Reports

The illegal trade of pangolins in China All eight recognised species of pangolin face high risks of extinction, with the primary threats to their survival being poaching and trade of their meat, body parts and scales. In order to address declining pangolin populations, increasingly stringent measures for protection of the species have been adopted both through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of  Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and at national levels.

The 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will take place from 23 November and 5 December in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. EIA will be actively engaging at CoP20 on a range of key issues relating to the protection of elephants, rhinos, Asian big cats, pangolins and vaquita porpoises, in addition to broader compliance and enforcement issues.

Our research from 2024 highlights that significant concerns remain regarding transparency, information sharing and criminal justice in the global fight against wildlife crime. This report is part of EIA's regular assessment and focuses on four themes, which build upon the findings of our previous work.

This study was commissioned by the “Partnership against Wildlife Crime in Africa and Asia”, a global project implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV). The Partnership operates along the entire illegal trade chain in ivory, rhinoceros horn and pangolin from the countries of origin in Africa to the consumers.

Learn more about focal issues that EIA’s Wildlife Campaign aims to discuss during SC77.

This report has been prepared by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA UK) to provide guidance to Parties and entities engaged with wildlife crime enforcement issues relating to West and Central Africa, including State agencies, intergovernmental (IGOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).