TRAFFIC North America

Region: Canada, Mexico, USA, plus the US Territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands
Offices: USA, Canada, Mexico
Founded: 1998
1st Director: Nicole Duplaix
Current Acting Director: Crawford Allen
Contact Details

Regional overview
North America is one of the world’s largest wildlife consuming and exporting regions, with a generally affluent population creating an immense demand for luxury wildlife items. The USA is the world’s greatest consumer of wildlife products and a centre of wildlife commerce. There is extensive cross-border trade between the three countries in the region.

Office history and key wildlife trade decisions in the region
Although a national office was established in 1979, the regional programme only began in 1998, with national offices in Canada and Mexico opening thereafter.

1993: published a guide highlighting issues related to harvesting of bulbs and wildflowers (The gardener’s guide to plant conservation)
1994: published essential reference guide to traditional Chinese medicine in the region (Prescription for extinction: Endangered species and patented Oriental medicines in trade)
1997: co-hosted international symposium on the trade of bear parts
1998: co-hosted a symposium on the harvest and trade of North American sturgeon and paddlefish; research into the US reptile trade (The US role in the international live reptile trade: Amazon Tree Boas to Zululand Dwarf Chameleons); surveyed the ginseng trade (American Ginseng: The root of North America’s medicinal herb trade); reported on the shark trade (Shark fisheries and trade in the Americas); published a follow-up study of threatened medicinal species (While supplies last: The sale of Tiger and other endangered species medicines in North America, 1996-1997) – US Congress passes the Rhino and Tiger Product Labelling Act;
1999: published CITES identification guide to turtles and tortoises (CITES identification guide—turtles & tortoises); published joint report with TRAFFIC East Asia into attitudes towards traditional medicines (A world apart? Attitudes toward traditional Chinese medicine and endangered species in Hong Kong and the United States)
2000: major report into the lucrative Big-leaf Mahogany trade published (Mahogany matters: The US market for Big-leafed Mahogany and its implications for the conservation of the species);
2001: report into exploitation of marine turtles in Caribbean region published (Swimming against the tide: recent surveys of exploitation, trade and management of marine turtles in the northern Caribbean)
2002: report into trade in Black Bears published (In the black: status, management and trade of the American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) in North America)
2003: bilingual reports into Chihuahuan Desert cacti trade published (Prickly trade: Trade and conservation of Chihuahuan Desert cacti); survey of North American caviar trade published (Status, management and trade of North American sturgeon and paddlefish)
2004: report into reptile trade in the Chihuahuan Desert (Collection, trade and regulation of reptiles and amphibians of the Chihuahuan Desert ecoregion); a comparison of attitudes to traditional medicines in two US cities published (A tale of two cities: A comparative study of traditional Chinese medicine markets in San Francisco and New York City); the ivory trade in the US studied (Tackling the ivories: The status of the US trade in elephant and hippo ivory)
2005: Canada’s implementation of CITES reviewed (CITES, Eh? A review of Canada's implementation of CITES under WAPPRIITA)
2007: report into the souvenir trade in the Caribbean published (Tourists, turtles and trinkets: a look at the trade in marine turtle products in the Dominican Republic and Colombia); major report into the salmon industry published (The great salmon run: Competition between wild and farmed salmon)