Blog

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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? 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...

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...

There is no more important time to think about wildlife than at the time of year focused on consumption. Unsustainable consumption is a key driver of biodiversity loss.

And while I’m not trying to be the Grinch or Ebenezer Scrooge this Christmas, why not add the gift of a donation...

Not Dealing With Climate Change Is Dumb, Not Dealing With Biodiversity Loss Is Even Dumber. 

In watching the run up to CoP26, what has been very apparent is the pressure put on world leaders to attend. Together with the host, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the other world leaders confirmed...

A map went up on the CITES website recently; it shows which of the 183 CITES signatory parties have some form of electronic permitting already in place (14 signatories, colour amber) and how many parties are developing/planning an electronic CITES permit system (30 parties, colour green). Maybe the first thing...