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FORUM: Special Conference ISSUE: Preventing illegal trafficking of wild flora and fauna

STUDENT OFFICER: JuHyeong Ha

POSITION: President of Special Conference

Introduction

The rate at which the amount of wild life is diminishing on our planet is noticeable. In the past few decades alone, over 50 percent of the world’s wild flora and fauna have gone extinct. Some scientists refer to our era as the sixth period of mass extinction. However, unlike previous mass extinctions, which were driven by natural phenomena, this one has a different cause: the human race. Humans are undoubtedly the most influential species in the world. However, this influence is not always positive. From discharging excessive amounts of green house gases to deforestation and illegal trafficking of wild animals, humans have expedited extinction. In particular, the severity of wild life trafficking has become more serious. An extreme case of illegal trade is ivory trafficking. In 1979, the global population of African elephants was estimated to be around 1.3 million. However, as a result of uncontrolled ivory trade along with environmental damage to the elephant’s natural habitat, only 600,000 remained in 1989. In spite of significant decrease in elephant population, the demand for ivory is rising. Therefore, raising awareness of this issue will be a first step to stamping out illicit trade of animal products.

Key Terms

Flora and fauna Plants and animals. TIANMUN 2017 Special Conference – 2

Period of mass extinction Also known as extinction event or biotic crisis, a period of mass extinction is a rapid decrease in the biodiversity on Earth. In order to be considered as mass extinction, there should be a sharp decrease in the diversity and abundance of multicellular organisms.

Poaching Poaching is the illegal taking of wildlife, in violation of local, state, federal or international law.

Habitat destruction Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered unable to support the species present.

History

Poaching in the 1700s Even though the history of poaching reaches back to a much earlier time period, poaching became prevalent in Western Europe in 1700s. This was mainly because rural poverty was at the highest point around the 1700s, and many people had to rely on illegal animal trade to make a living. To counteract poaching, governments created traps and spring guns that would maim or even kill the poachers. In the 1830s, the law for poaching was relieved in Europe, thereby allowing people to hunt small animals and banning traps that were great threat to hunters.

Decrease in tiger population in the 1940s During the 1940s, the population of Siberian tigers, a species that mainly inhabits Russia, had significantly decreased due to poaching and habitat destruction. This illegal trade and deforestation lead to a 40% decrease in the Siberian tiger population as a whole. Based on the annual tiger survey, which has 16 monitoring sites scattered across tiger’s range, less than 30 tigers were counted in the monitoring TIANMUN 2017 Special Conference – 3 areas in 1940s. Fortunately, the effort from many institutions and countries substantially increased the number of individuals up to 500 in 2005.

Seal hunting Seal hunting, often called sealing, is a hunting of seals for commercial purpose. Seal hunting is currently taking place in nine countries: Canada, the United States, Namibia, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Finland, and Sweden. Among those nine countries, seal hunting is most brisk in Canada. From 1952 to 1970, Harp Seal population in the northwest Atlantic declined to approximately 2 million due to Canada’s annual kill rate, which averages 291,000. Even though hunting of newborn harp seals is outwardly banned in Canada, still countless young harp seals are killed by hunters who benefit from soft white far.

Problems Raised

Harm balance of nature Since all the ecosystem is closely related to each other, overexploitation of species can affect the whole system of nature. For example, overfishing does not only affects the marine ecosystem but also affects the land animals that mainly prey on fish. Wild life trade can further harm the nature by introducing invasive species. Many invasive species are purposely introduced to the ecosystem through illegal trade of animals, which threaten the balance of nature.

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Human livelihood

Although most countries have formed well-developed civilizations, there are still some places where people live in harmony with nature. These rural households in these areas mainly depend on local wild animals for food, and on local trees for fuel. Furthermore, wild flora and fauna provide components for many widely used medicines. Unlike people in cities who do not directly feel the impact of environmental exploitation, many people who live rural lifestyles are affected by such changes in the ecosystem.

