scholarly journals International wildlife trade, avian influenza, organised crime and the effectiveness of CITES: The Chinese hwamei as a case study

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. e01185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris R. Shepherd ◽  
Boyd T.C. Leupen ◽  
Penthai Siriwat ◽  
Vincent Nijman
Oryx ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 480-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R. Jepson

AbstractSaving species from extinction is a central tenet of conservation, yet success in this endeavour remains unpredictable and elusive, especially where wildlife trade is involved. Influential conservation policy actors operating internationally advocate strong regulatory and enforcement approaches to governance of wildlife trade. However, a broad body of evidence suggests that in some situations positive incentives for sustainable use may achieve better conservation outcomes. This analysis of efforts over 3 decades to avoid the extinction of the Bali starling Leucopsar rothschildi draws on network perspectives from environmental governance and geography, and shows how an international project adopting traditional enforcement approaches generated a ‘prestige of ownership’ dynamic among local elites. This placed trade in Bali starlings above the enforcement competencies of the relevant government authority, leading to the demise of the species. Subsequently, two separate Indonesian initiatives created spaces of regulatory flexibility and embraced traits of the starling's phenotype to construct identities for the species suited to the local context. This enrolled a wider range of stakeholders in the conservation of the species, including bird-keeping elites, and led to significant successes in restoring captive and free-flying populations. This case study highlights the potential of conservation networks that involve non-establishment personnel and, while recognizing the appeal of generic enforcement approaches to politicians, funders and the urban public, it adds to an increasing body of evidence that suggests top-down prescriptive conservation frameworks may undermine the ability of situated conservationists to develop interventions appropriate to their political and cultural realities.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 102
Author(s):  
Muhiuddin Haider ◽  
Milind Patel ◽  
Priyanka Bhattacharjee ◽  
Maariya Bassa

Biodiversity is the variability of between genetics, species, or ecosystems of living organisms within a specific region. Biodiversity is essential for sustaining healthy living networks and systems because it allows for a variety of food sources, medicine, and biological control, while also playing a significant role in atmospheric regulation, nutrient cycling, and pollination. Loss of biodiversity and ecosystem change increases the risk of the emergence or spreading of infectious diseases and global pandemics such as the Avian Influenza (AI H5N1). Biotechnology is one solution for reducing, and ultimately eliminating, the transmission of avian influenza. Traditional methods of treating infected animals, such as common vaccines, are temporary solutions that have no effect on the biodiversity of an ecosystem. Methods in animal biotechnology such as artificial insemination, embryo transfer, and <em>in vitro </em>fertilization have led to developments of cheaper, safer, and more effective vaccines. Livestock that have been treated for H5N1, as well as those that are healthy and have never been infected have proven to increase the diversity, leading to the elimination of specific issues. Similar effects are attainable if these animal biotechnology methods were to be used on poultry infected with the avian influenza virus.


2007 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Nijman ◽  
Chris R. Shepherd

In 1973 the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was called to life as to regulate the international wildlife trade, and to prevent species becoming (economically and biologically) extinct. The trade in freshwater turtles and tortoises in Asia is so huge that it threatens the survival of many species. In 2006 and 2007, during three surveys at Chatuchak market in Bangkok, Thailand, we recorded a significant trade in non-native CITES-listed freshwater turtles and tortoises to be used as pets. We documented a total of 688 individuals of 19 species from different regions of the world, many of which are globally threatened with extinction. Most commonly recorded were three species of tortoise from Madagascar and Africa, i.e. Radiated Tortoise Geochelone radiata, Spurred Tortoise G. sulcata and Leopard Tortoise G. pardalis. Five species were listed on CITES Appendix I, precluding all international trade, and an additional six Appendix II or III-listed species that can be traded albeit regulated, were not registered as being imported into Thailand in the last six year. CITES I-listed species were not more expensive than CITES II or III listed species, nor was there a relationship between retail price and numbers of turtles observed. The large number and availability of illegally sourced animals indicates a blatant disregard for law and authority by traders both from Thailand and from exporting countries. We conclude that the trade in these species, in such significant volumes, is of serious conservation concern, and in order for CITES to be more effective it is imperative that Parties recognize the scale of the international trade in freshwater turtles and tortoises and respond accordingly.


2004 ◽  
Vol 359 (1447) ◽  
pp. 1107-1114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Bell ◽  
Scott Roberton ◽  
Paul R. Hunter

The search for animal host origins of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus has so far remained focused on wildlife markets, restaurants and farms within China. A significant proportion of this wildlife enters China through an expanding regional network of illegal, international wildlife trade. We present the case for extending the search for ancestral coronaviruses and their hosts across international borders into countries such as Vietnam and Lao People's Democratic Republic, where the same guilds of species are found on sale in similar wildlife markets or food outlets. The three species that have so far been implicated, a viverrid, a mustelid and a canid, are part of a large suite of small carnivores distributed across this region currently overexploited by this international wildlife trade. A major lesson from SARS is that the underlying roots of newly emergent zoonotic diseases may lie in the parallel biodiversity crisis of massive species loss as a result of overexploitation of wild animal populations and the destruction of their natural habitats by increasing human populations. To address these dual threats to the long–term future of biodiversity, including man, requires a less anthropocentric and more interdisciplinary approach to problems that require the combined research expertise of ecologists, conservation biologists, veterinarians, epidemiologists, virologists, as well as human health professionals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 136 (4) ◽  
pp. 94-108
Author(s):  
ISTVÁN KOVÁCS

The study deals with a brief history of organised crime in Hungary in the past and today. One of the biggest sources of revenue for organised crime is prostitution. Hundreds of victims are reported daily. In addition to this, a new strategic approach has emerged, linked to the upward management of organised crime. Prostitutes volunteer for work, the organised groups do not use violence, and illicit earnings are distributed among themselves on the basis of work done. The girls are transferred to rich countries where rich people can enjoy their services through a built-in agency system. Many girls are referred to Dubai, where the new form of Hungarian prostitution is thriving: the ‘dubai-ing’ phenomenon. The study presents, through a case study, the phenomenon of ‘dubai-ing’, and the activities of organised criminal groups. The method used is critical source analysis, basic historical research, as well as case and judgement/verdict analysis. This is not a classic analysis, but a criminal analysis of specifi c cases. The strategic aim is to collect data which can show the new profi le of organised crime in the 21st century.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Fournié ◽  
Astrid Tripodi ◽  
Thi Thanh Thuy Nguyen ◽  
Van Trong Nguyen ◽  
Trong Tung Tran ◽  
...  

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