Campaign To End Demand For Ivory Products Launched In Thailand

By Linda Khoo Hui Li BANGKOK, Sept 19 (Bernama) -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) and WildAid launched a campaign to reduce the use and purchase of jewelry as well as accessories made from elephant ivory among women. In bid to end the demand for ivory products, the “Only Elephants Wear Ivory Best” campaign features Cindy Sirinya Bishop, a Thai actress and supermodel and Master Tossaporn Sritula (Master Chang), a renowned Thai astrology and feng shui expert deliver message dissuading consumers from future ivory purchases. The campaign also features two 32-second videos starring BOTH ambassadors. Programme Development Specialist of USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia, Dr. Suphasuk Pradubsuk said the United States (US) government remains committed to the productive partnership with Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation to end the illegal wildlife trade and protect environmental and human health by reducing the demand for illegal wildlife products. He said the USAID Wildlife Asia’s “Beautiful without Ivory” campaign was remarkably successful in changing attitudes of the target groups in just a short time. “We hope that ‘Only Elephants Wear Ivory Best’ will continue this trend,” Dr. Suphasuk said in a statement. According to a USAID 2020 survey, the 'Beautiful without ivory’ campaign helped decrease Thai consumers’ intention to purchase ivory products by 50 percent and the social acceptability of buying and using ivory products by 50 percent compared to a similar USAID survey in 2018. The perception that 'ivory is beautiful' decreased from 67 per cent in 2018 to nearly 48 per cent in 2020. The ‘Only Elephants Wear Ivory Best’ campaign also aims to counter another key driver of the consumption of ivory products in Thailand – the belief that these products bring luck leading to a good life and happiness. Meanwhile, Director General of the DNP, Rutchada Suriyakul Na Ayutya said DNP has worked closely with USAID and WildAid to help reduce the demand for illegal elephant ivory products since 2018. “Reducing demand for illegal wildlife product is one amongst the other strategies to halt illegal trade that aligns with the guidance of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). “We truly believe that by putting an effort on law enforcement together with positive demand reduction campaigns like ‘Only Elephants Wear Ivory Best’, we can create new value in society to halt the use of wildlife products, which will contribute significantly to the prevention of illegal trade in ivory,” he said. USAID, WildAid, and the DNP will disseminate the campaign’s videos and key visuals through Facebook, other social media channels, and out-of-home media placements to maximize the campaign’s reach and audience engagement. -- BERNAMA