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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 1:03 am
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Results for threatened species
1 results foundAuthor: Sinovas, P. Title: Ecuador's Wildlife Trade Summary: This report provides a comprehensive overview of wildlife trade in Ecuador, focusing on the ten-year period 2004-2014. The exact time-frame of trade varies slightly depending on the different data sources used. The aim of this analysis is to provide a baseline of trade levels and trends in Ecuador, and to inform future trade management in the country in order to ensure that wildlife trade is legal, sustainable and traceable. Ecuador has one of the highest diversities of amphibian species in the world and has a high concentration of threatened species. The production of amphibians for the pet trade is an emerging market in Ecuador, with an average of around 500 live frogs being exported per year in recent years for the pet market, with approximately a third of them being CITES-listed species (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). The main species involved were Ceratophrys stolzmanni (Pacific Horned Frog) and Epipedobates anthonyi (Anthony's Poison-Arrow Frog), while the main destination countries of this trade were the United States of America, the Netherlands and Canada. In addition, Lithobates catesbeianus, (Bullfrog) a non-native species, was exported by Ecuador to the United States in volumes of over 400,000 per year for the food market. Approximately 9,000 tonnes of by-caught sharks are landed per year in Ecuador. Most of their meat is destined for the domestic market, while relatively small amounts are exported to the United States, Spain, Japan and other countries. Virtually all of the fins, amounting to a total of about 200 tonnes per year in recent years, are exported to mainland China and Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China (henceforth referred to as Hong Kong SAR). The main species captured are Alopias pelagicus (Pelagic Thresher), Prionace glauca (Blue Shark) and Carcharinus falciformis (Silky Shark). Captures also include two species listed in the CITES Appendices of the 16th Conference of the Parties (CoP16): Sphyrna lewini (Scalloped Hammerhead Shark) and S. zygaena (Smooth Hammerhead Shark), even if recent legislation limits the amount of bycatch that can be landed for these species. The ornamental fish trade often goes unreported and data are lacking on their taxonomic details and origins. Although trade data on ornamental fish is scarce, the United States reported the import of 1.3 million ornamental fish from Ecuador per year, largely recorded as unspecified tropical freshwater species, showing a declining trend over the ten years (2005-2014). Sea cucumber fishing started in the 1990's in the Galapagos Islands, with harvests and exports concentrating on Isostichopus fuscus (Brown Sea Cucumber). After being listed in Appendix III by Ecuador in 2003, the species was the top CITES-listed taxon in terms of number of individuals exported by Ecuador between 2005 and 2014, with over 1.5 million individuals shipped during that period. Virtually all exports were destined for China. However, trade has been banned in recent years as a result of population over-exploitation. Whilst domestic demand accounted for the majority of timber production by Ecuador between 2010 and 2014, the international trade was an important part of the market. Timber exports amounted to about 87,000 m3 per year on average between 2012 and 2014, with India being the main destination of timber exported by Ecuador and cultivated Tectona grandis (Teak) the main species. Ecuador's extremely diverse orchid flora was one of the most highly traded wildlife groups in Ecuador, averaging over 46,000 plants per year between 2004 and 2015. Almost all were artificially propagated and around three quarters reached Germany, the United States, Japan and Canada. Over 250 genera were reported in trade by Ecuador, with genera Masdevallia, Cattleya and Pleurothallis accounting for more than 25% of exports. Trade in Appendix I was dominated by Phragmipedium species. The wildlife trade in Ecuador has a minimum estimated value of US $35 million a year. Most of this value (US $29 million) is represented by the export of timber. Excluding these timber/processed wood commodities, shark exports were the next most valuable commodity, with an average of US $3.4 million per year. Forty CITES-listed species occurring in Ecuador showed noteworthy trends (high volume and/or sharp increase) in global exports of wild or ranched specimens in 2012. Birds were the group with the highest number of species showing noteworthy trends, with fourteen species meeting the selection criteria. Of these forty species, only three were reported in trade by Ecuador during the period 2003- 2012: Swietenia macrophylla (Big-leaf Mahogany), Cedrela odorata (Spanish Cedar) and Isostichopus fuscus (Brown Sea Cucumber). According to CITES, over 800 species native to Ecuador were reported in trade between 2004 and 2013, both as wild-sourced and captive-bred or artificially propagated. Two species which are thought to be endemic to Ecuador were traded as captive-bred and artificially propagated by countries that are not in their distribution range (non-range). The majority of these species are not utilized by Ecuador for international trade, and may represent an opportunity for the development of additional wildlife sustainable use systems in the country. Details: Quito, Ecuador: Ministry of Environment of Ecuador; Bonn: German Development Cooperation, 2015. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: English translation of the technical report prepared for the Ministry of the Environment of Ecuador and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ). UNEP-WCMC: Accessed October 11, 2016 at: https://www.unep-wcmc.org/system/comfy/cms/files/files/000/000/808/original/Ecuador%C2%B4s_wildlife_trade.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Ecuador URL: https://www.unep-wcmc.org/system/comfy/cms/files/files/000/000/808/original/Ecuador%C2%B4s_wildlife_trade.pdf Shelf Number: 145415 Keywords: Illegal Wildlife TradeNatural ResourcesThreatened SpeciesWildlife CrimeWildlife Trade |