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USINFO Interactive: Wildlife Trafficking - January 3, 2008

Narrator:
This is USINFO Interactive.

Illegal wildlife trafficking is a growing problem and a major threat to global ecosystems. Driven by demand for exotic animals and products, and increasingly carried out by organized crime, the trade ranks with drugs and guns in terms of value. Today, we’ll explore the issue with Assistant Secretary of State Claudia McMurray, America’s lead diplomat in the fight against a growing threat. Stay with us....

Environmental problems of all kinds have become a global concern. The clearest and best-known example of a truly global threat to the earth is climate change. But there are many other problems that are occurring every day across the world that pose serious threats not only to the environment, but to economies and security.

One of these threats is the illegal trade in wildlife. The relation of human populations to the wildlife around them differs across the world. For example, the vast majority Americans do no have regular contact with wildlife. But in Africa, many populations are directly affected by the health of the wildlife around them. McMurray explains:

McMurray:
Some people care about wildlife inherently; they think it is important to know wildlife exists somewhere, but I can’t make that case to everybody. I think what you have to look at is what we talk about as ecosystems now. It’s really quite simple. It means that we are all interrelated; that wildlife and trees and water and human health and all those things have a connection, and that wildlife actually contributes to the health of a particular area. We might not see that as much in the United States because our areas where wildlife exists are a little more isolated, but the countries in Africa see this all the time, where they are very reliant on wildlife for the health of the forest and the health of the water that they drink.

Narrator:
The importance and value of healthy ecosystems is becoming more and more apparent as knowledge advances and natural resources disappear. Healthy wildlife populations are a crucial part of maintaining healthy human populations. But these services are under threat by the black market trade in wildlife. Next, we’ll see just how big the problem is.

In recent years, illegal trade in wildlife has grown so much that it rivals habitat loss as a threat to endangered species of plants and animals. Quite literally, many animals have a price on their head.

The estimates on the trade in live animals are staggering. There are probably 25 to 40,000 primates traded per year – some for pets and some for food - so called “bushmeat”. Two to three million live birds are for sale per year.. The illegal trade has become very profitable. A single Golden Lion Tamarin, a species of primate, is worth about $20,000. One gram of coral snake venom can be worth about $30,000. These prices are driving more organized crime syndicates to engage in this black market. McMurray told us how nongovernmental organizations and the U.S. government realized that action was needed:

McMurray:
We were looking at the overall issue of threats to wildlife and what the different aspects were and what we might be able to make a difference on in a short time. Because there are things like human population pressures, habitat loss, all that that’s really tough things that takes lots of years and lots of funding to solve. But a lot of the non-governmental organizations came to us and said for a quicker solution the illegal trade in wildlife was something we actually might be able to make a dent in, because the estimates are it’s between 10 and 20 billion dollars in trade that goes globally around the world. Second, we think, or third, to the trafficking in drugs and people. So that to us was an important thing just for wildlife’s sake, of course, but also because of the heavy duty organized crime activity that seems to be a part of it.

Narrator:
Many people who are not knowledgeable about wildlife may not understand how the problem affects everyone. The affects have implications beyond the point of sale. Next, we’ll explore the real cost of the illegal wildlife trade.

Wildlife is an integral part of ecosystems and performs what are called ecosystem services. These services include pollination of crops by bees, water purification by wetlands and pest control by snakes. Without these services, provided for free by the environment, maintaining a high standard of living would be much more expensive. Illegal wildlife trade destroys ecosystems and the biodiversity that supports them, and once the health of the ecosystem is damaged, everything that depends on it, including humans are at risk.

We can see now that illegal wildlife trading has serious economic impacts on societies. The problem of invasive species is another result of the wildlife trade. Native species of plants and animals have been driven out by predators and competing species from other lands, often resulting in destroyed local economies. There are other, global impacts:

McMurray:
And then there’s a third element as well, which is health. A lot of these live animals that move carry the disease with them. We’ve seen it with the SARS virus, we’ve seen it with Ebola, and we’ve seen it with monkey pox that came into the U.S. Some of it came from animals that were imported into the U.S. – from rats or other kinds of pets. So people really I don’t think don’t realize that part of the threat, too that there is a real danger of a human virus coming out of an animal disease.

Narrator:
Illegal wildlife trading profits organized crime and destroys biodiversity. With the scale of the trade at such a high level, how do governments start to address the problem? The first step is to find out where the money goes and who is buying the animals.

There are two parts to the illegal wildlife trade. One part is played by organized crime and their suppliers in the countries where wildlife is collected. McMurray tells us about the other side of the problem:

McMurray:
We also are having a tremendous problem with demand. There are two big markets for these products in the world. The first is China, traditional Chinese medicine, tiger bone, rhino horn, lots of other things as well, shark fins, but the U.S. is number two. We bring in an awful lot of pets, mostly, reptiles, turtles, snakes, rare birds from the Amazon, from other places, so we have a different sort of problem. So what we decided there is to create the public awareness to make tourists, for instance when they go to other countries make them know the difference between legal and illegal products.

Narrator:
Education of the public is one the first steps to addressing this worldwide problem. Next, we discuss what it will take to halt the illegal trade in wildlife.

Addressing these problems requires the cooperation and commitment of all countries. The State Department works with other federal agencies to create this cooperation through a variety of global, regional and bilateral approaches.

To confront the growing threats to global wildlife from poaching and illegal trade, the State Department created the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking. This coalition brings the public and private sectors together to help countries share information and improve law enforcement. The coalition also helps educate people around the world that their quality of life is diminished, not improved, by purchasing endangered wildlife products. McMurray explains how these programs go about addressing the core problems of the trade:

McMurray:
We really have to think a little bit about the root causes of the problem rather than try to change behavior on the turn of a dime.

When you go behind the problem a little bit more, I think what you discover, at least in places like India and parts of Africa, there is an economic driver, it’s the organized crime, yes, but there’s a local person who is helping them get these supplies of either gorillas or tigers whatever it is, but there’s a facilitator there somewhere, and this is how they make their livelihood. So what we really need to look at, and we have been through a number of AID programs, and other ways is how you find some other means of support and livelihood for these individuals. So we have to think creatively than saying no, you can’t do this. And even just writing them a check to try and counterbalance, that doesn’t really work, either. You have to be a little more thoughtful about what the alternative is.

Narrator:
The U.S. recognizes that it's going to require not only the efforts of governments but of nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and of average citizens everywhere. Given the challenges we face and the fact that they're not limited by national borders, in the future, progress against illegal wildlife trafficking will increasingly rely on partnerships.

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