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| For many endangered plants and animals, trade can mean extinction. Markets for their hides, shells, roots or other body parts are as great a threat to their lives as habitat conversion and fragmentation. Despite numerous national and international regulations to control trade in wildlife and wildlife products, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), illegal species trade is a multi-billion dollar business. Legal trade, too, can endanger biodiversity if not carefully monitored and regulated. |
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ENDANGERED SPECIES: TRADED TO DEATH |
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Source: Written for for EarthTrends
Author: Amy Wagener
Editor: Wendy Vanasselt
Date: August 2001 |
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Warning: trade kills. Many people don't realize when they buy a product made of
an animal's hide or body, or buy a shell or piece of coral as a souvenir while
on vacation, that their purchase could be contributing to the loss of endangered
species. Although habitat destruction and fragmentation are the biggest threats
to biodiversity on a global scale, trade in wildlife and wildlife products also
seriously harms many individual species.
Estimates of the size of legal and illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products
vary widely, but by any measure, it's clear that trade is booming. Legal trade
in wildlife and wildlife products (excluding timber and fisheries) has grown from
perhaps a $3 or 4 billion business in the late 1980s to at least $10 billion today,
and involves more than 350 million plants and animals (WRI 1988:5; Hoover 2001a;
TRAFFIC 1999). Another $5-8 billion in illegal trade is estimated to occur every
year (Sain-Ley-Berry 2000; Lewis 1995).
The sources of traded species and their uses vary. Live animals are captured in
native habitats and sold as pets or for research, or are killed and their parts
sold for medicines, food, clothing, and accessories. A majority of some animals,
like primates and live lizards, are raised in captivity specifically for the international
market. Wild plants are commonly traded for use in botanical and pharmaceutical
medicines. The value of medicinal plant exports in 1995 from approximately 100
countries was $880 million (FAO 1999:36).
Trading Fair: The CITES Convention
The lethal toll of the species trade—both legal and illegal—has raised
international concern for decades. This concern crystallized in 1973 with the
signing of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES). The 154 nations that have signed the CITES treaty have
agreed to regulate trade in about 30,000 species (5,000 animal species and 25,000
plant species) for whom biological and trade data show a threat (CITES 2001a;
CITES 2001b; CITES 2001c). Of these, trade is completely banned for more than
800 already-threatened species (those listed in Appendix I of CITES). Trade in
another 29,000 species is strictly limited to prevent them from becoming endangered
(those listed in Appendix II) (Hoover 2001b).
Under the treaty, species trade is regulated through a system of import, export,
and re-export permits (Porter and Brown 1996:82; TRAFFIC 1999). Member countries
of CITES enforce the treaty by imposing trade sanctions against violators. The
countries that are not parties to CITES include many of the former Soviet republics
and some Eastern European and Arab countries (WRI 2000:250-251; CITES 2001b).
Nations that are major sources of wildlife trade typically support CITES to help
protect their resources from poachers and illegal traders. As the nature-based
tourism industry continues to grow, some countries may come to perceive the protection
that CITES affords as even more valuable; for example, for Kenya a single elephant
is estimated to generate $1 million in tourist revenue in its lifetime (EIA 1999).
Importing countries also generally support CITES because it protects the interests
of their legitimate dealers (Porter and Brown 1996:82).
CITES has widely been deemed a successful international treaty—a conservation
tool whose importance grows as the world economy globalizes and trade volumes
increase. But the treaty has shortcomings, including the inability to control
the behavior of nonparticipating nations and enforcement problems. Another potential
loophole in CITES is the "reservations" that parties can take at the
time of signing. Reservations are exemptions that countries can arrogate to themselves
with regard to individual species—even ones listed in Appendix 1—and
so continue its trade. There are currently 97 species listed as threatened or
endangered in CITES for which one or more countries hold reservations (CITES 2001d).
Iceland, Japan, Peru, and Norway, for example, all hold reservations on minke
whales, which allows them to engage in international trade of minke whale products
without violating the treaty.
The Pressures of Legal Trade
Legal trade doesn't always equal safe trade; problems can arise when trade volumes
begin to exceed a species' reproductive capacity. For example, commercial demand
for the bark of Prunus africana, used to produce an anticancer drug, has drastically
reduced populations of the tree in Africa (FAO 1999:36). The collection and trade
of many such wild plants used for medicines is relatively unregulated. Another
example of a legally traded species threatened by growing trade volumes is sturgeon.
High demand for caviar has driven up sturgeon prices and, accordingly, increased
legal and illegal trade and overfishing (Lazaroff 2000). In the Caspian Sea, where
most sturgeon are fished, the amount of fish caught per year fell from 20,000
tons in the late 1970s to 1,000 tons in the late 1990s (Lazaroff 2000).
Sometimes parties to CITES resist "listing" species in the treaty despite
data that suggests that the species is heavily traded and in decline. This has
been the case with big-leaf mahogany, prized for its durable and attractive wood.
Proposals to regulate the mahogany trade under the CITES treaty have been defeated
by narrow margins in part because the timber industry wants to preserve its lucrative
mahogany markets in North America and Europe (Sizer et al. 1999:12; TRAFFIC 2000).
