The map is intended as a regularly updated resource for use by anybody working in pangolin conservation as well as for general interest and is based on a subset of poaching and seizure incidents from 2000-15, derived from publicly available records, from primarily English and Chinese language sources
For the past three years or so, a handful of scientific entrepreneurs have increasingly championed a possible solution to the current appalling levels of rhino poaching. Specifically, several companies have been advocating the use of biotechnology to artificially create rhino horn and then ‘flood’ the market with it
Two forest rangers, Sieng Darong and Sab Yoh, have been murdered in Preah Vihear Protected Forest, Cambodia. They were shot by illegal loggers, one of which has been tied to the Cambodian military, with high-powered rifles. The main driver of these crimes is unsustainable demand for rosewood timber in Vietnam and China
From EIA’s perspective, corruption is a key enabling factor in environmental crime, especially the theft of natural resources. Research has shown that the more affected it is by corruption, the poorer a country’s environmental performance – a theoretical link borne out by the findings of many EIA field investigations
Field studies by EIA in Indonesia, Myanmar, Russia, Laos, Vietnam, Mozambique, Madagascar and China have found China’s demand for timber is driving illegal logging with serious global consequence, irreparably damaging forest ecosystems, pushing down incomes in forest communities and driving corruption and conflict
Illegal trade in ivory, rhino horn and tiger products receives a relatively high international profile, far more so than the fast-growing trade in pangolins for their meat and scales – in just a few short years, this quiet creature has become the world’s most trafficked mammal