User:DomButler/Year of the Elephant (Chinese)

The Chinese Year of the Elephant (Mandarin: 象年快乐‎, See-ang nyan qua-ler) is a year long movement by conservation organisation WildAid to end the ivory trade and save the elephant from extinction.

At the beginning of the Chinese New Year, February 4th 2016, the movement launched to an audience of millions around the world coming together to celebrate the Year of the Monkey. But in 2016, with momentum building to finally stop the illegal ivory trade and end the years-long poaching war on elephants, creative agency Grey London and conservation group WildAid called on the world to help make 2016 the first ever Year of the Elephant.

An estimated 33,000 African elephants are killed every year for their tusks. But, with international criticism mounting, world leaders have finally charted a course to ending the crisis. In the past six months, both the United States and China — the world’s largest ivory market — have agreed to phase out commercial ivory sales, while Hong Kong — whose government has previously been a fierce supporter of its large domestic ivory trade — has vowed to ban the local ivory market.

Chinese New Year Celebrations
The Elephant was adopted as the symbol of 2016 by 38 million people who shared their support on Weibo alone. Support for the elephant and stoping the ivory trade was shown across China in traditional Chinese New Year celebrations and decorations from specially designed red envelopes, to wall hangings, posters and t-shirts.

The event led to increased commitments made by Chinese lead Xi Jinping and Hong Kong Chief Executive Leader Leung Chun-ying, who set out and expediated timetable for the closing of ivory markets.

#JoinTheHerd
The Chinese New Year event coincided with the global campaign to stop the ivory trade which united various NGOs and elephant conservation organisations into one Herd. Namely WildAid, Stop Ivory, EIA, ZSL, TUSK and the Global March For Elephants and Rhinos lead the global movement to put pressure on world leaders to create legislation that will inact a total ban on ivory sales.

The Ivory Burn ignited the movement and helped it grow to a much larger Herd, with influence over world leaders. The Kenyan Government and Wildlife Service's decision to burn their entire stockpile of ivory, extimated to be greater than 100 tonnes, the largest in history, was a univeral statement to the world: that elephants are worth more alive than dead. Grabbing world media attention, the event galvinised world leaders that it was time to act. The Herd kept this fire burning to the UN CITES vote on September 24 2016.

The vote that took place saw a unaminous agreement among the 183 member nation for the first time in their history. They passed a resolution announced October 2 2016 that actions must be taken by all nations to close their legal domestic ivory markets in order to slow demand and cut off the illegal trade which has been using these markets to operate.