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methods described in these documents are designed to Concerns about trade in wild finches in Algeria enable NGO facilitators to use both livelihood and conser- vation criteria to select the most appropriate market sectors Songbird species across the globe suffer from excessive col- on which to focus. Guidance is provided on how to engage lection for trade. This trade can operate outside regulation key market actors, including private sector actors that con- and can lead to significant declines in wild populations. servationists may not traditionally interact with and who Songbirds such as finches are popular pets because of may not initially be interested in the environmental impacts their singing ability, cultural value, and in some cases the so- of their businesses. Tips are provided on how to frame cial status that owning them can offer. The European gold- discussions in terms of business interests, such as product finch Carduelis carduelis, serin Serinus serinus and common quality and sustainability of supply, and how these are linnet Linaria cannabina range across Europe, North Africa, related to sustainable use and conservation. Exercises the Middle East and East Asia and, although they are cate- are provided to help empower marginalized producers to gorized as Least Concern by IUCN, they are affected by a have the skills and confidence to negotiate with input range of factors that influence their conservation. The wild and service providers, as well as with traders, and with populations of serins and linnets are decreasing and, al- government agencies whose policies influence the business though the European goldfinch is increasing in numbers enabling environment. in some parts of its range, the population in North Africa A central element of the Participatory Market System is experiencing a drastic range reduction. Between and Development process is bringing together key market the species’ distribution declined by %intheregionas actors to map their current market system, increasing a result of the songbird trade (Khelifa et al., , Scientific their understanding of the roles of other actors and Reports, , ). From November to February the importance of communication and information flows we monitored Algeria’s most popular classified advertise- along the value chain. Through facilitated discussion of ment website, and from August to December we challenges and opportunities these actors can begin to iden- visited cities in Algeria. We searched the markets and tify simple strategies that they can implement to improve pet shops for wild animals in trade. The European goldfinch the system for mutual benefit. This process helps build and serin are included on the list of protected species, prohi- more transparent, fair and trusting relationships between biting all trade. producers and other market actors. The three species of finch were the most commonly The guidance documents include examples and case observed birds in markets and pet shops. European gold- studies of how these tools have been applied in a wide finches were offered for sale in of the cities we visited, range of FFI projects in Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Myanmar, serins in and common linnets in . We observed , Tanzania and other countries. Market sectors addressed European goldfinches, serins and linnets. In the on- include marine fisheries and non-timber forest products, line trade we found at least , goldfinches for sale in and involve the participation and empowerment of both advertisements. Serins and linnets were not traded online in women and men. In all cases well-governed local natural significant numbers, with only two and one individuals ob- resource management institutions, whether customary or served, respectively. Despite the illegal nature of these sales, newly established, have played a vital role in ensuring they are conducted openly, and no attempt was made to that local communities benefit from improved livelihoods conceal the birds. Prices for a European goldfinch were without overexploiting their natural resource base. Secure USD –, for a serin USD – and for a common linnet tenure, in the form of officially recognized locally managed USD –. A small number of birds were reported to be cap- marine areas or community forests, has been shown to be a tive bred (% in online sales), but the vast majority were said major enabling factor in the success of these initiatives. to have been taken from the wild. Vendors in every city in Strong links between support to market system develop- which there was significant trade of goldfinches reported ment and conservation outcomes are key to ensuring that the majority of birds were sourced in Morocco and that this approach incentivizes not just sustainable use smuggled across the border. but also has positive impacts on wider marine and forest Pet shops tended to have a small number of birds, aver- ecosystems. aging five goldfinches per shop. More were sold at the week- These newly published documents, together with a previ- ly markets (on average goldfinches) that take place on a ously published Learning Paper, are freely available at fauna- Friday or Saturday. Large-scale vendors, who store birds in a flora.org/approaches/livelihoods-governance/sustainable- warehouse and bring them in boxes to the weekly markets, economic-opportunities. stated that they tend to bring only sufficient birds to sell each week, whereas small-scale vendors return with caged birds HELEN SCHNEIDER ( orcid.org/0000-0001-8037-2047) on multiple weeks, seeking a good price for a bird of Fauna & Flora International, Cambridge, UK high quality. Based on repeat surveys in a single market E-mail [email protected] in Guelma, we found a minimum of % turnover within
