Illegal Wildlife Trade and the Impact of Increased Interconnectedness
The illegal wildlife trade is a multibillion dollar industry that threatens not only the survival of targeted species, but the livelihood of local communities, the biodiversity of ecosystems across the globe, and even national security. As the world deals with “an unprecedented spike in illegal wildlife trade, threatening to overturn decades of conservation goals,” the urgency to find solutions intensifies (WWF 2016). Due to the complexity of illegal wildlife trade, a widespread approach inclusive of several perspectives is necessary to effectively address the issue and hopefully alter the current and predicted trajectory. Given the anthropocentric nature of this industry, …show more content…
Occurring for centuries, wildlife trade currently involves “hundreds of millions of individual plants and animals from tens of thousands of species” (TRAFFIC). This can involve live animals and plants or a diverse range of products needed or prized by humans (TRAFFIC). Wildlife trade is primarily driven by economic incentives, “ranging from small scale local income generation to major profit-oriented business, such as marine fisheries and logging companies” (TRAFFIC). Since the early 1990s, the value of legal wildlife products imported globally has increased from 160 billion dollars to 323 billion as of 2009 (TRAFFIC). Just as legal wildlife trade has become more globalized over time, so too has illegal wildlife trade. Species once poached for local or national demand are now “trafficked through multiple countries and ports to reach markets on the other side of the world” (Pires and Moreto 2016:2). Poachers are no longer exclusively locals, but may be outsiders “in search of highly endangered and valuable species such as rhinos and elephants” (Pires and Moreto …show more content…
Regardless, demand is at an all-time high, evident from the fact that poaching rates have risen from “14 individual rhinos per year between 1990 and 2007 to over a thousand in 2014” (Smith and Porsche 2015:6). Similarly, poaching rates of elephants are at the highest they’ve been in over 25 years, with “the slaughter of one elephant every 15 minutes” (Smith and Porsche 2015:6; Brandford
The illegal wildlife trade is a multibillion dollar industry that threatens not only the survival of targeted species, but the livelihood of local communities, the biodiversity of ecosystems across the globe, and even national security. As the world deals with “an unprecedented spike in illegal wildlife trade, threatening to overturn decades of conservation goals,” the urgency to find solutions intensifies (WWF 2016). Due to the complexity of illegal wildlife trade, a widespread approach inclusive of several perspectives is necessary to effectively address the issue and hopefully alter the current and predicted trajectory. Given the anthropocentric nature of this industry, …show more content…
Occurring for centuries, wildlife trade currently involves “hundreds of millions of individual plants and animals from tens of thousands of species” (TRAFFIC). This can involve live animals and plants or a diverse range of products needed or prized by humans (TRAFFIC). Wildlife trade is primarily driven by economic incentives, “ranging from small scale local income generation to major profit-oriented business, such as marine fisheries and logging companies” (TRAFFIC). Since the early 1990s, the value of legal wildlife products imported globally has increased from 160 billion dollars to 323 billion as of 2009 (TRAFFIC). Just as legal wildlife trade has become more globalized over time, so too has illegal wildlife trade. Species once poached for local or national demand are now “trafficked through multiple countries and ports to reach markets on the other side of the world” (Pires and Moreto 2016:2). Poachers are no longer exclusively locals, but may be outsiders “in search of highly endangered and valuable species such as rhinos and elephants” (Pires and Moreto …show more content…
Regardless, demand is at an all-time high, evident from the fact that poaching rates have risen from “14 individual rhinos per year between 1990 and 2007 to over a thousand in 2014” (Smith and Porsche 2015:6). Similarly, poaching rates of elephants are at the highest they’ve been in over 25 years, with “the slaughter of one elephant every 15 minutes” (Smith and Porsche 2015:6; Brandford