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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for wildlife crime (asia)
6 results foundAuthor: TRAFFIC Title: What's Driving the Wildlife Trade? A Review of Expert Opinion on Economic and Social Drivers of the Wildlife Trade and Trade Control Efforts in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDF and Vietnam Summary: South-east Asia is both a center for the comsumption of wildlife products, and also a key supplier of wildlife products to the world. Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR and Vietnam are among the south-east Asian countries that act as major sources of wildlife in trade, the trade involving a wide variety of native species, which, in many cases, are declining as a result of unsustainable, and often illegal, harvest. This study was initiated to provide a better understanding of the economic and social drivers of the wildlife trade in these four countries, and to assess the effectiveness of interventions that have been employed to halt illegal and unsustainable trade in their native flora and fauna. Details: Washington, DC: Sustainable Development Bank, World Bank, 2008. 103p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2008 Country: Asia URL: Shelf Number: 118609 Keywords: Illegal HuntingIllegal TradeOffenses Against the EnvironmentWild Animal TradeWildlife Crime (Asia) |
Author: Felbab-Brown, Vanda Title: The Disappearing Act: The Illicit Trade in Wildlife in Asia Summary: Southeast Asia, with its linkages into the larger Asian market that includes China, Indonesia, and India, is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots as well as one of the world’s hotspots for the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife parts. Although demand markets for wildlife, including illegally-traded wildlife are present throughout the world, China ranks as the world’s largest market for illegal trade in wildlife, and wildlife products, followed by the United States. Globally, the volume and diversity of traded and consumed species have increased to phenomenal and unprecedented levels, contributing to very intense species loss. In Southeast Asia alone, where the illegal trade in wildlife is estimated to be worth $8-$10 billion per year, wildlife is harvested at many times the sustainable level, decimating ecosystems and driving species to extinction. Other environmental threats such as climate change, deforestation and other habitat destruction, industrial pollution, and the competition between indigenous species and invasive species often impact ecosystems on a large scale. But the unsustainable, and often illegal, trade in wildlife has the capacity to drive species into extirpation in large areas and often into worldwide extinction—especially species that are already vulnerable as a result of other environmental threats. The threats posed by illegal (and also legal, but badly managed and unsustainable) trade in wildlife are serious and multiple. They include irrevocable loss of species and biodiversity; extensive disturbances to larger ecosystems; economic losses due to the collapse of sustainable legal trade of a species and its medicinal and other derivate products, or of ecotourism linked to the species; severe threats to the food-supply and income of forest-dependent peoples; spread of viruses and diseases; and the strengthening of organized crime and militant groups who use the illegal trade in wildlife for provisions and financing. At the core of the illegal trade in wildlife is a strong and rapidly-expanding demand. This includes demand for bushmeat — by marginalized communities for whom wildlife meat is often the primary source of protein, and for the affluent who consume exotic meat as a luxury good. Other demand for wildlife is for curios, trophies, collections, and accessories, furs and pets. Much of demand arises out of the practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which uses natural plant, animal, and mineral-based materials to treat a variety of illnesses, maintain good health and longevity, and enhance sexual potency, and is practiced by hundreds of millions of people. Although effective medicinal alternatives are now available—many of these TCM potions fail to cure anything, and the supply of ingredients for TCM frequently comes through illegal channels and crisis-level poaching — demand for TCM continues to expand greatly. The expansion of supply of illegally-sourced and traded wildlife has been facilitated by the opening up of economies in Southeast and East Asia and the strengthening of their international legal and illegal trade connections; infrastructure development linking previously inaccessible wilderness areas; and commercial logging. The illegal trade in wildlife involves a complex and diverse set of actors. These include illegal hunters — ranging from traditional and poor ones to professional hunters, layers of middlemen, top-level traders and organized-crime groups, launderers of wildlife products (such as corrupt captive- breeding farms and private zoos), militant groups, as well as local and far-away consumers, both affluent and some of the world’s poorest. Other stakeholders in the regulation of wildlife trade and conservation include logging companies, agribusinesses, the fishing industry, local police and en- forcement forces, and governments. Policies and enforcement strategies for curbing the illegal trade in wildlife to ensure wildlife conservation and preserve biodiversity need to address the complex and actor-specific drivers of the illegal behavior. In Southeast and East Asia, government policies to prevent illegal trade in wildlife continue to be generally characterized by weak laws governing wildlife trade, limited enforcement and low penalties. Government efforts to inform publics largely unaware of (and often indifferent to) how their consumer behavior contributes to the devastation of ecosystems in the region and world-wide also continue to be inadequate. Monitoring of captive-breeding facilities in Asia is often poor, thus facilitating the laundering of illegally-sourced wildlife and undermining the capacity of the legal trade in wildlife to curb illegal and unsustainable practices. Nonetheless, there has been intensification and improvement of government response to the illegal trade in wildlife in Asia, with many governments in the region toughening laws and increasing law enforcement, the Southeast Asian countries establishing the ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) to facilitate law enforcement, and even China undertaking more extensive labeling of legal wildlife products. The extent of unsustainable, environmentally damaging, and illegal practices that still characterize the wildlife trade in Asia and in many parts of the world cries out for better forms of regulation and more effective law enforcement. Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions to the problem; and almost every particular regulatory policy is either difficult to implement or entails difficult trade-offs and dilemmas. Details: Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 2011. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper No. 6: Accessed July 7, 2011 at: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2011/06_illegal_wildlife_trade_felbabbrown/06_illegal_wildlife_trade_felbabbrown.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Asia URL: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2011/06_illegal_wildlife_trade_felbabbrown/06_illegal_wildlife_trade_felbabbrown.pdf Shelf Number: 122000 Keywords: Illegal LoggingIllegal Wildlife TradeOffenses Against the EnvironmentOrganized CrimeWildlife Crime (Asia) |
Author: von Meibom, Stephanie Title: Saiga Antelope Trade: Global Trends with a Focus on South-east Asia. Summary: The Saiga Antelope Saiga tatarica inhabits the semi-arid deserts of Central Asia; it is found in Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Russian Federation and in parts of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The species has been hunted for its horns, meat and hides for several centuries and there are records of historic exports of Saiga Antelope horns (henceforth referred to in this summary as Saiga horns) to China in the 18th century. By the early 20th century, hunting had reduced Saiga Antelopes to near-extinction but, following a ban on hunting, the populations recovered and commercial hunting of Saiga Antelopes resumed in the 1950s and continued until the late 1990s. However, the situation changed dramatically with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and resulted in a sharp increase in poaching of Saiga Antelopes throughout the species’s range. Over the last 10 years the population has shown a decline of over 90%, mainly owing to poaching for trade in Saiga horns and other products, such as meat. The horns, which are only borne by the males, are the main target of poachers and are traded to East and South-east Asia, where they are used in traditional Asian medicine. The selective hunting of males has resulted in a skewed sex ratio and reproductive collapse. The global population of the nominate subspecies, S. t. tatarica, is now estimated to be at around 56 300–61 300 animals, down from 1 250 000 in the mid-1970s. China is the largest importer of Saiga horns. However, South-east Asia is also known to have a large demand for Saiga horns for use in traditional medicines and to play an important role as a trading or transit region for Saiga horns. Since 2002, the Saiga Antelope has been listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and it has been listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1995. It is also listed in Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). The aim of this project, which was commissioned by the CITES Secretariat, was to compile up-to-date information on current trade in Saiga products and derivatives, focusing on some key areas. These key areas included analysis of global trade in Saiga parts and derivatives, undertaking market research in Malaysia and Singapore, compiling information on the population status, levels of poaching and trade in Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan, and providing information on the availability and management of stockpiles of Saiga parts in some important consumer States, such as China. More general information on the demand, availability and recent trade trends in Saiga horns in China has been recently compiled by the Wildlife Conservation Society on behalf of the CITES Secretariat. The information used in this report was compiled from literature references and interviews with Saiga Antelope experts and government officials, market surveys in Malaysia and Singapore, and an analysis of global trade figures for Saiga parts and derivatives, as recorded in the CITES trade database. Details: Cambridge, UK: TRAFFIC Europe, 2010. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 12, 2013 at: http://www.trafficj.org/publication/10-Saiga_Antelope_Trade.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Asia URL: http://www.trafficj.org/publication/10-Saiga_Antelope_Trade.pdf Shelf Number: 127922 Keywords: Animal PoachingAntelopeIllegal TradeWildlife Crime (Asia) |
Author: Lack, Mary Title: An Overview of Shark Utilisation in the Coral Triangle Region Summary: This report, An Overview of Shark Utilization in the Coral Triangle Region, examines the catch, trade, and management of sharks in waters of the six Coral Triangle countries, plus the neighbouring countries of Vietnam and Fiji. Despite long-standing global concerns on declining shark populations due to growing evidence that many shark species are threatened, shark populations continue to decline. This is due to a general lack of even basic management, and is further exacerbated by illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Some fisheries target sharks for their meat but the main driver of unsustainable fishing for sharks is currently the demand in Asia for fins, which are used in shark fin soup. Today, the vast majority of shark products come from unsustainable sources, not just fins. Sharks are also heavily traded for their meat, skin, and liver oil. Details: Cambridge, UK: TRAFFIC; Jakarta, Indonesia: World Wildlife Fund, 2012. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 14, 2013 at: Year: 2012 Country: Asia URL: Shelf Number: 127935 Keywords: Illegal Wildlife TradeSharksUnregulated FishingWildlife ConservationWildlife Crime (Asia) |
