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Slow lorises are seriously threatened by trade, and wildlife markets in many parts of western Indonesia openly display these totally protected primates for sale, with little or no fear of prosecution.
In the Jati Negara Market on 10th December, slow lorises were seen displayed in cages at several stalls fronting a main road. At one stall, TRAFFIC staff counted six lorises crowded into a single cage.
“These animals exemplify the threats slow lorises and other protected species face in Indonesia—trade is carried out openly and dealers do not fear reprimand or penalties”, said Deputy Regional Director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Chris R. Shepherd.
Other species observed for sale alongside the lorises in Jati Negara market that day included Crested Serpent-eagle, Changeable Hawk-eagle, Black-winged Kite and Leopard Cat. All are totally protected under Indonesia’s laws and cannot be commercially traded.
Speaking at the Slow Loris Conservation in Indonesia seminar a day earlier, Shepherd had called for urgent efforts on the part of the authorities to stop the illegal trade in such species.
He said slow lorises were sometimes confiscated by authorities but there was little or no deterrent to those dealing in them because penalties were rarely handed down.
“Dealers are well aware of the illegality of their trade in these species. Only with successful prosecution and sustained efforts by authorities to close down this trade, will the situation change. Anything less is meaningless.”
Indonesia is home to three species of slow loris: the Greater Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang), the Bornean Slow Loris (N. menagensis) and the Javan Slow Loris (N. javanicus).
The latter is the most seriously threatened, and is considered Endangered by the IUCN and included in the top 25 most threatened primates in the world. These small, nocturnal primates are valued as pets in Indonesia.
Seminar participants also requested the Indonesian government revise the list of nationally protected species to include all species of slow lorises under the genus Nycticebus. Current only one species is recognized, while taxonomists have agreed three species are native to Indonesia.
The seminar, organized by International Animal Rescue Indonesia (IAR), also saw the participation of rescue centres in Indonesia that care for confiscated lorises.
The IAR rescue rehab centre reported that it has received more than 150 lorises in the past three years, mainly surrendered by pet owners. Less than a quarter of these animals came from confiscations.
“These primates are traded openly in main bird markets in Jakarta and some pet shops in malls in Bandung and many other parts of the country. It is obvious that people do not take the Indonesian laws seriously,” said Karmele Llano Sánchez, Veterinary Director of International Animal Rescue Indonesia.
“Only a small percentage of traded lorises are rescued and even those can rarely be returned to the wild as traders remove their teeth prior to selling the animals. If we seriously want to protect these threatened species, tackling the illegal trade must be taken seriously”, she added.
воскресенье, 16 января 2011 г.
TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - Rapid demonstration of illicit slow loris trade
суббота, 15 января 2011 г.
TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - TRAFFIC India helps effort to strengthen wildlife law enforcement in India
The workshop was inaugurated by Mr Ajesh Kumar, Additional Director General, of the National Academy for Customs, Excise& Narcotics (NACEN), and took place as part of a collaborative effort supported by the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), under the UK-India Sustainable Development Dialogue between the Governments of India and UK.
Mumbai has excellent air, sea and land route connections, making it a key area through which illegal wildlife traders smuggle their goods, such as seahorses, shells and corals and other marine species, ivory, live birds and animals for the pet trade.
Guest of Honour, Dr Asad R Rahmani, Director of the Bombay natural History Society, spoke of the important biodiversity of the Western Ghats and the high level of endemism found in various faunal groups such as stream dwelling fish, amphibians and birds.
Dr Rahmani said that illegal wildlife trade not only threatens species by direct depletion of their populations but also due to accidental and intentional release of species which can hybridize with related endemic species, eroding their genetic stock.
Also attending the meeting were Mr T K Samant, Joint Director, NACEN, along with 20 participants from the forest department representing different wildlife and forest divisions of Maharashtra and 25 Custom officers from around the state.
During the meeting, Mr Ajesh Kumar, released the Hindi version“Musibat Na Mole Lein” of TRAFFIC-India’s“Don’t Buy Trouble” film, which educates people about the legal consequences of indulging in illegal wildlife trade.
Those conducting workshop sessions included Mr Samir Sinha, Head of TRAFFIC India, Dr S P Goyal, a wildlife forensic expert and Prof. B.C. Choudhary, an expert on marine issues, both from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) Dehradun, Ritwick Dutta, Advocate from the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India and wildlife and environmental expert, and Saurabh Sharma, Advocate from Delhi High Court and expert on wildlife laws.
During the workshop a wildlife forensic sample collection kit developed jointly by Wildlife Institute of India and TRAFFIC was distributed to participants. The customized kit will enable the field staff to collect samples for forensic analysis as per the prescribed protocols. Other resource materials provided to participants included CDs on various themes plus books and posters relating to wildlife law and enforcement issues.
For more information, please visit: www.traffic.org and www.wwfindia.org/traffic or Contact: Mr Samir Sinha 09868144462 and 011- 41504786/43516290.
