E N D A N G E R E D S P E C I E S
The global trade in wildlife is a growing and hugely prosperous business. Some 350 million animals and plants are bought and sold each year, generating an estimated 20 billion USD for traders. While much of this activity is legal and regulated, up to one quarter is not. Despite vigilance by police and customs officials, illegal trafficking of endangered wildlife has brought some species to the brink of extinction.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), one of the world's largest conservation organizations, is undertaking a unique initiative to stem the flow of wild animals and plants from their homes to those of blackmarket collectors and traders. The Eyes & Ears project, was launched in August last year in the United Kingdom and called upon the British public to join in the fight against illegal wildlife trading.
The idea behind the program is that the public can represent a vast network for surveillance of illegal activities and that their cooperation will help authorities investigate and eventually prosecute wildlife offenders. Similar initiatives such as neighborhood crime watches have proven largely successful in stemming other illegal activities such as drug trafficking.
The international wildlife trade is governed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Signed by 135 countries, including about half of the countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Convention bans international commercial trading of some species and has set quotas and permitting regulations for others. But demand from blackmarkets for exotic animals, skins and furs, rare plants and wildlife souvenirs makes poaching a tempting opportunity and keeps the trade lively.
While most of the consumers for these animals and animal products are in the developed countries, especially Western Europe, the US and Japan; Central and Eastern Europe sees its fair share of the action. "The CEE region is one of the global centers for laundering illegal wildlife. Some of the world's rarest species are regularly moved in and out of the region, often in quantity and usually to wealthy collectors in the West and Japan," says WWF Investigator Crawford Allan. WWF has already conducted numerous investigations into trafficking in various CEE countries and found there is brisk business in parrots, raptors, reptiles and amphibians in the region.
WWF does not encourage direct personal action to prevent or stop blackmarket wildlife traders and has developed an "action pack" to explain what activities the public should be alert to and how to report their findings safely. All information will be processed by wildlife investigators who will take appropriate action. While it may not be possible to follow up on every report, WWF maintains a global networks of monitors and investigators and can look into any important case regardless of location.
"The public is best source of information we have in most areas, especially if they know what to look for," says James Martin-Jones, senior conservation officer at WWF-UK. "We have already received an enthusiastic response from local citizens and more than 100 very good leads on illegal activity."