Author: Global Tiger Workshop Title: Saving Wild Tigers: Kathmandu Summary Document A Report from the Global Tiger Workshop October 27-30, 2009 Kathmandu, Nepal Summary: Tigers are symbols of all that is powerful, mystical, and beautiful in nature. But wild tigers are in crisis, having fallen in numbers from about 100,000 in 1900 to just 3,200 today as a result of adverse human activities, including habitat destruction and a huge illegal trade in tiger parts. The decline continues to this day. This decade is the last opportunity to save wild tigers and the ecological riches they and the landscapes they inhabit represent. The good news is that despite serious loss, enough habitat remains in Asia that can be restored to support as many as 20,000 wild tigers. To develop recommendations to reverse the wild tiger’s decline, more than 250 participants from 13 of the 14 tiger range countries (TRCs) and the international community met in Kathmandu from October 27-30, 2009, as part of a process designed to lead to the Vladivostok Tiger Summit in September 2010. The workshop resulted in the unanimous adoption of the Kathmandu Recommendations—actions that will help achieve the goal of doubling the population of wild tigers within the next ten years. These recommendations emerged from the national priority actions that each TRC identified in individual country sessions, after thematic sessions that offered ideas and approaches for their consideration. Each TRC’s priority transformational actions are a unique set and many of these are already under implementation. They can be summarized under the following broad themes: Make core tiger breeding areas inviolate with commitments from TRCs and financing institutions to not build infrastructure in these areas. Engage in cross-sector dialogue to integrate tiger conservation into land-use and infrastructure plans. Ensure local support in favor of tiger conservation based on participatory, community-based programs that provide social and economic incentives for conservation and pro-actively manage human-wildlife conflict through mitigation and compensation. Relocate villages from core tiger breeding area using best practices. Develop innovative sustainable financing mechanisms for tiger conservation. Determine full costs of tiger conservation activities. Pilot mechanisms to transfer resources from infrastructure activities to conservation programs. Assess carbon stocks in TCLs to make the case for funding from REDD Build institutional capacity to train the next generation of leaders in protected-area and landscape management, networked in a regional community of excellence, and develop science-based management plans for protected areas and tiger landscapes. Dramatically reduce poaching and illegal trade by enhancing national law-enforcement capacity and strengthening coordinated support from international wildlife law enforcement bodies. Implement the Pattaya Manifesto and CITES resolution Conf.12.5. Garner political will for improved law enforcement. Reduce demand for tiger parts through large-scale, targeted campaigns to change behaviors and perceptions of consumers of tiger parts and socialize opposition to tiger consumption. To guide the international community and the Global Tiger Initiative, each TCR also identified specific areas for which it requires international support. Country requirements naturally vary but converge on capacity building, knowledge sharing, financing to fill critical gaps, cross-border law enforcement and protected-area management, global campaign to change consumer attitudes, and creating and sustaining political will. Generating political will to conserve tigers—to take full advantage of the expertise that exists and transformational ideas that are emerging—is the most important step toward saving the world’s most iconic species. This effort will intensify at the Asian Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation in January 2010, in Thailand, which will aim to define the support needed to accelerate the implementation of national programs. At the Vladivostok Tiger Summit in September 2010, the global goals, programs, funding, and implementation and monitoring mechanisms will be launched. Details: Kathmandu, Nepal: Global Tiger Workshop, 2009. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 23, 2013 at: http://www.globaltigerinitiative.org/download/GTI-Kathmandu-Outcomes.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Asia URL: http://www.globaltigerinitiative.org/download/GTI-Kathmandu-Outcomes.pdf Shelf Number: 128096 Keywords: Animal PoachingIllegal Wildlife TradeTigersWildlife ConservationWildlife Crime (Asia)Wildlife Management |
Author: TRAFFIC-India Title: The Roar of the Tiger: A compilation of the in-session documents, information documents and interventions at the CITES CoP14 on Agenda Document CoP14 Doc 52 ‘Asian Big Cats’ Summary: Tigers and Asian big cats were at the centre stage of an important debate at the 14th meeting of the Conference of Parties of the CITES at the Hague, The Netherlands. Led by India and other range states like Nepal, China, Bhutan and Russia, the 14th CoP was able to garner strong support for conservation of tigers in the wild. After the 14th CITES CoP in The Hague, there was naturally a lot of interest in India on the tiger issue, and consequently several versions of the entire debate, unfortunately some of them inaccurate, being discussed. Given the significance of the debate and its long-term implications for tiger conservation, this compilation attempts to put together the in-session documents, information documents, interventions and other relevant documents of the debate around the Agenda Document CoP14 Doc 52 ‘Asian Big Cats’. As such, the statements made by various countries such as India, Nepal, Bhutan and China on the floor gather significance. One of the key messages to emerge on this important international forum was that “Tigers should not be bred for their parts or derivatives.” Given the significance of the debate and its long term implications for tiger conservation, this compilation attempts to put together the decisions and other relevant documents of this debate. While the summary records and the resolutions are excerpted from the official record of CITES, the interventions of various countries have been compiled from various sources including unofficial transcripts. Details: New Delhi: TRAFFIC-India, 2007. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 25, 2013 at: http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/traffic_pub_cop14_19.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Asia URL: http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/traffic_pub_cop14_19.pdf Shelf Number: 128110 Keywords: Animal PoachingTigersWildlife ConservationWildlife Crime (Asia)Wildlife Management |