(Yicai Global) Jan. 2 — China banned commercial ivory processing and trade on Dec. 31, following through on a 2016 promise to clamp down on the black market and protect endangered elephants.

The last 22 processing plants and 88 sales outlets closed before the New Year, state-owned China News Radio reported, quoting Li Linhai, deputy director of the Animal Management Office under the State Forestry Administration.

Poachers kill more than 20,000 African elephants a year, according to a research report published by the World Wildlife Fund on Dec. 11. There are only around 415,000 left, and the species could become functionally extinct within 20 years if the poaching doesn't end, it added.

"Decades from now, we may point back to this as one of the most important days in the history of elephant conservation," Ginette Hemley, senior vice president of the WWF, said in a statement on Dec. 30. "China has followed through on a great promise it made to the world, offering hope for the future of elephants."

The SFA announced the ban on Dec. 30, 2016 and stopped accepting applications to process the material on Dec. 1. It will make regular investigations to keep processing facilities shut and block illegal ivory trading channels.