A TRAFFIC survey of seventy-two online platforms found a staggering 1,267 CITES listed species for sale in Central African countries and Nigeria between March 2018 and January 2021. In delivering these findings to the governments of the countries involved, TRAFFIC seeks to bolster national legislation to regulate these online sales …
The export of fish and fish products from India is not a post-Independence phenomenon. Fish export statistics are available from mid-nineteenth century onwards. Princely states like Travancore and Cochin had vibrant export trade. Dried fish and prawns, fish oil, shark fins, sea cucumber, fishmeal
cities are slowly gnawing at the most fertile and productive lands. This was revealed in a study conducted by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (nasa) scientists. Though construction activity has been carried out on only three per cent of land in the us, the resulting loss in plant growth was …
The din over individual species nearly drowned the debate on the sustainable use of natural resources at the recently concluded 12th Conference of Parties (cop-12) of the Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species (cites). The latter issue
the 12th Conference of Parties (cop-12) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (cites), held in Chile between November 3 and November 15, breathed a fresh lease of air into wildlife management. It brought sustainable use and economic incentives back on the agenda. Three African states were allowed …
In the largest ever haul of ivory in China, a 3.6-tonne shipment from Kenya was seized in Shanghai. The consignment, intercepted at Waigaoqiao Port, included 64 packages of smuggled ivory containing 303 whole tusks and 408 tusks that were cut into smaller pieces. The heaviest piece weighed more than 10 …
the Jammu and Kashmir High Court recently passed an order directing the state government to effectively enforce the ban on sale and manufacture of shahtoosh shawls. Though the court had prohibited trade in shahtoosh shawls in 2000, the sale and manufacture of the shawls continued clandestinely. Shahtoosh is obtained by …
Amazonian mahogany may literally be deadwood soon. Because at the current rate of deforestation, there may be no more of it in eight years. Despite these warnings, London's appeal court has allowed the import of a shipment of the precious endangered wood into the country. Two senior judges threw out …
An illegal wildlife trade racket has been unearthed in Africa. In January 2002, four lowland gorillas from the zoological garden at Nigeria's University of Ibadan were transferred to Taiping Zoo in Malaysia. Now, the secretariat of the global Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (cites) is probing into the alleged …
Zambia and Kenya are set to lock horns over ivory trade at the next Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (cites) meeting scheduled for November 2002. While a proposal to lift the international ban on ivory trade has been put forth by the Zambian government, Kenya is likely to …
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently announced the launching of a coordinated plan for surveying and managing sturgeon stocks by Caspian Sea countries. The programme will pave the way for a resumption of the US $100-million caviar industry. "For the first time, the Caspian Sea's wild sturgeon populations are …
the International Whaling Commission (iwc) has never faced such a threat to its very existence. The 53rd meeting of the iwc, held in London from July 23-27, is a definitive pointer to it. As its 43-member countries stood sharply polarised on the line of pro and anti-whaling, the meeting discussed …
The world's three biggest caviar-exporting nations have agreed to stop sturgeon fishing in the Caspian Sea for the rest of this year to save the fish from extinction. Sturgeons of the Caspian Sea are threatened due to the increasing demand for their pickled unfertilised eggs called caviar. The sea is …
The government of the state of Jammu and Kashmir (j & k) is in a fix on the issue of trade in shahtoosh, high-quality wool from the neck-hair of the endangered Tibetan antelope, known as chiru. On May 1, 2000, the High Court of j & k had ruled that …
the world's largest rookery of the highly endangered Olive Ridley turtle, Gahirmatha beach in Orissa, is fast becoming their largest graveyard, too. This year's record-breaking mass nesting of 800,000 turtles sent waves of jubilation among conservationists. But, the figure of 6,000 dead turtles washed ashore ebbed this jubilation. Last year …
Growing global concerns over environmental issues has once again underlined the need for an effective and vigilant environmental forum with a valid mandate that would provide concrete guidance to all nations. While the number of environmental forum and institutions have proliferated over the years yet concrete policy decisions along with …
Defying international wildlife treaties, the Malawi government recently ordered officials and commercial hunters to begin the killing of Nile crocodiles. "The government has taken such a decision because the reptiles have killed and injured a number of local villagers,' said Harry Thomson, the country's environmental affairs minister. Malawi is a …
While tiger parts, ivory and sandalwood smuggling continue to attract all the public attention, what India is losing is its medicinal wealth to well-organised smuggling networks run by thousands of Veerappans all across the country. Mum's the word on the trade practices, while forests, whether in the north, south, east …
It is a common sight near every forest area to see loaded trucks making their way through the dark cover of the night. The first thought that crosses one’s mind is that they are weighed down with timber. Wrong. Many times, what is being carried out is the herbal treasure …