пятница, 14 января 2011 г.
TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - Malaysia’s new wildlife law used to tackle cybercrime
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The Selangor State Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) raided the man’s home in Bukit Jelutong on Tuesday and found the ivory items, which he advertised in the classified ads of a well known local website, officials told TRAFFIC.
He is expected to be charged under Section 68(b) of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 which came into force in December.
He faces up to MYR 100,000 (USD 32,500) in fines or up to three years in jail, or both, if found guilty.
Under the previous law the penalties would have been significantly lower: a fine of not exceeding MYR3,000 (USD975) or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding one year or to both.
“It is encouraging to see the new law deployed so quickly and to address this specific problem,” says Chris R. Shepherd, Deputy Regional Director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.
The case is not only significant in putting the new law to the test, it also shines a spotlight on the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife parts on the internet.
“Illegal trade in wildlife on local websites is a serious issue that needs to be addressed, says Shepherd.
“This case exemplifies the need for increased monitoring of these websites.”
While Malaysia does not possess the open ivory markets of other countries in the region, the country is becoming one of concern for its role in the global ivory trade. Malaysia was identified in the latest Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) report as a country of concern because of its role as a significant transit point.
ETIS is the world’s largest database of elephant product seizure records, comprising more than 15,400 ivory seizure cases compiled over the last 21 years and is compiled by TRAFFIC on behalf of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The data shows a growing number of illegal ivory shipments passing through Malaysian ports.
In 2009, a large shipment of 5,647 kg of ivory was seized in Viet Nam, having passed through Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, while in 2010, 1,665 kg of ivory was seized in Hai Phong Port, Viet Nam, again having come via Malaysia.
In August last year, Wildlife officers seized two tonnes of elephant ivory and five rhino horns at Kenya’s international airport, which were to be illegally shipped to Malaysia.
четверг, 13 января 2011 г.
TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - Rhino poaching in South Africa reaches new high
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The yearly total is the highest ever experienced in South Africa and nearly triple 2009 when 122 rhinos were killed in the country. An additional six rhinos have been lost to poaching since the New Year.
Kruger National Park, the world famous safari destination, was hardest hit losing 146 rhinos to poaching in 2010, authorities said. The park is home to the largest populations of both White and Black Rhinos in the country. Nationwide, South Africa is home to approximately 21,000 rhinos, more than any other country in the world.
Rhino poaching across Africa has risen sharply in the past few years, threatening to reverse hard-won population increases achieved by conservation authorities during the 20th century.
The first alarming yearly spike occurred in 2008 when 83 rhinos were lost. South Africa has responded by intensifying its law enforcement efforts, and made approximately 162 poaching arrests last year.
The recent killing increase is largely due to heightened demand for rhino horn, which has long been prized as an ingredient in traditional Asian medicine. It has been claimed recently that rhino horn possesses cancer-curing properties, despite there being no medical evidence to support the assertion.
“Only a concerted international enforcement pincer movement, at both ends of the supply and demand chain, can hope to nip this rhino poaching crisis in the bud,” said Tom Milliken, Director of TRAFFIC’s East and Southern Africa programme.
Milliken pointed to recently established co-ordination links between officials in South Africa and Viet Nam, the country heavily implicated in the recent poaching surge.
The current wave of poaching is being committed by sophisticated criminal networks using helicopters, night-vision equipment, veterinary tranquilizers and silencers to kill rhinos at night while attempting to avoid law enforcement patrols.
“The criminal syndicates operating in South Africa are highly organized and use advanced technologies. They are very well co-ordinated,” said Dr Joseph Okori, WWF African Rhino Programme Manager.
“This is not typical poaching.”
среда, 12 января 2011 г.
TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - Indigenous peoples key to timber trade policy
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The comments came in a statement made to members of the International Tropical Timber Trade Organization (ITTO) by the organization’s Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG).
According to the statement, there is“a growing trend in a rebalancing of the voices shaping policies and decisions in the forest sector. Indigenous peoples and community-based organizations…are increasingly shaping decisions in the forest sector, extending to forest management, trade and market decision-making, and to promotion of SFM {Sustainable Forest Management} and equitable and just conservation models that respect rights and tenure of communities, indigenous peoples and vulnerable minorities and women.”
The statement also noted the challenge facing ITTO on how its members could advance legal trade and Sustainable Forest Management without creating a barrier to segments of the tropical timber industry.
“Good governance is a prerequisite for countries to move forward on a sustainable timber trade policy and ITTO is uniquely placed to ensure this can happen,” said Chen Hin Keong, TRAFFIC's Global Forest Trade Programme Leader and Co-chair of ITTO’s Civil Society Advisory Group.
Indonesia has already signalled an interest in hosting an international conference on tenure and governance in forestry and timber trade, in 2011.
According to Chen, such a conference“would enable ITTO and its member countries to engage actively with civil society and forest communities in Asia and share lessons on tenure and governance reforms.”
