AsianScientist (Feb. 23, 2018) – Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have found that illegal wildlife trade networks are complex and tend to be biased towards certain species and regions of the globe. They published their findings in the journal Biological Conservation.
Demand for wildlife products and exotic fauna drives poaching and the smuggling of animals across the globe. This severely undermines wildlife conservation efforts. To decide which parts of the world and which species require greater protection, conservation groups require accurate data about wildlife trade activity and the market forces surrounding it.
In the present study, scientists at NUS discovered that our understanding of illegal and legal wildlife trade is biased towards certain species and regions of the globe. They also revealed that that wildlife trade networks may be more complicated than previously thought, undermining enforcement and conservation efforts.
“Increasing our understanding of the drivers of international wildlife trade is critical as unsustainable harvesting of wildlife can lead to population decline and the extinction of species,” said Mr. William Symes, a PhD student from the Department of Biological Sciences at the NUS Faculty of Science, who led the study.
“While there is currently a database of legal trade in restricted species, it relies on the submission of annual reports which can be undermined by weak domestic legislation and governance, hence we are not getting a complete picture of the industry,” he added.
Using a gravity-underreporting model, the researchers carried out a comprehensive analysis and comparison of over 370,000 records of wildlife trade between 2004 and 2013 across three groups—mammals, avians and reptiles.
They found that illegal products entering the US come predominantly from Canada, Mexico and China. Moreover, illegal products entering the US were less likely to be intercepted if they were coming from Africa, central Asia, Eastern Europe and the Pacific Island states, suggesting the existence of complex trade networks and the potential for the laundering of illegal products through legal markets.
The researchers also noted that different drivers and markets exist for mammalian, avian and reptilian trade. Furthermore, trade in less well studied groups such as orchids, timber or corals are likely to be less well regulated by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Using the insights generated as a guide, regulatory authorities can allot conservation resources more efficiently.
“The trends we have established in this study highlight the need for regulatory bodies to look beyond the existing databases and take into account the uncertainty surrounding our current understanding of wildlife trade in their conservation efforts,” said Assistant Professor Roman Carrasco from the Department of Biological Sciences at the NUS Faculty of Science, who is a co-author of the study.
“For example, capacity building to improve our ability to regulate and monitor trade in less well studied species and in countries with higher levels of corruption are essential if we want to prevent trade driven extinctions globally,” he explained.
The article can be found at: Symes et al. (2017) The Gravity of Wildlife Trade.
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Source: National University of Singapore; Photo: Pexels.
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