AIDS cure rumours short-lived: Tokay Geckos mainly traded for traditional medicine, finds new study

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 11th April 2013—A new TRAFFIC report finds that millions of Tokay Geckos are being harvested from the wild to supply the traditional medicine (TM) trade in East Asia. At the same time, the trade in Tokay Geckos for Novel Medicinal Claims (NMCs), including as a supposed cure for AIDS, has declined markedly.

Click to read more ...

VACANCY: Wildlife-TRAPS Project Leader

TRAFFIC is seeking a Project Leader for the USAID-funded ‘Wildlife Trafficking, Response, Assessment, Priority Setting’ (Wildlife-TRAPS) initiative.

Wildlife TRAPS is likely to focus on achieving a high impact with a tightly focused group of species products (i.e. including ivory and rhino horn) traded between Central and East & Southern Africa and East and South-East Asia.

The position will be based in Pretoria, South Africa

Closing date for applications: 3rd May 2013

More information

South-East Asia nations discuss integration of plant conservation targets into national policies

Singapore, 2013—Participants from countries across South-East Asia plus China met last month in Singapore to develop or update national and regional plant conservation targets consistent with the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC).

Click to read more ...

Marine turtle trade highlighted as Hainan launches Year of Aquatic Wildlife Conservation 2013

in Chinese

Hainan, China, April 2013—In support of Hainan Province’s annual initiative on aquatic wildlife conservation, TRAFFIC has urged stakeholders to continue their efforts to prevent illegal trade in marine turtles and other aquatic species.

Click to read more ...

Earth Hour platform boosts China outreach on illegal wildlife trade

Shanghai, China—The topic of illegal wildlife trade was brought to the fore during this year’s Earth Hour celebrations in China, marking its first time engagement with WWF’s signature campaign.

Click to read more ...

Engaging China’s youth in protecting marine turtles

in Chinese

Guangxi, China, March 2013—TRAFFIC has taken steps to engage the next generation of Chinese society in a campaign focused on preventing illegal trade of marine turtle products in Guangxi Province, bordering Viet Nam.

Click to read more ...

Largest seizure of Critically Endangered Ploughshare Tortoises made in Thailand

P.Tansom/TRAFFICBangkok, Thailand, 19 March 2013 – Just a day after the close a global wildlife trade conference here, authorities at Suvarnabhumi International Airport made two big seizures, discovering hundreds of threatened tortoises and apprehending two smugglers. Among the tortoises seized were some of the rarest in the world.

Click to read more ...

Government failure to support wildlife crime stoppers

UK, 18th March 2013 - As part of the response to the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) the UK government has announced it will not commit to long-term financial support for the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) beyond 2013-14. This team plays a vital role in preventing wildlife crime here in the UK, and is also a contributor in the global fight against the illegal wildlife trade.

Click to read more ...

Global wildlife trade conference closes with firm resolve

in Japanese

Bangkok, Thailand, 14th March 2013—Two weeks of inter-governmental negotiations on regulation of trade in wild animals and plants concluded today with some giant steps forward for global efforts to stamp out illegal wildlife trade and ensure sustainability of future trade in a range of valuable species.

Click to read more ...