Unexpected and undesired conservation outcomes of wildlife trade bans—An emerging problem for stakeholders?

Abstract

a b s t r a c t CITES regulates international trade with the goal of preventing over-exploitation, thus the survival of species are not jeopardized from trade practices; however it has been used recently in nontrade conservation measures. As an example, the US proposed to uplist polar bears under CITES Appendix I, despite that the species did not conform to the biological criteria. Polar bears were listed as 'threatened' under US ESA in 2008, in response to loss of sea-ice and warming temperatures. In Nunavut, where most of Canada's polar bears are harvested, the resulting trade ban did not decrease total harvest after the ESA listing but reduced US hunter participation and the proportion of quotas taken by sport hunters from specific populations. Consequently, the import ban impacted livelihoods of Arctic indigenous communities with negative conservation -reduced tolerance for dangerous fauna and affected local participation in shared management initiatives. The polar bear may be the exemplar of an emerging problem: the use of trade bans in place of action for non-trade threats, e.g., climate change. Conservation prospects for this species and other climate-sensitive wildlife will likely diminish if the increasing use of trade bans to combat non-trade issues cause stakeholders to lose faith in participatory management.

Sustainable management of the trade in reticulated python skins in Indonesia and Malaysia

“…Although imposing a ban may appear to benefit python conservation, it is important to understand the potential impact of that management option on pythons in these countries, and the people relying on them (Weber et al 2015). Asian snakes have been traded for a variety of purposes for centuries (Natusch and Lyons, 2014;Aust et al 2016).…”

Using local ecological knowledge to determine status and threats of the Critically Endangered Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in Hainan, China

“…We conducted a large-scale community-based LEK survey in 2015 to assess the status of native mammals across seven protected areas on Hainan. In this study, we use this LEK dataset to provide the first detailed assessment of current regional status of Chinese pangolins across Hainan and between different protected areas on the island, to determine past and present pangolin abundance and threats and to understand local beliefs and attitudes about pangolins, all of which are essential for effective conservation management (Jim and Xu, 2002;Redford et al, 2011;Kelbessa, 2015;Weber et al, 2015). We also use these data to determine the extent to which LEK is able to provide novel insights into key pangolin conservation parameters, and we consider the potential strengths and limitations of an LEK-based survey approach for informing pangolin conservation (Olsson and Folke, 2001;Schulman, 2007;Haen et al, 2014).…”

Pemantauan penangkapan ular dalam perdagangan: sebuah panduan untuk pengurus hidupan liar

“…Pengelola hidupan liar dan pembuat polisi harus menyedari bahwa penggantungan perdagangan dapat menyebabkan akibat yang tidak diinginkan seperti memajukan perdagangan hukum bawah tanah (iaitu, menjadikannya tidak sah). Ini adalah benar dalam kes-kes di mana orang miskin bergantung kepada perdagangan untuk meningkatkan mata pencarian mereka (Weber et al 2015). Oleh itu, adalah penting bahawa hasil penggantungan perdagangan difahami dengan baik, dan pelan tindakan yang jelas telah disediakan untuk memastikan perdagangan dapat diteruskan pada tahap yang berkekalan (Natusch et al 2016).…”