A briefing calling upon Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to acknowledge that environmental crime, including wildlife crime, is a form of serious transnational organised crime and to adopt appropriately stringent measures to tackle it effectively
The illegal trade in poached skins between India, Nepal and China is the most significant immediate threat to the continued existence of the tiger in the wild. Although the importance of the problem has been recognised and information is readily available, the lucrative illegal trade continues.
Report on how enforcement measures must be strengthened and implemented as a matter of urgency if the illegal trade in ivory is to be tackled effectively. The sophistication and scope of organised crime syndicates far outweigh the capacity and resources of many enforcement agencies, particularly in developing countries
A report on how demand for ivory products is on the rise, poaching in elephant range states is being driven by resurgent market demand in several Asian countries. A catalogue of seizures in 2002, including the seizure of over six tonnes in Singapore, provides stark evidence of a renewed threat to elephant populations
A report into how the first CITES-approved ivory sale led to an increase in elephant poaching In 1997, CITES Parties voted to down-list the elephant populations of Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe, followed swiftly by a supposedly one-time only sale in 1999 of stockpiled ivory to Japan
The elephants of southern Africa are under fire in the front line of a conflict that has raged for more than two decades. The Appendix I listing of the African elephant by CITES has proved to be a success in countries which have demonstrated the political will to implement the ban on trade in elephant products