The scale of Nigeria's involvement in the trans-national illegal pangolin trade: Temporal and spatial patterns and the effectiveness of wildlife trade regulations

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) prohibits commercial trans-national trade in pangolin specimens. However, African pangolins are continually trafficked to Asia for traditional medicine, with Nigeria considered a key hub. Using reported Niger...

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Autores principales: Emogor, C.A., Ingram, D.J., Coad, L.M., Worthington, T.A., Dunn, A., Imong, I., Balmford, A.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/116364
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author Emogor, C.A.
Ingram, D.J.
Coad, L.M.
Worthington, T.A.
Dunn, A.
Imong, I.
Balmford, A.
author_browse Balmford, A.
Coad, L.M.
Dunn, A.
Emogor, C.A.
Imong, I.
Ingram, D.J.
Worthington, T.A.
author_facet Emogor, C.A.
Ingram, D.J.
Coad, L.M.
Worthington, T.A.
Dunn, A.
Imong, I.
Balmford, A.
author_sort Emogor, C.A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) prohibits commercial trans-national trade in pangolin specimens. However, African pangolins are continually trafficked to Asia for traditional medicine, with Nigeria considered a key hub. Using reported Nigeria-linked pangolin seizure data and interviews with Nigerian law enforcement officials, we a) characterised Nigeria's involvement in global pangolin trafficking January 2010–September 2021, particularly observing trafficking trends after pangolin's CITES Appendix I listing; b) estimated the minimum number of pangolins whose scales are in Nigeria-linked seizures January 2010–September 2021, and; c) assessed ongoing efforts within Nigeria to curb pangolin trafficking. Nigeria-linked seizures involved 190,407 kg of pangolin derivatives (99.9% scales) from a minimum of 799,343 pangolins (95% confidence interval; 625,944-996,353) of four species (see caveats in Methods). All shipments confiscated in transit were destined for Asia, with a rapid increase in the mass of maritime shipments over time. Furthermore, stockpiling of pangolin derivatives for overseas shipment is perhaps a prominent trafficking model in Nigeria. Nigeria's law enforcement efforts improved from 2017, the same year Nigeria apparently began playing a hub role. The impact of pangolin's CITES Appendix I listing on pangolin trafficking was unclear, as the marked rise in seizures from 2017 when the listing became effective, coincided with improvements in Nigerian law enforcement efforts. COVID-19–induced travel restrictions likely reduced trafficking activities in 2020 but activities may have fully resumed in 2021. This study provides new information to inform effective enforcement and policy formulation efforts to protect African pangolins.
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spelling CGSpace1163642024-03-06T10:16:43Z The scale of Nigeria's involvement in the trans-national illegal pangolin trade: Temporal and spatial patterns and the effectiveness of wildlife trade regulations Emogor, C.A. Ingram, D.J. Coad, L.M. Worthington, T.A. Dunn, A. Imong, I. Balmford, A. wildlife conservation trade The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) prohibits commercial trans-national trade in pangolin specimens. However, African pangolins are continually trafficked to Asia for traditional medicine, with Nigeria considered a key hub. Using reported Nigeria-linked pangolin seizure data and interviews with Nigerian law enforcement officials, we a) characterised Nigeria's involvement in global pangolin trafficking January 2010–September 2021, particularly observing trafficking trends after pangolin's CITES Appendix I listing; b) estimated the minimum number of pangolins whose scales are in Nigeria-linked seizures January 2010–September 2021, and; c) assessed ongoing efforts within Nigeria to curb pangolin trafficking. Nigeria-linked seizures involved 190,407 kg of pangolin derivatives (99.9% scales) from a minimum of 799,343 pangolins (95% confidence interval; 625,944-996,353) of four species (see caveats in Methods). All shipments confiscated in transit were destined for Asia, with a rapid increase in the mass of maritime shipments over time. Furthermore, stockpiling of pangolin derivatives for overseas shipment is perhaps a prominent trafficking model in Nigeria. Nigeria's law enforcement efforts improved from 2017, the same year Nigeria apparently began playing a hub role. The impact of pangolin's CITES Appendix I listing on pangolin trafficking was unclear, as the marked rise in seizures from 2017 when the listing became effective, coincided with improvements in Nigerian law enforcement efforts. COVID-19–induced travel restrictions likely reduced trafficking activities in 2020 but activities may have fully resumed in 2021. This study provides new information to inform effective enforcement and policy formulation efforts to protect African pangolins. 2021-12 2021-11-29T05:36:50Z 2021-11-29T05:36:50Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/116364 en Open Access Elsevier Emogor, C.A., Ingram, D.J., Coad, L., Worthington, T.A., Dunn, A., Imong, I. and Balmford, A. 2021. The scale of Nigeria's involvement in the trans-national illegal pangolin trade: Temporal and spatial patterns and the effectiveness of wildlife trade regulations. Biological Conservation, 264: 109365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109365
spellingShingle wildlife conservation
trade
Emogor, C.A.
Ingram, D.J.
Coad, L.M.
Worthington, T.A.
Dunn, A.
Imong, I.
Balmford, A.
The scale of Nigeria's involvement in the trans-national illegal pangolin trade: Temporal and spatial patterns and the effectiveness of wildlife trade regulations
title The scale of Nigeria's involvement in the trans-national illegal pangolin trade: Temporal and spatial patterns and the effectiveness of wildlife trade regulations
title_full The scale of Nigeria's involvement in the trans-national illegal pangolin trade: Temporal and spatial patterns and the effectiveness of wildlife trade regulations
title_fullStr The scale of Nigeria's involvement in the trans-national illegal pangolin trade: Temporal and spatial patterns and the effectiveness of wildlife trade regulations
title_full_unstemmed The scale of Nigeria's involvement in the trans-national illegal pangolin trade: Temporal and spatial patterns and the effectiveness of wildlife trade regulations
title_short The scale of Nigeria's involvement in the trans-national illegal pangolin trade: Temporal and spatial patterns and the effectiveness of wildlife trade regulations
title_sort scale of nigeria s involvement in the trans national illegal pangolin trade temporal and spatial patterns and the effectiveness of wildlife trade regulations
topic wildlife conservation
trade
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/116364
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