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CHALLENGES OF ILLEGAL TRADE IN WILDLIFE IN EASTERN AFRICA REGION DR. HELIDA OYIEKE Collins Handa Bernard Agwanda NATIONAL MUSEUMS OF KENYA APRIL 2006 1 Introduction The conservation of endangered fauna and flora species is of global concern Illegal trade in wildlife is presently the third largest contraband business (after trade in illegal drugs and weapons) and worth an average of $10 billion per annum. Some contributing factors Policy issues International demands 1. Game trophies 2. Pets 3. Medicine 2 Animals and Plants Exploited 3 Common Animals from Region Group/Species Part/Form Destination Elephant Tusks Asian continent Rhino horns Asia Leopard Skin/pet Asia/Europe/US/Mid East Cheetah Skin/pet Asia/Europe/US/Mid Eas Snakes Pet/poison Europe/US Chameleon pet Europe/US Pancake tortoise pet Europe/US Mt bush viper pet Europe/US Reed Frogs pet Europe/US 4 Plants common in the trade Species/group part destination Aloes Prunus africana bark Europe/middle East Local/Europe Camphor timber local Podocarpus timber local leaves 5 Locally traded wildlife/consumed illegally) Species/group Part Buffalo meat Antelope (impala meat duikers, etc Zebra meat Crocodile Sold to conventional butcheries Local/Tanzania Tanzania/Local Tanzania/local Meat/skin Middle East/Local 6 World Trends in Ivory consumption 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 HG KONG 1979 JAPAN 1981 EC TAIWAN 1983 MACAO 1985 CHINA INDIA 1987 7 % occurrence of bushmeat in sampled Nairobi butcheries Bush meat 25% Unidentified samples 13% Spoilt sampes 1% Mixed bushmeat/domestic meat samples 19% Domestic meat 42% 8 Impacts of Illegal trade Species loss with adverse ripple effects Reducing key wildlife population Loss of revenue due to reduced tourist attraction Health risks arising from zoonotic diseases Economic costs due to surveillance, policing & legal battles Loss of life during poaching 9 Present Monitoring & Detection systems in Kenya Management & monitoring services: KWS, FD, KEPHIS, Customs dept. MOH-Public health dept. Scientific Authorities NMK, KARI, KFRI, Govg. Chemists Law Enforcement: Police Wildlife Rangers 10 Linkages between law enforcement and Science Scientists confirm identity and submit technical report to law enforcers for prosecution 11 Challenges in the System Insufficient technical capacity at identification. Taxonomists are becoming less and less (regional) Policy conflicts within the region (e.g Kenya vs. Tanzania). In 2005, 70% poachers in Mara were from TZ! Civil strife Armed poachers from neighboring countries Insecurity Human wildlife conflicts Reason to poach Inadequate facilities and human capacity for prevention, monitoring and detection 12 Current identification services rely on: Skills & experience of taxonomists at NMK and other scientific institutions Diverse and well curated taxonomic reference collection at NMK 13 Identification Techniques Morphometrics Identification to species level (mainly by NMK) Ouchterlony Immunodiffusion tests used to distinguish bushmeat from domestic meat also identifies specimens to species using their antiserum. Molecular and DNA techniques Mainly used in human cases and not wildlife 14 Weaknesses of Identification Techniques in use Ouchterlony Immunodiffusion tests (not commonly used) Works for flesh specimens but not other trophies NMK identification method relies on morphometrics of species which has its own challenges esp. in dealing with similar looking species 15 DNA Barcoding as forensic technique DNA Barcoding is a technique that uses a short gene sequence from a standardized region of the genome as a diagnostic “biomarker” for species. Different species have different DNA barcodes, making it possible to use barcodes to: identify specimens discover possible new species, and to make taxonomy more effective Has a high potential for use in monitoring illegal trade 16 Recommendation Harmonized policies on wildlife trade nationally & regionally Proper coordination Scientific and legal authorities Provision of adequate and efficient monitoring & detection equipment/facility Build capacity in molecular techniques Establishing and strengthening DNA Barcoding facilities and human capacity Data basing and documentation 17 Some of the confiscated trophies housed at NMK elephant rhino Elephant turks Warthog Hippo 18 19 Some of the confiscated trophies housed at NMK Cont. Leopard skins Rhino horns 20 Ivory products common in Asian Markets 21 Leopard skin Leopard 22 Cheeter skin Cheeter skin 23 Serval cat skin 24