年代和80年代瘋狂盜獵之前的水平。但研究人員和NGO說，中國人對象牙方興未艾的興趣正在扭轉這些進步。

　　“Looks like now that we've had almost 20 years of cease-fire, people have become complacent, and we need renewed interest,” said Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder and chief executive officer of Save the Elephants, an independent research organization based in Kenya.

　　肯尼亞獨立研究機構“拯救大象”(Save the Elephants)創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行長道格拉斯-漢密爾頓(Iain Douglas-Hamilton)說，就像是我們已經(jīng)?；鸾咏?0年，所以大家都變得自滿起來；我們需要重新加以關注。

　　Elephant killings in the first sixth months of this year in the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya and surrounding areas are already double the level of any year in the past decade, he said. Mr. Douglas-Hamilton and his team of researchers count by hand the dead bodies of slain elephants in the areas they study, though he declined to comment on exact numbers.

　　他說，今年前六個月，肯尼亞桑布魯國家保護區(qū)(Samburu National Reserve)及周邊地區(qū)的大象獵殺數(shù)量已經(jīng)是過去10年任何一年的兩倍。道格拉斯-漢密爾頓和他的研究團隊在他們研究的區(qū)域內人工清點被殺大象的數(shù)量，但他拒絕談及具體數(shù)字。

　　“All hell's breaking loose,” said Cynthia Moss, a researcher who has studied elephants and their conservation in Kenya's Amboseli National Park for 30 years. “Up north, we lost 23 elephant in the last two weeks.”

　　研究人員莫斯(Cynthia Moss)30年來一直在肯尼亞安博塞利國家公園(Amboseli National Park)研究大象和大象的保護。她說，什么都失控了；在北邊，過去兩個星期我們就失去了23頭大象。

　　“China has a huge middle class now,” Ms. Moss said. “People in China never bought ivory before, because they couldn't afford it─they carved it, but it all went out to Europe. Now it's being bought in China by the Chinese, and that's a disaster.”

　　莫斯說，中國現(xiàn)在有了一個龐大的中產(chǎn)階級；中國人以前從來不買象牙，因為買不起；他們雕刻象牙，但這些象牙全都去了歐洲；現(xiàn)在是中國人在中國購買象牙，這是一場災難。

　　Abetting the traffic in illicit ivory is a surge of Chinese investment in Africa, a source of key mineral and other resources. South Africa's Standard Bank forecasts that investment from China in Africa could hit $50 billion by 2015, up 70% from 2009.

　　刺激這種非法象牙貿易的是中國對非洲投資的急劇增加。非洲是礦產(chǎn)等資源的關鍵來源。南非標準銀行(Standard Bank)預計，到2015年，中國對非投資可能會達到500億美元，較2009年增長70%。

　　“As China expands its presence in Africa in the form of investments and infrastructure development in remote areas, and also areas with significant elephant populations, the incentive or temptation increases for the Chinese worker to look for ivory,” said James Isiche, East African director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Associated Press本月早些時候，馬來西亞海關工作人員檢查在吉隆坡市郊巴生港繳獲的象牙。馬來西亞當局沒收了總價

　　值約100萬美元的共約700支??非洲象牙，這些象牙原本運往中國。這是自7月份以來馬來西亞第三次繳獲非法像牙.國際愛護動物基金會(International Fund for Animal Welfare)東非部總監(jiān)艾斯奇(James Isiche)說，隨著中國擴大在非洲的投資，并在大象種群數(shù)量較多的偏遠地區(qū)加大基礎設施開發(fā)，中國工人尋找象牙的動力或誘惑就會增加。

　　The Kenyan government burned approximately five tons of seized elephant ivory on July 20, in a move meant to illustrate how serious it is about stopping the illegal trade in ivory and the poaching of their elephants.

　　7月20日，肯尼亞政府把收繳的近五噸象牙付之一炬，希望以此證明它對于阻止非法象牙貿易、阻止其大象被偷獵的態(tài)度是多么認真。

　　Chinese appetite for ivory was whetted in 2008 when Cites approved a one-off sale of ivory stocks that were old or had been collected from already-dead elephants. Four southern African nations sold about 108 tons of ivory to Japan and China, flooding the market for the first time in almost 10 years.

