The International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted new ‘Guidelines for the Prevention and Suppression of the Smuggling of Wildlife on Ships Engaged in International Maritime Traffic’ to combat wildlife smuggling. It’s an important step for the global shipping industry to focus on bringing down the illegal networks exploiting maritime supply chains to traffic wildlife.

The trafficking of wildlife is increasingly recognized as both a specialized area of organized crime and a significant threat to many plant and animal species. The second edition of the World Wildlife Crime Report takes stock of the present wildlife crime situation with a focus on illicit trafficking of specific protected species of wild fauna and flora, and provides a broad assessment of the nature and extent of the problem at the global level. It includes a quantitative market assessment and a series of in-depth illicit trade case studies: rosewood, ivory and rhino horn, pangolin scales, live reptiles, big cats and eels. In addition, value chains and illicit financial flows from the trade in ivory and rhino horn is presented.

If the 2016 World Wildlife Crime Report represented UNODC’s first global assessment of the state of wildlife crime, the 2020 edition of this report represents a first assessment of trends. In several instances, these trends have been dramatic. The poaching of both elephants and rhinoceroses has consistently declined since 2011, as have the prices paid for tusks and horns. But the amount of pangolin scales seized has increased 10-fold in just five years, and new markets, such as the trafficking of European glass eels, have emerged in the wake of strengthened controls. For the first time, a consistent pattern of large shipments of unrelated wildlife products – elephant ivory and pangolin scales – has emerged. In addition, organized criminal groups in broker countries, neither the source nor the destination of the wildlife, have consolidated control of multiple markets. The 2020 World Wildlife Crime Report tracks all these trends and more.

The Research Brief “Illegal wildlife trade and climate change – Joining the dots” has been prepared as a contribution to the COP27 on Climate Change and considers the complex relationships between illegal wildlife trade, biodiversity and climate change. It highlights the implications of illegal wildlife trade for ecosystem function and resilience and the need for more evidence-based long term integrated policies

WWF’s Network-wide Ivory Initiative came to an end in June 2022, after more than four years of successful work, focused on demand reduction and policy advocacy to shut down Asia’s elephant ivory markets. The initiative was built on the game-changing decision by China in 2017 to shutter its domestic market for elephant ivory. WWF-US was one of the key architects, part of a collective drive alongside NGOs, governments, businesses, and other partners.

The Elephant Ivory Initiative Report: 2018-2022 is an independent assessment that highlights the legacy, achievements, and lessons learned.

CITES Wildlife TradeView is an interactive online tool for exploring and visualising CITES trade data. It enables users to visualise trends in international wildlife trade through three separate views:

• Global overview: providing a high-level overview of global trade in CITES-listed species
• Country view: exploring the CITES trade for one or more countries
• Taxon view: exploring the CITES trade data for one or more species or taxonomic groups

Within each view, users can identify the top exporters, importers, trade terms, taxa in trade and source of the specimens in trade (e.g. wild, captive-bred) using custom filters. Individual graphs and accompanying data can also be downloaded.

The tool is directly linked to the CITES Trade Database (managed by UNEP-WCMC on behalf of the CITES Secretariat) and is automatically updated once CITES annual reports are entered into the trade database. It therefore provides a way to access the most up to date CITES trade data available. CITES Parties are required to report on trade by 31st October of the year following which the trade occurred.

The development of CITES Wildlife TradeView was made possible thanks to internal investment, and the financial support from the UK Research and Innovation’s Global Challenges Research Fund under the Trade, Development and the Environment Hub project (project number ES/S008160/1).

Financial support to maintain the underlying dataset held within the CITES Trade Database is provided by the CITES Secretariat.

The preamble to the Convention recognizes that international cooperation is essential for the protection of certain species of wild fauna and flora against over-exploitation through international trade, and recognizes also the urgency of taking appropriate measures to this end. However, the point at which such over-exploitation starts has never been defined by the Parties.

Terms used in the text of the Convention such as “threatened with extinction” (Article II, paragraph 1) and “utilization incompatible with their survival” [Article II, paragraph 2. (a)] in relation to inclusion of species in the Appendices have been largely defined through the adoption of Resolution Conf. 9.24 (Rev. CoP16) on Criteria for amendment of Appendices I and II. However, related concepts linked with the issuance of permits, such as “…detrimental to the survival of that species” [Article III, paragraphs 2. (a), 3. (a) and 5. (a); and, Article IV, paragraphs 2. (a) and 6. (a)] and “maintain that species throughout its range at a level consistent with its role in the ecosystems in which it occurs” [Article IV, paragraph 3], have been little clarified by the Parties. These have become collectively known as the “non-detriment findings” (NDFs).

This ICCWC Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit, now in its fully revised second edition, provides a comprehensive overview of the main issues related to addressing wildlife and forest crime in a given location. It serves as a guide to explore and document this crime type in the wider context of crimes affecting the environment and examine the legal, administrative, and practical measures adopted to prevent and address it.

The ICCWC Toolkit is designed to assist government officials in wildlife and forestry administrations, policymakers, customs officials and officials of other relevant enforcement agencies, and may also be useful for independent experts and research entities. It will allow users to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the legal frameworks, enforcement measures, prosecutorial and judicial mechanisms, international cooperation, and other measures used to prevent and address wildlife and forest crime in a given national context. In addition, other stakeholders at the international and national levels, as well as civil society, may find the Toolkit useful to carry out their mandate and responsibilities.

While the focus is on the criminal justice response to wildlife and forest crime, the Toolkit also looks more broadly at the means and measures related to the protection and monitoring of wild fauna and flora and at the illegal exploitation of wildlife and forest resources by criminals, including organized criminal groups. The Toolkit further serves to identify technical assistance needs and may be used as training material for law enforcement.