The CSAG statement also noted the rapidly rising importance of domestic and regional markets, which would create an increasing number of opportunities for smallholder and community enterprises, as well as other levels within the timber industry.
“The domestic and regional timber trade is big and will only get bigger,” said Chen.“The challenge is to ensure this happens in a sustainable manner, with fair-sharing of the benefits from those who will profit from it.”
CSAG also recommended ITTO applies sustainable harvesting standards for wild forest biodiversity that comply with those discussed at October’s meeting of the Convention on Bioloical Diversity (CBD CoP 10) and that the ITTO should include more work on non-timber forest products (NTFPs).
Finally, the CSAG also called for strengthened collaboration between ITTO and CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), on both threatened timber species and other non-timber forest products that may be at risk of over-exploitation.
Thefull statementmade by the CSAG to ITTO (PDF, 50 KB).
вторник, 11 января 2011 г.
TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - Red Panda trade highlighted
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Red PandasAilurus fulgensare the only“true” panda species; they are found in mountainous forests of the Himalayas and adjacent mountain ranges in south-western China, ranging discontinuously from Central Nepal through Bhutan and North-East India (where it is the State animal in Sikkim) and Myanmar, into the Tibetan Autonomous Region, Yunnan, Sichuan and even into the Qingling Mountains in Shaanxi, China.
The attractively coloured fur of Red Pandas has long held an appeal to people, and the animals have traditionally been hunted, for example to make hats and coats worn by the Yi minority in Yunnan Province. Such garments are still worn today, although it remains unclear whether they are from recently taken animals.
Today the Red Panda is afforded national protection throughout its range, and all commercial trade has been banned under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) since 1995.
The species is listed by IUCN as Vulnerable, with an estimated population of fewer than 10,000 fecund individuals.;)
The studies find little evidence of ongoing trade in Red Pandas for their fur: only one seizure of panda parts—a shipment of carcasses from Japan to the US in 1995—has been reported by Parties to CITES, while a study of wildlife trade along the Yunnan (China)–Vietnam border in the late 1990s found only one case of a Red Panda fur on sale.
However, Roland Melisch, who wrote a chapter about a preliminary assessment of Red Panda trade in Glatston’s publication said:“Although traditional hunting of Red Pandas for their fur appears to be mostly under control, fur and fur parts of Red Pandas are still occasionally reported as illegally offered and traded in Nepal. Furthermore, a completely new threat was revealed in 2009 when a business traveler visiting Guangdong, China, was offered fresh game meat from a caged Red Panda in a restaurant.”
The scale and potential threat posed by the capture of Red Pandas for human consumption is presently unknown, but the sale of wild meat is widespread in China’s southern provinces, despite government efforts to prevent the sale of protected species.
“International co-operation through wildlife enforcement networks, like SAWEN in South Asia and ASEAN-WEN in South-East Asia, can be an important mechanism for countries to work together to detect and deter illicit trafficking of Asia’s natural heritage,” said Samir Sinha, Head of TRAFFIC India.
“For a species that occurs naturally at low density, even low levels of hunting could pose a serious threat to Red Pandas and is a situation that demands close monitoring,” said Melisch.
понедельник, 10 января 2011 г.
TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - CITES: 35 years on, more resources needed
A team of scientists from the National University of Singapore and Oxford Brookes University published their deliberations today in the journalScienceon how they believe the effectiveness of CITES could be boosted.
CITES is an international agreement between governments that aims to ensure international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
The paper’s authors note that while credible biological and trade data are core to informing decisions and garnering political will and consensus among CITES Parties“many CITES Parties fail to systematically monitor and report international wildlife trade.”
“The net result is that analysis of available data often remains insufficient to identify species threatened by trade and to detect trade inaccuracies and loopholes,” says Vincent Nijman of Oxford Brookes University, and an author of theSciencestudy.
The collection of trade data only along easily accessed trade routes, such as at airports, is also problematic as it fails to convey the full scale of wildlife trade, say the authors.
To address these, and other issues, the paper calls for a much greater degree of co-ordination among CITES Parties, including initiatives already underway on enhanced data-sharing and analysis, such as the Wildlife Enforcement Monitoring System, and the planned illegal trade database.
The majority of such proposed solutions depend on enhanced active, sustained, and reciprocal engagement of CITES Parties with external partners, a process the authors recognize would by administratively demanding, costly, and politically challenging.
To meet these requirements, far greater resources are needed: as the report notes“The {CITES} Secretariat operates on meager party donations,” and it calls for“Parties, particularly importing nations, to increase contributions dramatically.”
“After 35 years, the CITES framework remains highly relevant,” says Nijman,“but only through increased resources can the Convention move toward proactive, real-time monitoring and regulation to strengthen wildlife trade enforcement and data quality.”
“These are vital improvements: a strengthened Convention is essential to protect imperiled biodiversity.”
The paper,Boosting CITESby Jacob Phelps, Edward L. Webb, David Bickford, Vincent Nijman and Navjot S. Sodhi is available through theSciencewebsite