ETIS the Elephant Trade Information System

The rate of wildlife seizures varies significantly throughout locations involved in ivory trade chains. Aside from the volume of illegal ivory passing through, the rate of ivory-related seizures are influenced by factors including corruption, the strength of national legislation, as well as local enforcement capacity.

A low rate of seizures does not necessarily mean that illegal ivory isn’t passing through the country. The seizures made in Hong Kong for example jumped from 4 in 2005 to 130 in 2015 as a result of targeted law enforcement, profiling, and increased intelligence efforts, rather than because of an increase in illegal trade.

In order to compensate for such variables and maintain an accurate representation of ivory, each country/territory is given a law enforcement ratio score, taking internationally-recognised corruption measures into consideration also, to accurately assess the efficiency and likelihood of illegal ivory being seized by local authorities.

Alongside the law enforcement ratio score, countries/territories are assessed for their rate of reporting. This criteria reviews both the quality of data provided (such as the consistency of data such as the weight and worked state of the ivory, number of pieces/tusks seized, origin of shipment, method of transportation, and location of seizure provided), as well as the efficiency and regularity of the reporting itself.

ETIS data between 2007–2016 revealed that some 50% of records do not provide a weight, with others providing an estimation.

The combined rate of reporting and law enforcement ratio scores are two ways in which ETIS uses a methodological approach to compensate for gaps in data, and provide as accurate a picture as possible of the constantly evolving illegal ivory trade.