Manis culionensis

Pangolins, or scaly anteaters, are unique in being the world's only truly scaly mammals, but are in dire need of urgent conservation action. Pangolins have been subject to very little conservation or natural history research, and consequently, little is known about their biology, ecology, and conservation needs. It was in response to this predicament that the IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group was re-formed in 2012. Its first conference was held in Singapore in June 2013, and it is from this meeting that this conservation action plan was borne.

The key objective of this Workshop was to gather a ‘steering group’ of government departments, non-government organizations (NGOs) and research institutions in Southeast Asia to raise awareness of the magnitude of the pangolin trade and discuss how to combat the illegal trade. The outputs included a list of recommendations and follow-up actions to be circulated among relevant organizations, which would assist enforcement agencies in prioritizing and focusing their efforts to halt this illegal trade.