Let us unite to fight illegal wildlife trade

Tuesday was World Wildlife Day, when the world paused to celebrate the astonishing diversity of fauna and flora on this planet and reflected on the challenges they face.

You may ask why the United Nations chose, in late 2013, to establish this new day of commemoration.

After all, surely everyone is now well aware of the many threats to wildlife?

To a certain extent, this is true, but, regrettably, the extent of humanity’s negative impacts on species and their habitats is still not fully appreciated.

And global action to conserve species, including such iconic creatures as the African elephant, is yet to hit the level required to ensure that these treasures of the natural world will enrich our lives for generations to come.

GRIM STATISTICS

Despite growing awareness and action, the statistics make for grim reading.

Some 20,000 to 25,000 elephants are killed each year in Africa. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora reported that in 2014 alone, 1,215 rhinos were poached in South Africa.

The illicit traffic in live great apes is an increasingly serious threat to chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and bonobos in Africa and Asia. There are only 80 Spix’s macaws left in the world, the majority of which are kept by foreign bird keepers.

Much of this species loss is driven by one of the oldest, and worst, human motivations: profit. Global environmental crime is worth up to $213 billion each year and helps to finance corruption, crime, conflict, and civil strife.

Not only does this trade decimate wildlife populations, it puts money in the pockets of groups who threaten the security and sustainable development of many nations.

PROGRESS

We know the scale of the problem and we have a responsibility to ensure that the world knows it too. The good news is that progress has been made on many levels.

In early 2014, China crushed 6.2 tonnes of illegal ivory — the first time that this key destination country has done so.

Many other nations have destroyed ivory stocks. Kenya, of course, burned stockpiles in 1989, 2011 and 2015. Destroying ivory does not, of course, end the illegal ivory trade, but it sends a clear signal that it will no longer be tolerated.

Enforcement is also improving. In the same month that China burned its ivory, Kenya began a crackdown on poaching, handing down a custodial sentence to a man caught smuggling an ivory tusk through Nairobi. Operation Wildcat in East Africa — which involved authorities from five countries — resulted in 660 arrests and the seizure of 240kg of elephant ivory.

These successes prove that we know what needs to be done. We must reduce demand for illegally traded wildlife by ensuring that consumers understand the link between the products they buy and the wholesale slaughter or enslavement of wildlife.

We must expose the criminal groups through increased enforcement in source, transit, and destination countries.

We must ensure that communities understand that their long-term prosperity can actually improve should they conserve species, and thus the tourism revenues they bring.

Ultimately, we are all in this together and only collective action will halt the shameful trade. It is time to get serious about wildlife crime.

Mr Steiner is executive director of Unep.