The Rufford Foundation

The aim of this project, which was commissioned by the CITES Secretariat, was to compile up-to-date information on current trade in Saiga products and derivatives, focusing on some key areas.

Reports from non-governmental organizations have raised concerns about the scale of illegal trade in merbau, a timber from nine species in the genus Intsia and there is concern over the sustainability of harvests from natural merbau populations. The study on which this report is based, funded by Bundesamt für Naturschutz, the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), aimed to investigate in detail the international trade in merbau timber and to provide scientific and current data on the population status, harvest management and trade in these species.

Shortly after the 2002 conclusion of the TRAFFIC surveys the Viet Nam Government prohibited the use and exploitation of wild marine turtles with Government Decree 48/2002/ND-CP. In 2003 the government undertook an awareness campaign to educate relevant government agencies and souvenir business owners/managers that the sale of marine turtle products was illegal.The Vietnamese Government, with assistance from IUCN, WWF, TRAFFIC and the Danish Government, formulated in 2004 a Marine Turtle Conservation Action Plan to 2010 in Viet Nam (MTCAP) (MoFI, 2004).

Since 1997, TRAFFIC has been carrying out country surveys of trade in ivory and, in some cases, live elephants. In 2006/2007, TRAFFIC set out to compile existing and new information on the trade in elephants and elephant products in Thailand in consultation with relevant experts and stakeholders, including carvers, traders, retailers and government regulators.

This report is the third in an annual series on emerging trends in China’s wildlife trade. that aim to highlight wildlife trade trends in threatened and at-risk wildlife, with an emphasis on the impact of China’s trade on globally important biodiversity “hotspots”. These hotspots have a crucial influence on the survival of endangered species, where conservation action to reduce wildlife trade threats can bring about the greatest benefit. While these hotspots might be problem areas at present, they offer great opportunities for conservation success if action is effective.

The implications of unsustainable wild meat exploitation for wildlife management and livelihoods in the refugee hosting areas of north-west Tanzania are rarely acknowledged by all the relevant stakeholders. This study takes a focussed look at wild meat use in refugee situations in north-western Tanzania, associated impacts, driving forces, and the appropriateness of some of the management interventions taken to date. The study outlines why enforcement of wildlife laws and regulations cannot address the drivers of unsustainable wild meat use in these, and other, refugee hosting areas.

TRAFFIC's findings in this report provide strong evidence that China's trade ban has been effective at reducing the market for Tiger products, particularly traditional medicines. Still, illegal trade remains a threat. China's progress in Tiger conservation, especially Tiger trade, would almost certainly be undone if China's market for Tiger products were re-opened.