Oryx, 2019, 53(3), 409–414 © 2019 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S003060531900022X Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.34.90, on 03 Oct 2021 at 20:12:08, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003060531900022X Conservation news 411
weeks. Extrapolating from this, there could be over , socarxiv/fgrd), which includes recommendations for re- goldfinches, , serins and , linnets sold per year in searchers and policymakers. The darknet is a network of the weekly markets we visited. The birds sold in the hun- websites that can be accessed only via special software that dreds of pet shops around the country, the weekly markets hides the details of the user’s connection, and allows we did not visit, and those sold online would add substan- websites to be hosted without revealing their location or tially to this number. operator. Large-scale darknet marketplaces exist for illegal Vendors reported that goldfinches are becoming increas- drugs, firearms, hacking tools, stolen identity documents, ingly difficult to source from the wild but that there is no les- and a wide variety of other illicit goods. However, the dark- sening of demand. Already, the pressure has shifted from the net has not, to date, proven to be an attractive platform for Algerian to Moroccan populations because of the difficulty the buying and selling of illegal wildlife products (see also in securing sufficient numbers of birds. The illegal songbird Oryx, , –). Despite this, it provides a marketplace trade in Algeria is threatening wild populations of European of last resort that becomes increasingly attractive over goldfinches across North Africa and potentially threatening other, more accessible, online services as law enforcement other species of finch. We therefore recommend that the and platform operators enforce policies against trading in Algerian government enforce its wildlife trade laws to ensure illegal wildlife products. This makes the ongoing study of the conservation of these, and other, species. darknet markets an important avenue for research as other policies against online illegal wildlife trading emerge. DANIEL BERGIN and VINCENT NIJMAN Oxford Wildlife Trade Research Group, Oxford, UK. E-mail [email protected] LAURE CUGNIERE ( orcid.org/0000-0002-4753-593X) Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK SADEK ATOUSSI Université 8 mai 1945 Guelma, Guelma, E-mail [email protected] Algeria JOSS WRIGHT ( orcid.org/0000-0001-5237-3309) Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Evidence to action: research to address illegal E.J. MILNER-GULLAND ( orcid.org/0000-0003-0324-2710) wildlife trade Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
The Oxford Martin Programme on the Illegal Wildlife Trade (illegalwildlifetrade.net) has launched a key research brief, Evidence to Action: Research to Address Illegal Wildlife Halting the release of the pangolin Manis javanica Trade (osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/ ndz). This brief, addressed in China to policy makers and practitioners, outlines areas where research evidence can support effective illegal wildlife trade As global travel and trade increase, so has the numbers of policy, highlights critical uncertainties where research species spreading beyond their natural ranges. Introduction is required, and emphasizes the need for better design and of alien species, intentionally or unintentionally, as a result evaluation of interventions that can help improve the effec- of human activities may lead to the extinction of native tiveness of efforts to combat illegal wildlife trade. Tools species via interbreeding, predation, resource competition and expertise to improve the evidence base for national or the spread of disease. Pangolins are widely trafficked and international illegal wildlife trade policy already exist (S. Heinrich et al., , The Global Trafficking of Pangolins: but are underutilized. Tapping into these resources could a Comprehensive Summary of Seizures and Trafficking produce substantive benefits for wildlife conservation and Routes from –, TRAFFIC South-east Asia, Selangor, associated sectors, enabling governments to fulfill their Malaysia), and with the Chinese government improving wild- obligations under the Sustainable Development Goals life protection and strengthening law enforcement the release and international biodiversity conventions. This could be of confiscated pangolins by law enforcement departments is achieved through enhanced funding support for inter- increasing. There have been at least cases of the release of sectoral research collaborations, engaging researchers in pri- confiscated pangolins into the wild in China since ,includ- ority setting and programme design, increasing developing ing one case each in October , January, July and September country research capacity and engaging researchers and ,May,JuneandAugust,andthreecasesinJuly community voices in policy processes. (mp.weixin.qq.com/s/zWQfeivJiObBjZPKvFQ). In at least The Evidence to Action brief is the first of a new set of five cases the release was of Manis javanica, which is native to tools and guidance for researchers and practitioners. The South-east Asia, including cases in Zhanjiang city, Hengyang latest addition is a brief reviewing the scale of Darknet city, Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Usage in the Illegal Wildlife Trade (osf.io/preprints/ and Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture.
Oryx, 2019, 53(3), 409–414 © 2019 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605319000358 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.34.90, on 03 Oct 2021 at 20:12:08, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003060531900022X