Asia Needs Network to Fight Illegal Wildlife Trade

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Asia Needs Network to Fight Illegal Wildlife Trade

 

October 05, 2004 — By Darren Schuettler, Reuters

BANGKOK — Asia needs a special crime-fighting network

to combat a booming illegal wildlife trade worth

billions of dollars, which threatens many species with

extinction, Thailand's prime minister said recently.

 

At a global meeting in Bangkok on endangered species,

Thaksin Shinawatra said no country alone could defeat

the illicit trade, which ranges from elephant ivory

and rhino horn to tropical timber and rare turtles.

 

" Globally, the illegal trade in wildlife, timber, and

other natural resources is surpassed only by

trafficking in drugs and weapons. This is a shocking

statistic, " Thaksin said. " It is incumbent on us to

meet this challenge through serious conservation

efforts and stricter law enforcement, " he told 1,500

delegates to the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species (CITES) meeting.

 

With 166 member countries, CITES is the only global

treaty regulating trade in threatened and endangered

animals and plants. It is best known for saving

African elephants by banning ivory sales in 1989.

 

The two-week meeting in Bangkok will debate 60

proposals, including limits on trade in well-known

species such as the great white shark and Asian

elephant.

 

Others include the Irrawaddy dolphin, who gets tangled

in nets or killed by dynamite fishing; the tropical

ramin tree used in picture frames and pool cues; and

the humphead wrasse, a reef fish popular with East

Asians.

 

Japan's push to limit protection of the minke whale

will be a bruising battle, say conservationists, who

fear it will increase pressure to resume commercial

whaling, banned in 1986. E.U. countries have said they

will oppose Japan's efforts to restart whaling.

 

Crime Gangs

 

The meeting is being held for the first time in

Southeast Asia, where organized crime gangs reap

massive profits across the region, including Thailand,

a key supplier and transit point.

 

The regional trade is being fueled by China, where

protected animals are used in exotic dishes and

medicines.

 

Environmentalists say illegal traders using complex

smuggling networks are running circles around the

treaty, which relies on its member governments to

enforce it.

 

" Holding the conference here has focused attention on

Thailand and Southeast Asia as a major hub for the

wildlife trade, " said Susan Lieberman, a director of

the World Wildlife Fund.

 

Southeast Asian governments are expected to make a

joint statement this week. Thaksin offered to host a

summit next year to hammer out details for a regional

network of law enforcement agencies.

 

" There is no country that can fight this battle

alone, " he said. " If Asia is to save its precious

resources and unique wildlife, it deserves nothing but

our best effort. "

 

CITES already bans trade in 600 animal species and 300

types of plants from apes to cacti, and strictly

limits trade in 4,100 animal species and 28,000 types

of plants. But the treaty is hampered by underfunding

and the low priority it is given by some members, said

CITES secretary-general Willem Wijnstekers.

 

" CITES is in urgent need of action, rather than

words, " he told the meeting. " What this 30-year-old

convention urgently needs is increased political will

in most, if not, all of its 166 parties. "

 

Source: Reuters