conservation investment

How conservation investment could be a lifeline for endangered species

The Financial Times published this article about conservation investment in November, 2019.  Read the full article here. Summary: When the Zoological Society of London in July unveiled a $50m “rhino impact bond” the response was “off the charts”, according to Oliver Withers, the organisation’s head of conservation finance. “It got to the point that we were not in a position to handle...

Zambia NCRBA calls for suspension of trophy hunting until communities receive funds owed

Published in Africa Geographic September 26, 2019. Read the article here Summary: Africa Geographic reports that The Zambia National Community Resources Board Association (ZNCRBA) has called for the immediate suspension of trophy hunting in all hunting blocks until the government releases all funds owed to communities through the individual Community Resource Boards (CRBs). The CRBs have now...
CITES rhinos

South Africa’s proposal to CITES on White and Black Rhino

  Summary: The South African Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy, requested public comment of a scientific nature on her proposal to: 1. Enable the international trade in white rhino horn by down-listing the white rhino on CITES. 2. Increase the annual quota of black rhinos for trophy hunting in South Africa, from the current five males to an unspecified number....

COVID-19: wildlife trade and communities: a selection of recently published articles

We are sharing some links to recent COVID-19 related news articles and papers recommended in the IUCN SULi Digest March and April 2020 Edition. Wildlife trade and trade bans Despite COVID-19, using wild species may still be the best way to save them by Dilys Roe Wildlife trade: Regulated markets involving local communities, ‘essential’ to balance humans and nature, Ivonne Higuero,...
mexico wildlife coronavirus

Wildlife trade in Mexico, conservation, and pandemics

As Mexico reels from the coronavirus (COVID-19) economic devastation and public health disaster, Vanda Felbab-Brown writes in a recently published article in brookings.edu, it also needs to rethink its relationship with nature. To prevent another zoogenic pandemic, it is crucial to preserve natural habitats; carefully monitor legal trade in wildlife; eliminate transmission points where the...
coronavirus and snakes

Snakes make good food. Banning farms won’t help the fight against coronavirus

Originally published in The Conversation  authored by Daniel Natusch, Macquarie University; Graham Alexander, University of the Witwatersrand; Ngo Van Tri, and Patrick Aust, University of Oxford The wildlife trade has long been closely linked to disease outbreaks. It has been implicated in the SARS epidemic of 2002, Ebola in 2013 and now in the COVID-19 coronavirus. In response to the COVID-19...

Humans aren’t the Virus

“There have been many plagues in the world as there have been wars, yet plagues and wars always find people equally unprepared.” - Albert Camus  From Counterpunch by FIORE LONGO APRIL 24, 2020   It’s time for a confession. Not long ago, I was sitting on the floor in a remote part of India and was given a plate of rice and meat. As a daughter of the Western world, I couldn’t stop...

Botswana – Integrating wildlife into rural economy is key to its survival

This article appeared in the Mail and Guardian (South Africa) 13 Mar 2019. By Maxwell Gomera, Liz Rihoy In 2014, the president of Botswana, Ian Khama, introduced a ban on hunting, saying it had contributed to poaching and “catastrophic” declines in wildlife, negatively affecting tourism. At the same time, the government sanctioned the unofficial use of a shoot-to-kill policy to deter...

Submission to UN Human Rights Commission Consultation on Biodiversity and Human Rights

Rural Community Leaders in Dialogue with Dr David Boyd The following comments are respectfully submitted to Dr David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment in response to the questionnaire ‘Healthy Ecosystems and Human Rights: Sustaining the Foundations of Life’.  These comments are submitted on behalf of a network of rural community leaders engaged in Community...
trophy hunting

The Elephant Debate: upholding democracy, human rights and conservation

This article by Masego Madzwamuse and Liz Rihoy, was published 01 March 2019 in mmegi - an online and weekly print English language newspaper in Botswana. It is part of a number of opinion pieces on the Elephant Debate. For decades Botswana has maintained an enviable international reputation as an ‘African miracle’ due in large part to its robust democracy, sound governance systems and...