Black Markets: A Comparison of the Illegal Ivory and Narcotic Trades

ABSTRACT

Similarities between the illegal wildlife and narcotics trades pose possibilities for an improved understanding of the spatial and temporal gaps identified in illegal ivory trade literature. In this paper, novel comparisons are drawn between these two black markets. Similarities include those of trade chain dynamics, loss of trade assets to seizures, consumer end product distribution, and data collection methodology, among others. The findings suggest that approaches and theories should be extracted from existing narcotics analyses and applied to future ivory market studies. This approach could provide a clearer understanding of the ivory trade, shedding light on elephant poaching incentives and the effects of policy changes. It would allow for better-informed trade and conservation policy decisions, benefitting long-term elephant conservation.