Dismantling the poachernomics of the illegal wildlife trade

Persistent poaching fuelled by demand for elephant ivory and rhino horn continues to threaten these species. Despite international trade restrictions operating since the 1970s, limiting poaching has remained a substantial challenge over the last decade. The poaching economy of such storable goods is driven by a combination of persistent consumer demand and market speculation, and enabled by weak governance, lack of adequate resources for species protection, and alienation of local people who pay the costs of living alongside these species. We argue that restricting the legal supply of such wildlife products has created ideal conditions for the poaching economy - `poachernomics' - to thrive. Strategies that move toward empowering local communities with stronger property rights over wildlife and delivering more benefits to them, including via carefully regulated legal trade, are underused elements in the current fight against the onslaught of the international illegal wildlife trade.Peer reviewe

Is there an elephant in the room? A Response to Batavia et al

Non peer reviewe

Mischaracterizing wildlife trade and its impacts may mislead policy processes

Overexploitation is a key driver of biodiversity loss but the relationship between the use and trade of species and conservation outcomes is not always straightforward. Accurately characterizing wildlife trade and understanding the impact it has on wildlife populations are therefore critical to evaluating the potential threat trade poses to species and informing local to international policy responses. However, a review of recent research that uses wildlife and trade-related databases to investigate these topics highlights three relatively widespread issues: (1) mischaracterization of the threat that trade poses to certain species or groups, (2) misinterpretation of wildlife trade data (and illegal trade data in particular), resulting in the mischaracterization of trade, and (3) misrepresentation of international policy processes and instruments. This is concerning because these studies may unwittingly misinform policymaking to the detriment of conservation, for example by undermining positive outcomes for species and people along wildlife supply chains. Moreover, these issues demonstrate flaws in the peer-review process. As wildlife trade articles published in peer-reviewed journals can be highly influential, we propose ways for authors, journal editors, database managers, and policymakers to identify, understand, and avoid these issues as we all work towards more sustainable futures

Motivations for the use and consumption of wildlife products

The dominant approach to combating the illegal wildlife trade has traditionally been to restrict the supply of wildlife products. Yet conservationists increasingly recognize the importance of implementing demand‐side interventions that target the end consumers in the trade chain. Their aim is to curb the consumption of wildlife or shift consumption to more sustainable alternatives. However, there are still considerable knowledge gaps in understanding of the diversity of consumer motivations in the context of illegal wildlife trade, which includes hundreds of thousands of species, different uses, and diverse contexts. Based on consultation with multiple experts from a diversity of backgrounds, nationalities, and focal taxa, we developed a typology of common motivations held by wildlife consumers that can be used to inform conservation interventions. We identified 5 main motivational categories for wildlife use: experiential, social, functional, financial, and spiritual, each containing subcategories. This framework is intended to facilitate the segmentation of consumers based on psychographics and allow the tailoring of interventions—whether behavior change campaigns, enforcement efforts, or incentive programs—to the specific context in which they will be used. Underlining the importance of consumer research and collaborating with local actors is an important step toward promoting a more systematic approach to the design of demand reduction interventions

Towards informed and multi-faceted wildlife trade interventions

International trade in wildlife is a key threat to biodiversity conservation. CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is the primary mechanism for controlling international wildlife trade and seeks to ensure it is sustainable, relying on trade bans and controls. However, there has been little comprehensive review of the effectiveness of CITES. Here, we review typical and atypical approaches taken to regulate wildlife trade in CITES and assert that it boasts few successes. We attribute this to: non-compliance, an over reliance on regulation, lack of knowledge of listed species, ignorance of the reality of market forces, and influence among CITES actors. To more effectively manage trade we argue that interventions need to go beyond regulation and should be multi-faceted, reflecting the complexity of wildlife trade. To inform such interventions we assert an intensive research effort is needed and we outline six key research areas: (1) factors undermining wildlife trade governance at the national level, (2) determining sustainable harvest rates for CITES species, (3) gaining the buy-in of local communities in implementing CITES, (4) supply and demand based market interventions, (5) means of quantifying illicit trade, and (6) political processes and influence within CITES

Taking a more nuanced look at behavior change for demand reduction in the illegal wildlife trade

