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‘Wildlife trade’ the commercial use by people of wild animal and plant resources, is a key issue at the heart of our relationship with nature. In India, this could range from tribal communities collecting a variety of non timber forest products for sustenance to fishermen going out to sea every day to make a catch or traditional healers using local floral derivatives for healthcare. Use of wildlife resources for food, fuel, timber etc. is well documented.
While most of this trade is legal, a significant portion of it is not. Illegal wildlife trade is perhaps the second largest illegal trade globally, a form of Organised Transnational Crime. It ranges from timber, sea food, live birds, reptile skins, caviar, tiger and leopard skins and body parts to corals, hunting trophies etc.
Despite the considerable progress made under national and international conservation initiatives, wildlife trade continues to exist. In some countries, laws and management measures to ensure the legal trade remains at sustainable levels and illegal wildlife trade is eradicated simply do not exist, and in some countries these are poorly implemented.
India, one of the biodiversity hotspots of the globe, is also a target for illegal wildlife trade. This illegal trade has taken a heavy toll on India’s already endangered flora and fauna. It continues to deplete its living natural resources at an alarming rate. This is because it has become big business and is organised as such, even though unsustainable and illegal in its scope and form.
While most of this trade is legal, a significant portion of it is not. Illegal wildlife trade is perhaps the second largest illegal trade globally, a form of Organised Transnational Crime. It ranges from timber, sea food, live birds, reptile skins, caviar, tiger and leopard skins and body parts to corals, hunting trophies etc.
Despite the considerable progress made under national and international conservation initiatives, wildlife trade continues to exist. In some countries, laws and management measures to ensure the legal trade remains at sustainable levels and illegal wildlife trade is eradicated simply do not exist, and in some countries these are poorly implemented.
India, one of the biodiversity hotspots of the globe, is also a target for illegal wildlife trade. This illegal trade has taken a heavy toll on India’s already endangered flora and fauna. It continues to deplete its living natural resources at an alarming rate. This is because it has become big business and is organised as such, even though unsustainable and illegal in its scope and form.