　　中國人對象牙的愛好在2008年時被刺激起來，當時Cites批準一次性清理出售象牙庫存，這些象牙或是以往留下的舊貨，或了來自已經(jīng)死去的大象。南部非洲的四個國家共向日本和中國出售了108噸象牙，這是近10年來首次有大量象牙充斥市場。

　　Now, China's ivory consumer base appears to be expanding, says Wang Juan, an official in the Beijing office of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

　　國際愛護動物基金會（International Fund for Animal Welfare）北京辦事處的工作人員王娟說，中國的象牙消費人群現(xiàn)在似乎正在擴大。

　　'Traditionally, we think it's always wealthy people who are the main buyers for ivory products,' Ms. Wang said. 'But actually, there are many young people buying ivory, too.' 她說，我們以往總是認為，富人是象牙制品的主要購買者，但實際上有許多年輕人也在買象牙。

　　Some Chinese media, she added, often promote the collectible value of ivory, further stimulating demand.

　　她還說，一些中國媒體經(jīng)常宣傳象牙的收藏價值，這進一步刺激了象牙需求。

　　Two companies in Beijing that offer custom ivory carving services both declined to comment.

　　北京兩家提供定制象牙雕刻服務的公司都拒絕置評。

　　Over the past 15 years, around 20 smugglers responsible for illegal commercial import of ivory have received the maximum penalty for wildlife smugglers in China, which is life imprisonment, according to Mr. Wan. Most offenders who illegally take small amounts of ivory into China are fined, and the ivory simply confiscated, according to Mr. Wan.

　　中國瀕危物種進出口管理辦公室Cites執(zhí)法培訓處處長萬自明說，過去15年中，約有20名從事象牙非法商業(yè)進口的走私者受到了中國針對野生動植物走私者的最高處罰，被判處無期徒刑。萬自明說，大多數(shù)因攜帶少量象牙進入中國而觸犯法律的人受到了罰款處罰，他們攜帶的象牙被沒收。

　　And for every seizure that gets prosecuted, 20 or 30 others don't, said David Higgins, manager of Interpol's environmental crime program.

　　國際刑警組織（Interpol）環(huán)境犯罪項目的負責人希金斯（David Higgins）說，中國每個走私的象牙被沒收、走私者被起訴的案子，都對應著20或30起象牙走私者未被起訴的案子。

　　“I think the public gets confused when they see a seizure of five tons of ivory,” he said. “Half the time, if not more, we never have an offender. Customs agencies just do the seizures, and there are no follow-up investigations.”

　　他說，我認為公眾看到一起沒收五噸走私象牙的案子時會感到困惑，至少有一半的時候，海關只是將走私的象牙沒收了事，不再進行后續(xù)調查，從未有人去追究誰是犯罪者。

　　A lack of proper communications between national police bodies and national wildlife or environmental enforcement agencies is one reason why prosecutions are rare, Mr. Higgins said. In addition, wildlife crime is rarely a high priority for prosecutors.

　　希金斯說，中國走私象牙的人之所以很少被起訴，國家的公安部門和野生動植物或環(huán)境執(zhí)法部門間缺乏適當?shù)臏贤ㄊ且粋€原因。此外，針對野生動植物的犯罪行為也很少得到中國檢查部門的高度重視。

　　According to a study released last month by Elephant Family, a charity, the Aspinall Foundation and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, a survey of ivory for sale in Guangzhou, China, counted 6,437 elephant ivory objects on display for retail sale, of which 3,947 were being sold without ID cards, and therefore illegally.

　　一家名為“大象家族”（Elephant Family）的慈善機構、英國阿斯皮納基金會（Aspinall Foundation）、哥倫布動物園暨水族館（Columbus Zoo and Aquarium）上個月發(fā)布研究報告說，一項關于中國廣州象牙銷售情況的調查發(fā)現(xiàn)，有6,437具象牙被展示出來零售，其中3,947具沒有產(chǎn)品認證標牌，因此屬非法銷售。

　　“Decreasing demand means educating hundreds of millions of Chinese,” Mr. Isiche of the International Fund for Animal Welfare said. “We did a survey and found that 70% of Chinese consumers did not know that elephants were killed for ivory. Some people thought elephants lose tusks the way people lose teeth.”

　　國際愛護動物基金會的艾斯奇說，減少象牙需求意味著要對幾億中國人進行教育。他說，該機構的一項調查發(fā)現(xiàn)，70%的中國消費者不知道大象會因人們?yōu)楂@取其象牙而被殺。一些人認為，大象的長牙會像人的牙齒一樣自然脫落。

　　In response, Mr. Isiche last month launched a “Green Tour Africa” campaign with the Kenyan Embassy in China to ensure that Chinese citizens receiving a visa to visit or work in Kenya would be educated about the ivory trade.

　　針對這種情況，艾斯奇上個月與肯尼亞駐華大使館發(fā)起了一項名為“非洲綠色之旅”的行動，以確保獲得前往肯尼亞旅行或工作簽證的中國公民能夠獲得有關象牙貿易的教育。