Yesterday the first legal sale of ivory in southern Africa for almost a decade took place in Namibia. Seven tonnes of elephant tusks were sold to buyers from China and Japan in the first of a series of auctions. In total, more than 100 tonnes of ivory – equivalent to around 10,000 elephants – will be sold by Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa in the next fortnight.

The decision to hold the auctions has alarmed some conservationists. The ivory trade was banned in 1989 after poaching had devastated some elephant populations. Wildlife groups and other African nations argue that the sales will legitimise the ivory trade, make regulation more difficult and spur the destructive activities of poachers.

These are weighty concerns. Yet there is a good case for allowing the sale, under the auspices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. CITES has undertaken to scrutinise the sales in Japan and China to ensure that legal shipments of ivory are not mixed with contraband. It has deliberated closely on whether these nations have adequate safeguards. And it has been swayed by the experience of the only other legal sale of ivory since the listing of the African elephant as an endangered species. This took place in 1999, and did not precipitate a rise in poaching.

The sales of ivory are of stockpiles; they do not endanger existing elephant populations. And the proceeds will go to elephant conservation projects. Safeguarding biodiversity is an essential cause. But effective management of the environment is crucial to it. Closely monitored sales of ivory pass that test.