Posted on January, 24 2017

In the global effort to address elephant poaching and the broader scourge of wildlife crime, greater attention has been focused on consumption of illegal and unsustainable wildlife products, the driver of most poaching. Conservationists are redoubling efforts to reduce demand for ivory and other products. With the stakes so high and the prognosis for elephants, rhinos and other wildlife so dire if we falter, we must widen our search for solutions. This requires venturing into disciplines beyond the domain of traditional conservation — and tapping into novel sources of inspiration and expertise to probe the complex, nuanced nature of this demand.

In an effort to tackle the challenge of “desire reduction” of consumers, WWF commissioned a guide, Reducing Desire for Ivory: A Psychosocial Guide to Address Ivory Consumption that presents a new lens through which to view conservation campaigns and their audiences taking on complex dimensions (psychological, cultural, social, and emotional) of ivory consumption.