;)
The campaign, which features a permanent display at the airport about wildlife trade, is estimated to have been viewed by around 4 million passengers who fly through Noi Bai each year.
The campaign was implemented in part thanks to funding from the Intrepid Travel tour company, whose generous donations support TRAFFIC’s work in South-East Asia.
Intrepid Travel has its own reason for celebrating this month: on 17th May, Intrepid received the 2011 Global Tourism Business Award at this year’s Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, held in Las Vegas, USA.
The Intrepid Travel tour company, which emphasizes social, cultural and environmental responsibility in its operations, won the prestigious award in recognition for its practices in sustainable tourism.
Based in Australia, Intrepid Travel has offices world-wide and employs 90% local leaders and 100% local guides on its trips.
The company was specifically recognized for its efforts to address climate change through accomplishing carbon neutrality of its business and providing over 45,000 tonnes of carbon offsets since 2007 through its trips and operations.
The associated non-profit Intrepid Foundation has donated more than AUD2.2million (USD2.3 million) since 2002 to organizations that address health care, education, human rights, child welfare, and sustainable development and wildlife conservation.
The Foundation’s donations have supported TRAFFIC’s activities in South-East Asia including capacity building with enforcement officials, market monitoring and research and raising public awareness of wildlife trade issues.
“TRAFFIC congratulates Intrepid on securing this truly impressive award,” said Chris Shepherd, Deputy Director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.
“We look forward to continued close collaboration with Intrepid in addressing wildlife trade issues in South-East Asia.”
суббота, 21 мая 2011 г.
TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - Don’t Buy Trouble Campaign, one year on
пятница, 20 мая 2011 г.
TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - Agreement signed to improve regulation of wildlife trade in Mexico
;)
The new agreement is anticipated to lead to better implementation of national legislation related to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
It also commits CONABIO, Mexico’s CITES Scientific Authority, and TRAFFIC to promote studies on the state of conservation, management and trade in Mexican species and raise awareness to ensure those entrusted with regulating such trade at sustainable levels have access to the best technical and scientific support available.
The signing took place in the City of Oaxaca, where a trilateral Canada-Mexico-United States meeting on the Conservation and Management of Wildlife and Ecosystems is currently underway.
In Mexico, around 2,500 species of wildlife ranging from cacti, orchids, bromeliads, ferns and other plants through to mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish, are traded internationally and come under the CITES regulations.
воскресенье, 15 мая 2011 г.
TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - World Fair Trade Day
The day is being co-ordinated by the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), which represents more than 450 Fair Trade Organizations from 73 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, North America and Pacific and aims to focus attention on the need for a fair and sustainable economy locally and globally, and for trade to deliver sustainable livelihoods and development opportunities to small producers.
TheFairwild Foundationwill be joining in the celebrations. The FairWild Standard and associated certification system provide an opportunity to apply fair trade principles to sustainable use and trade in wild-harvested plant resources.
Fair trade principles are embedded within the FairWild Standard alongside a range of ecological and social criteria, and the FairWild Foundation aims to harmonise these requirements with other Standards where possible.
The FairWild Foundation works with government authorities, collectors, non-government organisations, and the private sector on implementation of the FairWild Standard, including through promoting certification of wild-plant collection operations.
TRAFFIC is a partner in the FairWild Foundation and is helping promote the FairWild Standard through its Medicinal and Aromatic Plants programme.
FairWild Certification means that buyers know they are supporting fair trading—the products are legally and sustainably sourced, and the benefits are felt by all those involved right down to the local communities harvesting the wild plants.
More information onWorld Fair Trade Day
суббота, 14 мая 2011 г.
TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - Live leopards and other animals found in luggage
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Seven infant animals—four Leopard cubs, a Bear cub, a baby gibbon and a marmoset—were found alive and packed in the 36-year-old suspect’s bags.
And it wasn’t bulky luggage or suspicious behaviour that foiled the trafficker’s audacious attempt. What gave him away was the muffled cry of one of the Leopard cubs stuffed in his bag.
Officers from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crimes Suppression Division of the Thai Police had received a tip off that a passenger bound for Dubai would be attempting to smuggle live animals out of the country.
At about 1 am this morning officers from the division ordered all passengers who were minutes away from boarding a flight for Dubai, to be checked, in the hopes of identifying the individual who was carrying the animals.
