Researchers call out 'illegitimate' laws putting vulnerable species in danger: 'The opposite of the intended effect'

For the last 50 years, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, has been the highest authority governing the market for endangered species. Since the treaty came into force, over 40,000 animal and plant species have fallen under its umbrella. 

Unfortunately, research suggests that it's not fixing the poaching problem and, in some cases, may even be accelerating the decline of vulnerable species — which is why researchers have proposed a new framework for decision-making, the University of Oxford reported in an article published on Phys.org.

What's happening?

The problem is that CITES takes a one-size-fits-all approach to the species it protects, completely banning international trade and leaving law enforcement in each country to back it up.

However, the top-down approach isn't working in areas where, for social and traditional reasons, everyday people see the use of endangered species as acceptable. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies may not have the ability to pursue poachers effectively.

"The current approach is proving ineffective for many species due to under-resourced public agencies and a lack of motivation, as many consider the laws illegitimate," study co-author Michael 't Sas-Rolfes said, per the University of Oxford. "In some cases, simply prohibiting international trade appears to accelerate overexploitation — the opposite of the intended effect."

Why is the protection of endangered species important?

Billions of people around the globe rely on healthy ecosystems and populations of wildlife for their food or livelihood. Even many of the foods we enjoy in America come from wild sources, including some seafood. When those wild populations suffer, prices go up or wild foods stop being available at all.

It's not enough just to protect the specific species we use, either. Wild animals and habitats are interconnected in incredibly complex ways. Removing a predator or a food source from that web affects every animal that relies on it for food, population control, or its effects on the environment. Any event that impacts one species will have ripple effects that touch hundreds of others.

That's why endangered species are of such concern: If they vanish, it's not just that species that's affected.

What's being done about CITES?

Since the current approach to CITES isn't effective, the researchers approved a more nuanced approach that involves consulting with local communities about individual species. Establishing guidelines that are tailored to each species and establishing ownership of animal populations could make it more likely for locals to follow the rules and easier for agencies to enforce them.

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For example, though it's counterintuitive, researchers suggested that allowing the use of pangolins on a smaller local scale might actually lead to a decrease in pangolin hunting for the international black market.

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