The illegal ivory trade has been a major problem in Africa for decades. Poachers  and hunters have killed off hundreds of thousands of elephants to obtain this precious material. Now, affected areas are taking action. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced on Wednesday that key states where poaching takes place have promised to stop the ivory trade and protect Africa's elephants. In the 1980s, as many as 1 million elephants across Africa were killed for their ivory tusks. This continued until 1989, when the Convention on International Trade in Species (CITES) voted to ban all trade in ivory. With trade , demand for ivory fell. Elephant populations slowly began to increase. However, this progress was short-lived. According to the IUCN, 2011 saw the highest levels of poaching and illegal ivory trading in at least 16 years. Around 25,000 elephants were killed in Africa that year. Preliminary data from the IUCN shows even higher levels of illegal trade may have been reached in 2013. "With about 22,000 elephants illegally killed in 2012, we continue to face a critical situation," said John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General. "Current elephant poaching in Africa remains far too high, and could soon lead to local extinctions if the present killing rate continues." At the African Elephant Summit, key African states where elephants make their home agreed to develop a "zero-tolerance attitude" towards poaching. The deal calls for maximum sentences for poachers and hunters, and increased cooperation between affected states. Officials are determined to classifying wildlife trading as a serious crime -- and to making sure that the people who commit it are punished. All participants at the conference agreed to sign the deal. With these states coming together, there may yet be hope for elephants. (293 words) What's the main idea of this passage?
The illegal ivory trade has been a major problem in Africa. Elephants in Africa may die out because of the illegal poaching. Hunting elephants will be recognized as a very serious crime. A new agreement aims to develop a "zero-tolerance attitude" towards poaching.