Monitoring trade is essential to species survival. With adequate warning that
a population's reproductive capacities are dipping in the wild, countries can
opt to regulate trade volumes, or launch or increase complementary captive breeding
or cultivation programs. For example, monitoring of American Ginseng (Panax quinquifolius)—commonly
harvested from the wild in Canada and the United States and exported to East Asia
where it is used widely in traditional medicine—eventually showed the need
for trade protection. A 1996 study of harvest and trade levels of American Ginseng
found that demand had increased rapidly, but the amount of wild American Ginseng
harvested and exported had remained relatively constant. This indicated that the
United States and Canada were protecting wild populations reasonably well (Robbins
1998). However, further study in 1999 alerted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
that it was time to institute a new policy in 18 states that would limit Ginseng
exports to wild-harvested roots no less than five years old. Cultivated roots,
on the other hand, can be harvested at any age (Robbins 1999).
CITES trade data also helps highlight where a plant or animal may be under the
greatest pressure from legal and illegal trade, and the leverage points for controlling
that pressure. For example, demand for exotic pets in the United States fuels
the reptile trade (see Figure 1). Similarly, Europe and the United States share
responsibility for most of the world trade in live apes, monkeys, and other primates
(see Figure 2). What that data does not reveal, however, is what percent of the
trade consists of species raised in captivity rather than captured in the wild.
More than 90 percent of the U.S. imports of live lizards, for example, consists
of green iguanas bred for the pet trade on farms in Central and South America
(Hoover 2001b). Of course, even breeding programs aren't a fail-safe solution
to species survival in the exporting countries; without adequate wild stocks of
reptiles, captive breeding stocks may decline (Hoover 1998). Asia is another significant
importer of wildlife products, usually for traditional medicines or food. For
example, Japan imports large numbers of whales and sea turtles, while freshwater
turtles, seahorses, tigers, and rhinoceros are popular in China (Hoover 2001b).
Knowing these pressure points helps focus efforts to stop illegal trade, monitor
potential damage from legal trade, and research efficient conservation and protection
methods.
Trading Foul: Burgeoning Illegal Trade
Illegal trade statistics are scarce, but some limited information
is available for certain species. For example, Asian countries,
such as Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, are the largest
consumers of products made from illegally traded rhinoceros and
tiger parts and ivory (Lewis 1995; EIA 2000). The United States
is the world's largest market for wildlife and wildlife products
and imports an estimated $300 million worth of illegal wildlife
every year (Lewis 1995; Cleava and Fisher 1998).
For seriously endangered and highly valued species like tigers,
rhinoceros, and Asian bears, illegal trade has been overwhelmingly
the biggest threat to their survival over the last 20 years (Motavalli
1999:12; Hoover 2001b). Many illegally traded species have body
parts that are prized for traditional oriental medicine practices.
These include tiger bones, rhinoceros horns, and bear gall bladders.
A bear gall bladder can sell for as much as $15,000 (Lewis 1995),
and a poacher can reap $5,500 for a tiger (Motavalli and Bogo 1999:32;
WPSI 1997). The Hyacinth macaw from the Amazon basin and the Australian
palm cockatoo can sell for up to $8,000 and $10,000, respectively
(Motavalli and Bogo 1999:32-33). The rare Tibetan antelope is similarly
endangered because of the appeal of its fur, which is used to make
scarves called "shahtoosh." It takes three or four pelts
to make one scarf that can fetch up to $8,000 in China, the United
States, or Europe (Sain-Ley-Berry 2000; Ahmed and Nambiar 1999).
Efforts to Minimize Trade's Pressure on Biodiversity
Trade bans may seem an obvious way to protect species, but there
is the danger that a ban may make the species more valuable and
appealing to poachers. A grim cycle can ensue: the more endangered
an animal or plant becomes, the higher its black market price, and
the more poaching and illegal trade occurs. At the same time, a
ban can drive trade underground, where it can't be monitored.
But for some species, bans have proven effective. In 1992, the United
States—one of the biggest importers of parrots for pets—enacted
national legislation (the Wild Bird Conservation Act) which banned
imports of all wild-caught threatened parrots listed in CITES. As
a result, parrot imports into the United States fell dramatically
(see Figure 3). Recent research suggests that the Wild Bird Conservation
Act may also have contributed to reduced poaching rates for 10 banned
parrot species; in 8 years poaching rates fell from 50 to 20 percent
(Wright et al. 2001:715). Similarly, a 1989 worldwide ban on ivory
trade by CITES signatory countries nearly eliminated elephant poaching
and brought a sharp decline in the price of ivory worldwide. The price
of an average 8 kg elephant tusk fell from about $3,800 before the
ivory ban to just $35 (EIA 1999). In Tanzania, for example, 10,000
elephants were killed per year prior to the ban, but afterward poachers
killed fewer than 100 annually (EIA 1999).
Many experts believe that the only way to significantly curb illegal
wildlife trade or to minimize the growing pressures of legal trade
is to decrease or eliminate the demand for wildlife products. This
is especially difficult for wildlife products that are harvested
for traditional medicines that have been used in some cultures for
generations, but researchers are working on synthetic and traditional
alternatives for tiger and rhinoceros parts. Some NGOs and governments
try to educate citizens about species trade issues and the need
for conservation; some have launched campaigns to discourage the
purchase of souvenirs made from wildlife parts or the purchase of
fur, and have had significant success (see Figure 4). Improved law
enforcement and serious repercussions for poaching also help deter
wildlife trade. In China, where panda smugglers get a life prison
sentence, panda poaching levels have plunged (Motavalli and Bogo
1999:33).
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