Guesstimations and ‘Encouraging’ Action – This Is No Way To Protect Wildlife
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,...
Introducing LynnJohnson.News
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,...
CITES Epic Failure: The Legal Trade Of The Siamese Crocodile
If there is one species that shows CITES doesn’t work in its current form it’s the Siamese Crocodile. These crocodiles were once widespread throughout much of mainland Southeast Asia. From the 1950s commercial hunting for skins and then the collection of animals to stock crocodile farms, again to supply the...
Yet ‘Another’ One-Off Ivory Sale Requested – Why It Shouldn’t Be Allowed
Zimbabwe has indicated that it is planning to present a case to CITES, CoP19 in Panama later this year, to allow (another) one-off sale of its ivory stockpile. The country is also rallying its allies (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia) to support the push to open up the...
The Long Read: Fishing Industry Lobbies Against CITES Modernisation – Here’s Why
Over the last two years, Nature Needs More has continued to meet with politicians and government agencies in our push for modernising CITES. During this time, it has become clear that the fishing industry is a key obstructionist to the urgent need to modernise the regulator of the global trade...
Greenwashing: Don’t Aid ‘False Solutions’ And Undermine Real Progress
It is time for conservation organisations to stop lending their brands to industry greenwashing. There are many examples of this, but since it is in the news, let’s focus on the illegal online trade in endangered species.
Launched in 2018, the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online has three conservation...
Garbage In – Garbage Out: But The New CITES Wildlife TradeView Website Isn’t Totally Useless.
If you have been following the recent CITES Standing Committee meeting (held in Lyon, France. 07 - 11 March 2022) you may have noticed the launch of a new website, CITES Wildlife TradeView.
Anyone who has tried to penetrate the CITES trade database, who doesn’t use the system regularly as...
The Right To Destroy – Needs To Be Stopped
The scale of biodiversity loss over recent decades is a stark warning that, worldwide, we must deal with the Right to Destroy, a ‘right’ which is implicit in private property law. In pretty much all legal systems today it is implicitly assumed that you have the right to ‘destroy’ (in...
Is The Wildlife Trade Helping The Poor Or The Rich?
Much has been made about the trade in endangered species supporting the livelihoods of poor communities living adjacent to key wildlife populations. Poverty alleviation is used by many players, who are committed to maintaining the legal trade, as the primary reason to justify their stance. But is this just another...
Why Would Conservation Legitimise Strategies Used By Wildlife Traffickers?
In April 2016, I wrote an article titled, Want To Know Why Conservation Is Failing? Read On….
In the article, I spoke about the negative implications of the specialist-expert mindset. Over decades, people working in conservation (and beyond) have been supported to hone their specialist expertise through research but the...
What Is The Purpose Of Zoos?
What is the purpose of zoos? And, are they fulfilling their primary objective?
I have been mulling over these questions for several years now.
The first ‘modern’ zoo opened in Paris in 1793. The idea quickly spread to cities throughout Europe and beyond. The question which I have found myself...
It’s Time To Talk About Bloodlust
Apex predators and iconic species decimated by a handful of men who can’t control their urge to kill.
It is far too easy to find examples of bloodlust.
Spanish trophy hunter, Marcial Gómez Sequeira, who said in a news article, “Three years ago I tried to calculate the time I...