It was during that process, that a police officer heard the Leopard’s cry and zoomed in on the suspect. The animals were found in his hand luggage.
The animals are recovering at a National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department rescue centre while the suspect is expected to be charged with smuggling endangered species out of Thailand, its Deputy Director General Dr Theerapat Prayunsitthi told a press conference.
If convicted, the suspect could face up to four years in jail and a THB40,000 (USD1,300) fine.
This is not the first attempt by smugglers to traffic infant wild animals out of Thailand: thisFebruary, and Indonesian man was found to be carrying three suitcases full of animals, while inAugustlast year, authorities found a drugged tiger cub hidden in the luggage of a Thai woman who was attempting to smuggle it to Iran.
The case put the illegal capture and trafficking of young wild animals for the pet trade in the limelight and the problem has since become the focus of a TRAFFIC Southeast Asia– Body Shopcampaignin Malaysia.
четверг, 12 мая 2011 г.
TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - Illegal bear bile trade rampant in Asia
;)
inChinese
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 11th May 2011—Poaching and illegal trade of bears, driven largely by the demand for bile, used in traditional medicine and folk remedies continues unabated across Asia on a large scale, a new report by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, has found.
Bear bile products were found on sale in Traditional Medicine outlets in all but one of the 13 countries/territories surveyed says the report entitledPills, Powders, Vials& Flakes: The bear bile trade in Asia(PDF, 1 MB). The exception is Macao.
Products were most frequently observed in mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Myanmar and Viet Nam, where they were recorded in over half of all outlets surveyed. The most frequently encountered products were whole bear gall bladders and pills—found in half of the outlets surveyed.;)
Mainland China was the most commonly reported place of origin for these products across the region.
In Myanmar, internationally sourced gall bladders were reported to come solely from Lao PDR; in Hong Kong, in cases where the source was known, products were reported to have originated in Japan and over half of those offered for sale in the South Korea were from wild sources in Russia.
Domestic trade of bear bile is legal under strict regulation within mainland China and Japan but is illegal in Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. Regardless of the legality of trade within countries, international trade is not allowed.
Asiatic Black Bears (predominant in this trade) and Sun Bears are both listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) which prohibits international commercial trade in the species, its parts and derivatives.
An analysis of the origin of bear bile products found in these surveys makes it clear that import and export regulations are commonly flouted demonstrating a failure to implement CITES requirements to stop illegal international bear bile trade effectively and protect bears from exploitation.
“Unbridled illegal trade in bear parts and products continues to undermine CITES which should be the world’s most powerful tool to regulate cross-border wildlife trade,” said Kaitlyn-Elizabeth Foley, lead author of the report and Senior Programme Officer of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.
The study found that the vast majority of the bear farms surveyed in Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam did not have captive breeding programmes, suggesting they depend on bears captured from the wild.
“The study makes a clear case for authorities to shut down businesses selling illegal bear products and prosecute individuals caught selling, buying, transporting or keeping bears illegally,” said Foley.
“Both the Asiatic Black Bear and the Sun Bear are threatened by poaching and illegal trade. The demand for bile is one of the greatest drivers behind this trade and must be reduced if bear conservation efforts are to succeed,” added Foley.
“Even legal bear bile producers are circumventing domestic and international regulations by exporting products internationally,” said Dr Jill Robinson MBE, Founder and CEO of Animals Asia Foundation, which rescues bears from farms in China and Viet Nam.
“This report, in addition to Animals Asia’s years of research, shows that the bear bile industry is engaging in illegal practices. As pressure mounts on the wild bear population, there are serious questions to be answered on the welfare and pathology of farmed bears, and the risks to human health in those who consume the contaminated bile from such sick and diseased bears,” said Robinson.
ENDS
Notes:
The study’s main findings are:
• Bear bile products were observed in traditional medicine outlets in 12 out of 13 Asian countries/territories surveyed
• Bear bile products were available at 50% or more of traditional medicine outlets surveyed in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Myanmar and Viet Nam.
