A planet in crisis

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The Trade in Wild Species

THE NEED FOR URGENT ACTION

The triple threats of biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, and climate change require urgent global action. The IUCN Red List 2022 shows that there has been no reduction in the rate at which species are moving towards extinction. The World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2023 cites biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse as one of the fastest deteriorating global risks over the next decade.

Incremental change is not sufficient – we need transformative action at scale to halt and reverse biodiversity loss to achieve a nature-positive future.

Legal and sustainable trade for a nature-positive future

Billions of people around the world use wild species for food, energy, materials, medicine, and other contributions to human well-being.

Global supply chains for wild species have significantly expanded in volume, value and trade over the past decades, providing income and sustaining livelihoods for hundreds of millions of the world’s poor. But the growing trade has created significant pressure on the planet’s ecoysystems and species.

After piloting new tools and approaches over the past few years, we now know more about what works to accelerate the sustainability of production and trade, responsible consumption, and supply chain transparency and traceability.

Illegal trade: a conservation crisis

The global trafficking of wild species is expanding, driving many species towards extinction and threatening global security and public health

Illegal trade of wild species – one of the most profitable criminal activities worldwide – fuels biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, economic losses, and corruption. Trafficking is estimated to be worth up to USD23 billion a year, with almost every country in the world playing a role in the illegal trade.

Stronger legal frameworks and international investment standards, social and behaviour change, more robust monitoring and enforcement capacity, and community empowerment are critical to reducing trafficking.