Mapping Attitudes on Illegal Wildlife Trade: Implications for Management and Governance

Abstract

Illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is a problem affecting societies and ecosystems. However, it remains unclear which management strategies are suitable for addressing this issue, particularly when considering the diversity of actors, interests, and nuances of the problem. We argue that inclusive management strategies require multiple—and, at times, even opposite—actors to coalesce around the fundamentals of the problem. An initial step towards formulating management strategies is identifying how the multiple actors involved understand the problem and its possible solutions (i.e., their attitudes). Although previous studies have addressed actors’ attitudes regarding IWT, they have rarely evaluated how attitudes vary among different actors. Against this backdrop, this study uses mixed methods to evaluate convergences in the attitudes of multiple actors (e.g., poachers, authorities, and police forces, among others) in Colombia. Importantly, this work has revealed that diverse IWT-related attitudes exist and are not necessarily shaped by contextual factors (e.g., social relations); instead, they are explained by actors’ experiences and preferred governance forms. We argue that IWT management must advance towards reconciling attitudes, bridging complementary actors, and fostering the institutionalisation of narratives at multiple scales.