Regulating Internet Trade in CITES Species

Sajeva, Maurizio; Augugliaro, Claudio; Smith, Matthew J.; Oddo, Eĺisabetta

doi:10.1111/cobi.12019

Cited by 81 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…In contrast, there have been few published studies of internet-traded plants. One study highlighted that at least 90% of international trade in Mexican cacti monitored over an internet auction site appeared to contravene international regulations (Sajeva et al 2013a). A similar lack of regulation was noted by Newton & Chan (1998) for international trade in succulent plants through the postal system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Our survey method misses actual recorded trade. This was addressed by Sajeva et al (2013a) by monitoring buyer−seller dialogues to confirm that a purchased plant was received. This was not an option in our study and so we assume that the extent of offers of plants for sale over the internet reflects levels of buyer interest.…”

Section: Internet Survey Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This was not an option in our study and so we assume that the extent of offers of plants for sale over the internet reflects levels of buyer interest. Cross-checking our survey re sults with the CITES trade database (also employed by Sajeva et al 2013a) indicated that if any of the sellers were trading CITES-listed species internationally between 2010 and 2013, then it was not done with official CITES permits. This could imply potentially unmonitored and unregulated international trade, or could simply be because such nursery and auction sites only trade nationally (or within the European Union).…”

Section: Internet Survey Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evidence that internet trade frequent ly bypasses CITES regulations (e.g. Sajeva et al 2013a) is therefore a problem for monitoring potentially legal trade, as well as preventing illegal trade.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, there is interest in techniques that can replace or improve the efficacy of expert evaluation in conservation (Burgman et al 2011, McBride et al 2012. For example, experts could monitor trade in endangered species over the internet, such as over online auction sites, to evaluate threats to wild populations and problems in enforcement or regulation (Sajeva et al 2013a); however, there is a considerable challenge in effectively monitoring the vast quantities of trade in species that occur over the internet.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Monitoring internet trade to inform species conservation actions

Vaglica¹,

Sajeva²,

McGough

et al. 2017

Endang. Species. Res.

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Specimens, parts and products of threatened species are commonly traded on the internet. This could threaten the survival of some wild populations. We outline 2 methods to monitor internet sales of species to assess potential threats and inform conservation actions. Our first method combines systematic monitoring of online offers of plants for sale with expert consultation. Our second method utilises a computational model, trained to expert-classified records using probabilistic inference, to predict unknown properties of the traded taxa. We used these methods to monitor internet trade in 5 genera of succulent plant species endemic to Madagascar, some of which have recently been listed for trade regulation under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). This revealed potential threats to wild populations: for instance, almost all species recorded were of high conservation concern, yet most offers for live plants were of apparently wild-collected specimens (85%). Our model predicted with 89% accuracy whether the plants were classified as propagated or wild collected by an expert, although accuracy dropped for data collected in the following summer. Our results highlight potential threats by internet trade to the survival of some CITES and non-CITES listed plant species from Madagascar. These should be addressed by further conservation actions and policy. More generally, our results reveal how standardised internet surveys can provide information on levels of trade in wild-collected threatened species that could impact on natural populations, and can provide data that can be incorporated into models to facilitate future monitoring and enforcement.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Internet Survey Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Internet Survey Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Monitoring internet trade to inform species conservation actions

Vaglica¹,

Sajeva²,

McGough

et al. 2017

Endang. Species. Res.

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The dark web trades wildlife, but mostly for use as drugs

et al. 2023

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Contemporary wildlife trade is massively facilitated by the Internet. By design, the dark web is one layer of the Internet that is difficult to monitor and continues to lack thorough investigation. Here, we accessed a comprehensive database of dark web marketplaces to search across c. 2 million dark web advertisements over 5 years using c. 7 k wildlife trade‐related search terms. We found 153 species traded in 3332 advertisements (c. 600 advertisements per year). We characterized a highly specialized wildlife trade market, where c. 90% of dark‐web wildlife advertisements were for recreational drugs. We verified that 68 species contained chemicals with drug properties. Species advertised as drugs mostly comprised of plant species, however, fungi and animals were also traded as drugs. Most species with drug properties were psychedelics (45 species), including one genera of fungi, Psilocybe, with 19 species traded on the dark web. The native distribution of plants with drug properties were clustered in Central and South America. A smaller proportion of trade was for purported medicinal properties of wildlife, clothing, decoration, and as pets. Synthesis and applications. Our results greatly expand on what wildlife species are currently traded on the dark web and provide a baseline to track future changes. Given the low number of advertisements, we assume current conservation and biosecurity risks of the dark web are low. While wildlife trade is rampant on other layers of the Internet, particularly on e‐commerce and social media sites, trade on the dark web may still increase if these popular platforms are rendered less accessible to traders (e.g., via an increase in enforcement). We recommend focussing on surveillance of e‐commerce and social media sites, but we encourage continued monitoring of the dark web periodically to evaluate potential shifts in wildlife trade across this more occluded layer of the Internet. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Illegal wildlife trade and the persistence of “plant blindness”

Margulies

Bullough

Hinsley

et al. 2019

Plants People Planet

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Societal Impact Statement A wide variety of plant species are threatened by illegal wildlife trade (IWT), and yet plants receive scant attention in IWT policy and research, a matter of pressing global concern. This review examines how “plant blindness” manifests within policy and research on IWT, with serious and detrimental effects for biodiversity conservation. We suggest several key points: (a) perhaps with the exception of the illegal timber market, plants are overlooked in IWT policy and research; (b) there is insufficient attention from funding agencies to the presence and persistence of illegal trade in plants; and (c) these absences are at least in part resultant from plant blindness as codified in governmental laws defining the meaning of “wildlife.” Summary This review investigates the ways in which “plant blindness,” first described by Wandersee and Schussler (1999, p. 82) as “the misguided anthropocentric ranking of plants as inferior to animals,” intersects with the contemporary boom in research and policy on illegal wildlife trade (IWT). We argue that plants have been largely ignored within this emerging conservation arena, with serious and detrimental effects for biodiversity conservation. With the exception of the illegal trade in timber, we show that plants are absent from much emerging scholarship, and receive scant attention by US and UK funding agencies often driving global efforts to address illegal wildlife trade, despite the high levels of threat many plants face. Our article concludes by discussing current challenges posed by plant blindness in IWT policy and research, but also suggests reasons for cautious optimism in addressing this critical issue for plant conservation.

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Regulating Internet Trade in CITES Species

Cited by 81 publications

References 1 publication

Monitoring internet trade to inform species conservation actions

Monitoring internet trade to inform species conservation actions

The dark web trades wildlife, but mostly for use as drugs

Illegal wildlife trade and the persistence of “plant blindness”

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