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This paper provides an analysis of the ecological ideas which underpin policies of elephant management and ivory trading in African elephant range states. Increasingly, the discussion surrounding the international trade in ivory has focussed on potential revenue that could be generated from the sale of stock-piled ivory and other products derived from elephants. However, the international trade in ivory is regulated by Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which recognises that "international co-operation is essential for the protection of certain species of wild fauna and flora against over-exploitation through international trade". Thus, the arguments in favour of ivory trading must refer to conservation objectives, and controversies over the ivory trade have become linked to debates over the management of elephant populations, and ecological assumptions regarding elephant habitat and the resilience or otherwise of savanna ecosystems. In this paper, we examine the ecological aspects of the arguments for a legalised international trade in ivory, and discuss how advances in ecological understanding could influence future discussion of this controversial issue.