Botswana currently stores approximately 300 tonnes of confiscated elephant tusks in government facilities, a stockpile valued at potentially millions of dollars on the international market, yet unsellable under existing trade restrictions.
This was revealed by Moemi Raeshimane Batshabang, director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP), during Day 7 of the Standing Committee on Government Assurances’ review of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
The seized ivory is securely held by government authorities and cannot be commercialized, Batshabang explained, due to the current international framework regulating elephant ivory trade. “Although the tusks have significant market value, Botswana is unable to realize any financial benefit from the stockpile,” he said.
Based on estimates placing ivory’s value between $200 and $300 per kilogram, Botswana’s 300-tonne reserve could theoretically be worth between $60 million and $90 million if legal markets were accessible.
This revelation underscores the mounting challenge for wildlife authorities tasked with safeguarding large quantities of confiscated ivory, incurring ongoing costs for storage and security. The stockpile results from anti-poaching efforts, seizures from illegal wildlife trafficking, and law enforcement confiscations.
Home to the world’s largest elephant population, Botswana has long advocated for a greater say in how conservation resources are managed. The country supports sustainable wildlife utilization and argues that communities living alongside wildlife should benefit economically from conservation.
The existence of such an extensive ivory reserve is expected to revive debate over whether regulated sales could fund conservation, community development, and anti-poaching initiatives; or if maintaining a complete ban remains the best way to protect elephant populations.
According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), commercial international trade in African elephant ivory is currently prohibited, including ivory from Botswana’s elephants. While Botswana’s elephants are listed under Appendix II, a legally binding annotation effectively treats their ivory as Appendix I material for trade purposes, blocking legal international sales.
These restrictions stem from decades of international efforts to combat elephant poaching, which devastated Africa’s elephant populations during the 20th century. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates Africa’s current elephant population at roughly 415,000, a sharp decline from millions in the past. The international ban on commercial ivory trade remains enforced by CITES and domestic laws in many consumer countries.
For Botswana, the issue extends beyond conservation to economics and sovereignty. Valued at current rates, the country’s 300,000 kilograms of ivory could yield more than P1 billion; funds that conservation advocates across southern Africa say could finance anti-poaching operations, wildlife management, community compensation, and rural development.
“Countries successfully conserving elephant populations should be allowed to benefit from sustainable utilization of wildlife resources,” Botswana has consistently maintained.
This debate is not new. In 1999 and again in 2008, CITES approved limited one-off ivory sales involving Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, with proceeds directed to conservation programs. But no ongoing commercial market has been permitted since, and international commercial trade remains banned.
In 2024, members of the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area, including Botswana, renewed their call for permission to trade accumulated ivory stockpiles collectively valued at over $1 billion. They argue that countries bearing the cost of elephant conservation deserve direct economic benefits.
Conservation groups stand firmly opposed. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) does not support resuming international commercial ivory trade, warning that demand continues to drive organized wildlife crime across Africa. WWF estimates at least 20,000 African elephants are illegally killed annually for their tusks despite bans and enforcement efforts.
The organization argues that reopening legal markets risks laundering illegal ivory into legitimate supply chains and increasing consumer demand in Asia and elsewhere. WWF advocates for stronger law enforcement, closure of domestic ivory markets, and ongoing efforts to reduce consumer demand.
Botswana’s revelation of a 300-tonne ivory stockpile highlights the tension between conservation policy and economic opportunity. On paper, the stockpile represents tens of millions of dollars that could bolster wildlife protection, compensate communities affected by human-elephant conflict, and support tourism infrastructure.
Yet critics caution that opening any legal ivory market could fuel demand, complicate enforcement, and create channels for illegal ivory to enter the market. The issue extends beyond the value of the tusks in storage; it raises fundamental questions about whether conservation success should generate financial returns for wildlife-rich countries, or if the long-term survival of elephants demands maintaining strict international trade bans, regardless of potential economic gains.