The illegal wildlife trade threatens the future of many species, and undermines economies and livelihoods. Conservationists have largely responded with supply‐side interventions, such as antipoaching patrols, but these often fail to stem the tide of wildlife trafficking. There is now increasing interest in demand‐side interventions, which seek to lower poaching pressure on sought‐after species by reducing consumer's desire for, and purchase of, specific wildlife products. Individual behavior change approaches, from environmental education to social marketing, have been widely advocated by academics, practitioners, and policy makers. However, this is an emerging field and we lack the breadth of evidence needed to understand and predict the potential outcomes of demand reduction interventions. To help us gain broader insights, we examine the literature from public health and international development on the effectiveness of behavior change interventions, and critique the current conceptualization of strategies for reducing consumer demand in the illegal wildlife trade. We show that behavior change is difficult to achieve and interventions may have unintended and undesirable consequences because of unaddressed systemic, cultural and environmental drivers, and limited resourcing. We conclude that some sections of the conservation community are advocating a shift from one reductionist approach based on limiting supply, to another based on limiting demand, and argue that conservationists should learn from the public health and international development projects that have integrated systems thinking. By accounting for the multiple interactions and synergies between different factors in the wildlife trade, we can develop more strategic approaches to protecting endangered species

Rhinos: economics, trade and [olitics

Presented at the 9th international wildlife ranching symposium: wildlife - the key to prosperity for rural communities, held on 12-16 September 2016 at Hotel Safari & the Safari Court, Windhoek, Namibia.At the forthcoming CITES Conference of Parties the future of trade in several key species – rhinos, elephants and lions – will be bitterly contested. Swaziland’s proposal to establish a legal trade in rhino horn will most likely be rejected, primarily for political reasons. Despite an apparent 'success' period of a decade from the mid-1990s, the CITES trade ban on rhino horn has mostly been a conservation failure since it was first established in the 1970s. The resurgence of poaching over the last decade presents a serious threat to wildlife ranchers and state parks agencies alike. Whereas some might regard the high value of rhino horn as an opportunity for wildlife ranching and the development of new community-based enterprises, various NGOs and governments only see it as a threat. Accordingly, their focus is on increased law enforcement supported by so-called demand reduction campaigns and they reject the notion of legal rhino horn trade as a possible solution. Why is this so and what are the implications for the wildlife ranching industry? My presentation will consider these questions by outlining both the economic and political factors at play. After explaining the motivations of legal trade opponents, I will outline the hurdles that the wildlife ranching industry must overcome, not only to ensure the future of rhinos, but to ensure the future of the wildlife ranching industry as a whole, which is now under threat from the current public mood and international policies that increasingly favour preservation and prohibition over sustainable use and trade

Launch: Wildlife Advocacy Group

Presented at the 9th international wildlife ranching symposium: wildlife - the key to prosperity for rural communities, held on 12-16 September 2016 at Hotel Safari & the Safari Court, Windhoek, Namibia

Assessing the impact of restrictive wildlife trade measures on conservation of iconic species in Southern Africa: A systematic review

Trade restrictions are often advocated and implemented as measures to protect wild species threatened by overexploitation. However, in some instances, their efficacy has been questioned, notably by governments in the Southern African (SADC) region, which tend to favor a sustainable use approach to wildlife management. We conducted a systematic review of published literature guided by the PRISMA process to examine the effectiveness of trade restrictions and directly related control measures in addressing threats to species conservation in the SADC region, with a focus on elephants, rhinos, lions, and pangolins. Our review provides a clear and structured synthesis of the existing evidence on the effectiveness of key trade restrictions, in particular their direct conservation impact at species or population level, indirect conservation impact at human behavior or attitude level, and socioeconomic impact on rural livelihoods/well-being and national economies. The analysis revealed that research on these topics has been uneven, with a strong focus on the effects of trade restrictions and law enforcement on crime-related behavior. Research gaps include socioeconomic impacts of trade restrictions, including effects of international restrictions on local livelihoods and consequent secondary conservation impacts, and evaluations of attempts to disrupt criminal networks. Based on the reviewed impact evidence, we discuss how the effectiveness of international trade restrictions depends on a range of fully aligned measures in countries of origin, transit and consumption. For example, our results suggest positive ecological short-term but negative or unknown long-term socioeconomic impacts of domestic restrictions. Based on these findings, we discuss key policy implications and future research avenues