The global illegal wildlife trade is estimated by Interpol to be worth $20 billion annually. A combination of poverty and rich-world demand is driving several thousand species towards extinction and the conservation sector has struggled to respond. Killing the Trade shows that with a shift in strategy, that dire situation can be turned on its head. By bringing together lessons from conservation successes and failures and incorporating insights from the commercial sector, the book sets out a workable holistic strategy to address the underlying causes of the illicit trade. Built around the guiding principle – if it pays it stays – the book provides policymakers, NGOs and other stakeholders with an action plan to help bring the multi-billion-dollar trade to an end.
Introduction
1. The Illegal Wildlife Trade Overview
2. Solving IWT
3. Monetising nature
4. Communities
5. Law enforcement
6. Disrupt the networks
7. Demand reduction
8. Human and financial capital
9. Showcasing the solution
10. Remind and revise
Richard Milburn MBE teaches the Environmental Security MA in the School of Security Studies at King's College London. He completed his PhD within the Department of War Studies, researching the links between wildlife conservation, security, peacebuilding and development, conducting fieldwork in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. He acts as the UK representative of the Pole Pole Foundation, a multi-award-winning Congolese conservation charity and Earthshot Prize finalist based in Bukavu.
"Finding ways to change the economic equation of the wildlife trade to make it a regulated sector that provides community income/livelihoods, advances conservation and protects endangered species is a vital objective. But the trade is multi-faceted and complex, requiring the dovetailing of tactical, local, national, international and strategic efforts to reduce demand, gain the active support of local communities and fight the criminal syndicates. This understanding of the nature of the trade and the urgent need to find ways of coordinating the fight against it are at the heart of Richard Milburn's detailed, evidence-based analysis. He identifies the problems and comes up with solutions, drawing on his first-hand field experience. A must-read for practical conservationists, wildlife NGOs, politicians making decisions about conservation, and conservation scientists."
– Keith Sommerville, author of Ivory