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A recent article in the Daily Maverick put all the same old pro-trade spin on opening the international trade in rhino horn. While there are plenty of counter arguments, again they have also been discussed for more than a decade, again-and-again.

So, with this response, I will only clear up...

Are 2,000 captive-bred, farmed rhinos of any value from either a commercial or conservation perspective?

John Hume, the owner of the world’s largest private rhino herd, is auctioning off his rhino farm, the starting bid being US$10 million. The question is, what are Hume’s rhinos really worth?

In recent weeks...

The International Institute for Sustainable Development’s (IISD) SDG Knowledge Hub recently invited a number of guest articles about the trade in wild species. John Scanlon (with co-authors) contributed a number of articles to explore the state of CITES 50 years after it was agreed.

Before taking a closer look at...

With the end of 2022 on the horizon, the Nature Needs More team would like to wish you a peaceful holiday with your family and friends. The coming weeks bring us all a time for reflection.

It has certainly been a big year for biodiversity, from CITES CoP 19 to...

“The wildlife trade is one of the most lucrative trades in the world. The LEGAL trade into the EU alone is worth €100 billion annually.”, stated a 2016 European Parliament Report. The choice of words bears repeating, “one of the most lucrative trades in the world”.

The trade is not...

From fins to teeth, skin and meat, the market for shark body parts is a grave concern, with shark finning being the most contentious issue.

The coverage of CITES CoP19 in the mainstream media has been thin on the ground, but one decision which did get attention was to list...

The CITES convention is rapidly approaching its 50-year anniversary; the convention was opened for signatures in 1973 and CITES entered into force on 1 July 1975. This milestone cannot pass without CITES providing all the evidence that it is fit-for-purpose, particularly given the looming extinction crisis.

CITES never included a...

Will 2022 Be Yet Another Year Of Lost Opportunities and Greenwashing?

Participating in CITES CoP 18, in Geneva in 2019, it was clear how broken the system regulating the international trade of the world’s most endangered species has become.

So, what could provide the leverage for change?

The only light...

In recent years the importance of demand reduction campaigns has come to the fore. Certainly, well researched and designed demand reduction campaigns have the potential to trigger behaviour change in consumers and drive down their desire to purchase rare species.

But the demand reduction strategy cannot succeed without an equally...

The conservation sector needs to stop calling what are effectively ‘guesstimations’ an evidence-based approach. After decades of trade in endangered species there is still no reliable information on what constitutes a sustainable offtake.

Even though this trillion-dollar trade has made mindboggling profits for some of the wealthiest companies and people,...

One of Einstein’s famous quotes was “You Don’t Have to Know Everything. You Just Have to Know Where to Find It.”.

When you want to know about the very real risks associated with the extinction crisis where do you turn? How do to you find the facts and the solutions,...