International Actions

Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA) Migratory Bird Treaty Act was first enacted in 1916 by the United States, Great Britain, Mexico, Japan, and Russia to protect migrating birds from being hunted and sold for the profit. This act applies to both live and dead birds, and protects any bird parts, including feathers, eggs and nests. However, the migratory Bird Treaty Act allows birds to be captured for scientific, educational, or other approved purposes.

The London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade On February 13, 2014, the United Kingdom assembled representatives from 46 different countries and 11 organizations to address wildlife crime. At this conference, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague claimed that wildlife trafficking is as grave as, if not more grave than, drug trafficking and that further measures must be taken to shut down this global criminal industry. As a result of this conference, a declaration was signed, identifying several key categories of action: eradicating the market for illegal products, ensuring effective legal frameworks and deterrents, strengthening law enforcement, and achieving sustainable livelihoods and economic development to combat illegal wildlife trade.

Key Players

Wildlife Alliance TIANMUN 2017 Special Conference – 5

Wildlife Alliance, an international non-profit organization that works for wildlife and forest conservation, was found in 1994 by the group of American and British conservationists under the name Global Survival Network, and reorganized in 1999 as WildAid. The organization restructured itself again in 2006, dividing into two separate organizations: WildAid and Wildlife Alliance. Wildlife Alliance currently has programs and partnership with Cambodia, and it is headquartered in New York City with offices in Phnom Penh. From 2001, Wildlife Alliance saved over 56,000 animals from poachers and illegal trafficking. One such example of Wildlife Alliance’s ongoing program is Care for Rescued Wildlife. This program has ensured that all the rescued animals would receive expert treatment, natural enclosures, a healthy diet, and trained veterinary care for as long as necessary.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) World Wildlife Fund is an international non-governmental organization that works in the field of wilderness preservation and reduction of humanity’s footprint on the environment. This organization was found in 1961, and now became the world’s largest conservation organization with over five million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries with around 1,300 environmental projects. World Wildlife Fund is currently trying to tackle illegal wildlife trade through the Wildlife Crime Technology Project. This project aims to provide rangers with affordable wildlife tracking devices and rifle shot recognition software. By doing so, the governing bodies will have head start against poachers and thus will be able to counteract poaching more efficiently.

ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) TIANMUN 2017 Special Conference – 6

The ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network was found on December 1, 2005, as a regional inter- agency and inter-governmental initiative to stand against illegal cross-board trade of flora and fauna. ASEAN-WEN is comprised of ten countries including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand forming an intergovernmental law- enforcement network. ASEAN-WEN promotes implementation of national wildlife protection laws and international species protection treaties to eradicate illegal wildlife trafficking happening in Southeast Asia by disassembling major wildlife trafficking network.

Possible Solutions

Enhanced supervision of illegal trafficking Governments can establish organizations where wildlife law enforcement officers are raised and sent across the globe to identify illegally sold or illegally procured items before they cross borders. Well trained officers can also tighten the supervision of traded products. These organizations will prevent illegal trade from of flora and fauna.

Employing surveillance technology

Innovative drone technology is being tested in Kenya. In addition to the benefit of night vision with thermal imaging, drone technology allows rangers to remotely check a large area. Although this technology is not yet perfect, initial trials have proved successful and it may be utilizable in the near future.

Enforce CITES through national and regional legislation CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. CITES works as a guideline that directs the countries how to act against illegal wildlife trafficking, but not all the countries perfectly suit for CITES. Therefore, discrepancies between countries in their legislation based on CITES recommendations need to be examined. Countries which have successfully integrated CITES into TIANMUN 2017 Special Conference – 7 national legislation can assist other countries to strengthen legal frameworks and their implementation, particularly those with insufficient resources to enforce legislation and prosecute smugglers.

Timeline

Date Event May 25, 1900 Lacey Act of 1900 Jul 13, 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 Dec 28, 1973 Endangered Species Act of 1973 July 1, 1975 CITES Feb 13, 2014 The London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade

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