Paula Kahumbu

Esmond Bradley Martin, an investigator known for his groundbreaking work in exposing the ivory and rhino horn trades, was killed at his home in Kenya this weekend.

The elephant population in Africa has been decimated in recent decades due to poaching to supply the illegal ivory trade. In 1989, a worldwide ban on ivory trade brought a dramatic drop in poaching, and black market prices of ivory slumped. But there have been sustained attempts to weaken the ban, and today, elephant poaching is on the rise. John Heminway, Chairman of WildlifeDirect and director/producer/writer of the National Geographic special “Battle for the Elephants,” and Paula Kahumbu, a wildlife conservationist, CEO of WildlifeDirect, and executive director of the Kenya Land Conservation Trust, talk about the demand for ivory and efforts to protect elephants and close down international ivory markets.