• China is the most commonly reported source for bear bile products
http://prezi.com/y_mqfj2c8acx/the-bear-bile-trade-in-asia/
For further information:
Kaitlyn Elizabeth-Foley, Senior Programme Officer, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Tel: ++603 7880 3940,katiefoley7@myjaring.net
Elizabeth John, Senior Communications Officer, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Tel: ++603 7880 3940,jlizzjohn@yahoo.com
Richard Thomas, Communications Co-ordinator, TRAFFIC. Tel: +44 1223 279068, email:richard.thomas@traffic.org
суббота, 23 апреля 2011 г.
TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - Live pangolins and dried snake skins seized in Thailand
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Officers stopped the white truck and its driver at 3 a.m in the town of Pranburi. The Thai national who was arrested is believed to have transported the cargo from the Southern Thai town of Had Yai to Songkla and was headed to Bangkok.
Prachuap Khiri Khan, where the items were seized, is a bottleneck for transportation and an ideal location for authorities to focus their enforcement attention. It is a transit point through which all traffic from Indonesia and Malaysia must pass to access central and northern Thailand, as well as the rest of Indochina.
Thai Press reports say the truck driver was held for violations under Thailand’s Customs regulations and for flouting laws that govern international trade in wildlife under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna.
The endangered Pangolin commonly turns up in seizures around the region and is trafficked in large volumes for the illegal meat and medicine markets.
The suspect and the wildlife seized have been handed over to the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department for further investigation and action.
This recent seizure follows close on the heels of the Customs Department’s recent find of 1,800 monitor lizards which smugglers were attempting to traffic across the border from Malaysia in several pickup trucks.
“Thailand’s Customs authorities should be congratulated for catching this shipment,” said TRAFFIC Regional Director Dr. William Schaedla.
“Pangolin trafficking up the Malay Peninsula and along this roadway are regular tragic occurrences. TRAFFIC is hopeful that interdictions like this will become a deterrent that breaks the trade chain that is robbing Southeast Asia of its wildlife,” he said.
In early April, a team of Malaysian wildlife officers in the northern state of Kelantan seized 40 pangolins, weighing a total of 200 kilograms, from a car believed to be heading for China via Thailand.
четверг, 21 апреля 2011 г.
TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - Major ivory seizures in Thailand, China and Viet Nam
Chinese media yesterday reported one of the largest ivory seizures in recent years—a staggering 707 tusks, 32 ivory bracelets and a rhino horn—found during a during a routine inspection of a large truck at a toll station on a highway in Guangxi, China, just a few kilometers from the border with Viet Nam.
The seizure comes hot on the heels of 247 tusks seized by Customs in Thailand concealed in a consignment of frozen fish from Kenya on 1st April, while yesterday, media in Viet Nam reported police had confiscated another 122 ivory tusks from a warehouse in Mong Cai, a port in north-east Viet Nam, right on the border with China.
“The enforcement authorities in all these cases are to be congratulated for making these interdictions, but these tusks attest to the poaching of more than 500 elephants, which is a major conservation concern,” said Tom Milliken, TRAFFIC’s expert on the illicit ivory trade.
“While we still await official confirmation, this pattern of seizures helps corroborate our suspicions that Thailand and China remain the primary end-use destinations for large quantities of ivory being smuggled out of Africa, with Viet Nam now serving as the leading conduit for trade into China,” Milliken added.
Milliken leads work on elephant and rhino trade and manages the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) to track illegal trade in ivory on behalf of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
ETIS is the world’s largest database of elephant product seizure records. The most recent analysis listed Thailand, together with Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo as the three countries most heavily implicated in the global illicit ivory trade, while Viet Nam was identified as one of the major transit countries for illicit consignments of ivory believed to be destined for China.
TRAFFIC sounded an alarm call when the last ETIS analysis showed a seriously escalating illegal ivory trade from 2004 to 2009. Since 2009, however, there has been almost no respite as China, Thailand and Viet Nam alone have seized nearly 20 tonnes of elephant ivory, not counting these latest hauls.
“Sophisticated criminal networks are utilizing every means available—road, sea and air—to smuggle their contraband from African source countries to lucrative markets in Asia, often via circuitous routes to avoid detection,” said Milliken.
“While major seizures, arrests and prosecutions are certainly deterrents to these smuggling operations, the only long-term solution to curtail elephant poaching has to be to reduce the demand for illegally sourced ivory to negligible levels.”