Overview of TRAFFIC programme

African elephants (Loxodonta africana). © WWF-Canon/Martin HARVEY TRAFFIC, together with its partners, WWF and IUCN, develops 10-year  strategic plans to ensure focus, direction and prioritization in its work. The activities planned contribute to the wildlife trade-related priorities of these partners.

Objectives

• protect wild animal and plant species from endangerment by trade
• safeguard priority ecoregions from the negative effects of wildlife trade
• conserve valuable wildlife resources for human needs
• promote international agreements and policies that encourage sustainability in wildlife trade

Methods

TRAFFIC uses a variety of approaches to achieving its objectives, including:

• Mobilization of knowledge: ensuring decision-makers at all levels apply sound knowledge to the scope, dynamics and conservation impact of wildlife trade and its response to different management measures and approaches
• Use of effective regulation: assisting governments to enact and implement policies and legislation that ensure trade in wild animals and plants is not a threat to the conservation of nature
• Use of positive economic incentives: collaborating with governments and the private sector to develop and adopt economic policies and practices that provide incentives and benefits that encourage the maintenance of wildlife trade within sustainable levels and support effective wildlife trade regulation
• Promotion of sustainable consumptive behaviour: encouraging users of wildlife commodities, at all levels, to ensure their use does not threaten the conservation of nature

Focal areas

TRAFFIC sets out to achieve measurable results in key areas that are reviewed every four years. Currently they are:

1) Early warning:
TRAFFIC aims to obtain market intelligence on emerging or newly discovered trade-related threats to wildlife, in order to catalyse appropriate responses towards them

2) Flagship species in trade:
TRAFFIC aims to make emergency interventions for selected species threatened by trade. Flagship species are those selected as ambassadors, or symbols for wider trade and conservation challenges, currently they are: elephants, Tiger and other Asian big cats, rhinoceroses, Great apes, Vicuna, Eurasian falcons, marine turtles, sturgeon and mahogany

3) Resource security:
TRAFFIC aims to support trade measures that help improve the security of key wildlife resources, such as timber, marine fisheries, traditional Asian medicines, medicinal plants, wild meat and trophy hunting

4) Wildlife trade hotspots:
TRAFFIC aims to focus action in priority trade centres where it can bring about greatest benefit, to reduce wildlife trade threats to species, resources and ecoregions

 

Targets

Targets for the four focal areas are as follows:

1) Early warning:
Appropriate action taken to curb newly emerging trade-related threats to wildlife

2) Flagship species in trade:

• Elephants - stronger regulations enacted and implemented to control trade in elephants and elephant products in key countries, and well-informed policy decisions agreed by Parties to CITES
• Tiger and other Asian big cats - better understanding of trade dynamics, including the use of alternatives in traditional medicine products, leading to enhanced conservation of Asian big cats
• 
  White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) Female with very long horn and calf. © WWF-Canon/Martin HARVEYRhinoceroses - improvements in horn stockpile management and related law enforcement in key Asian and African range States and transit/export countries
• Great apes - more effective regulations and enforcement to control trade in live orang-utans and gibbons in Southeast Asia and great apes in Central Africa
• Vicuna - improved decisions at all levels leading to better management programmes and controls on illegal trade within range States
• Eurasian falcons - enhanced efforts to stop illegal trade in certain species of Eurasian falcons, particularly Saker, in the European Union and key range States
• Marine turtles - increased knowledge of marine turtle trade dynamics, management systems and threats, leading to improvements in regulations and their implementation in priority range, trade, and consumer States
• Sturgeons - more effective regulation of trade in sturgeon and paddlefish products in key range States and consumer countries, combined with greater public awareness of trade issues and controls
• Mahogany - effective implementation of the CITES Appendix-II listing for Big-leaf Mahogany in the principal producer and consumer countries

3) Resource security:

• Timber - improved understanding of timber trade dynamics leading to improved trade national and international controls and monitoring systems
• Marine fisheries - strengthened conservation and management measures adopted and implemented by regional fisheries management organizations and key fishing countries, and more marine fisheries products derived from sustainable and/or legal sources
• Traditional Asian medicines - reduced risk to threatened animal species posed by their use in traditional Asian medicine in Asia, Europe and North America
• Medicinal plants - standards, criteria and management systems for sustainable sourcing of medicinal plants developed and applied in key range and consumer countries
• Wild meat - illegal and unsustainable trade in wild meat reduced in countries in Africa, Asia and South America
• Trophy hunting - "best practice" guidelines addressing key conservation, livelihood and economic concerns adopted in countries in East and Southern Africa

4) Wildlife trade hotspots:
Enhanced attention and action to resolve wildlife trade problems in globally important wildlife trade hotspots, specifically: illegal trade substantially reduced and sustainable trade promoted along China's borders; wildlife trade regulation and law enforcement enhanced and illegal trade reduced at key trade hubs in East/Southern Africa; the impact of legal and illegal trade on species and resources of concern reduced through actions along the European Union's eastern borders; understanding of trade dynamics in key Mexican markets strengthened and capacity increased to support improved wildlife trade management, regulation and enforcement; the quantity of illegal and unsustainable trade through key trade hubs in Southeast Asia reduced; conservation and management action from and within Indo-Melanesia improved

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