As part of our approach to address the pressing illegal wildlife trade issue, we aim to translate our research into impact by providing a series of Tools and Guidance for others to intervene effectively to tackle this important societal challenge. In this section, you will find key research briefs, method guidelines as well as a list of the programme’s peer-reviewed articles and other outreach materials. The research briefs and method guidelines are developed in collaboration with our partner, the San Diego Zoo Global Institute for Conservation Research, and their production is lead by Dr Diogo Veríssimo and Laure Cugnière.
If you have any questions about our Tools and Guidance series, do not hesitate to contact us at iwt@zoo.ox.ac.uk.
Note that if you cannot access a research article, do not hesitate to contact us for a copy.
Investigating the risks of removing wild meat from global food systems (Open Access)
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought humanity’s strained relationship with nature into sharp focus, with calls for cessation of wild meat trade and consumption, to protect public health and biodiversity.1,2 However, the importance of wild meat for human nutrition, and its tele-couplings to other food production systems, mean that the complete removal of wild meat from diets and markets would represent a shock to global food systems.3, 4, 5, 6 The negative consequences of this shock deserve consideration in policy responses to COVID-19. We demonstrate that the sudden policy-induced loss of wild meat from food systems could have negative consequences for people and nature. Loss of wild meat from diets could lead to food insecurity, due to reduced protein and nutrition, and/or drive land-use change to replace lost nutrients with animal agriculture, which could increase biodiversity loss and emerging infectious disease risk. We estimate the magnitude of these consequences for 83 countries, and qualitatively explore how prohibitions might play out in 10 case study places. Results indicate that risks are greatest for food-insecure developing nations, where feasible, sustainable, and socially desirable wild meat alternatives are limited. Some developed nations would also face shocks, and while high-capacity food systems could more easily adapt, certain places and people would be disproportionately impacted. We urge decision-makers to consider potential unintended consequences of policy-induced shocks amidst COVID-19; and take holistic approach to wildlife trade interventions, which acknowledge the interconnectivity of global food systems and nature, and include safeguards for vulnerable people.
Hollie Booth, Michael Clark, E.J. Milner-Gulland, Kofi Amponsah-Mensah, André Pinassi Antunes, Stephanie Brittain, Luciana C. Castilho, João Vitor Campos-Silva, Pedro de Araujo Lima Constantino, Yuhan Li, Lessah Mandoloma, Lotanna Micah Nneji, Donald Midoko Iponga, Boyson Moyo, James McNamara, O. Sarobidy Rakotonarivo, Jianbin Shi, Cédric Thibaut Kamogne Tagne, Julia van Velden, David R. Williams,
Investigating the risks of removing wild meat from global food systems, Current Biology, Volume 31, Issue 8, 2021, Pages 1788-1797.e3, ISSN 0960-9822, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.079.
Published: Feb 2021 | Categories: Research Articles
Using theory and evidence to design behaviour change interventions for reducing unsustainable wildlife consumption (Open Access)
1. Efforts to shift unsustainable human behaviour are at the crux of many conservation interventions, particularly when addressing illegal or unsustainable wildlife trade. These efforts, often in the form of behaviour change interventions, have proven largely unable to counteract this pervasive issue, however, leading to calls for more robust intervention designs.
2. In behavioural science fields like public health, design processes that integrate human behaviour theory and evidence from data collection are often developed to ground behaviour change interventions within a strong understanding of the context, thus supporting interventions that are efficient and have a higher likelihood of success.
3. Here we detail the foundational process of designing an intervention around the use of a wildlife product by a particular group: Singaporean consumers of saiga horn (from the Critically Endangered Saiga tatarica).
4. We employ both qualitative and quantitative data, along with human behaviour theories and past literature on the study system, to develop a comprehensive understanding of the many influences driving this target audience to purchase saiga horn products.
5. We use this insight to identify the key influences to leverage in a behaviour change intervention: those that are both the most powerful and the most amenable to change.
6. This work provides a reproducible process which can be used by other intervention implementers, highlights the often complex intricacies of socially influenced behaviour, and demonstrates why a methodical understanding of these intricacies is invaluable when attempting to shift human behaviour for conservation goals.
Doughty, H, Oliver, K, Veríssimo, D, Lee, JSH, Milner‐Gulland, EJ. Using theory and evidence to design behaviour change interventions for reducing unsustainable wildlife consumption. People Nat. 2021; 3: 469– 483. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10189
Published: Feb 2021 | Categories: Research Articles
Implementing the Ballot Box Method to reduce social desirability bias when researching sensitive behaviours in conservation
Guidance on the design and implementation of the Ballot Box Method for indirect questioning on sensitive issues in conservation.
Arias, M., Hinsley, A., & Milner-Gulland, E. (2020, December 8). Implementing the Ballot Box Method to reduce social desirability bias when researching sensitive behaviours in conservation. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/t3evh
Published: Dec 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
Implementing the Ballot Box Method to reduce social desirability bias when researching sensitive behaviours in conservation
Guidance on the design and implementation of the Ballot Box Method for indirect questioning on sensitive issues in conservation.
Arias, M., Hinsley, A., & Milner-Gulland, E. (2020, December 8). Implementing the Ballot Box Method to reduce social desirability bias when researching sensitive behaviours in conservation. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/t3evh
Published: Dec 2020 | Categories: Method Toolkits
Editorial: Influencing consumer demand is vital for tackling the illegal wildlife trade (Open Access)
Consumer demand is an integral part of any market system, and the markets involving wildlife products are no exception ('t Sas-Rolfes et al., 2019). Tackling the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) for the benefit of biodiversity conservation requires understanding and influencing consumer demand (Veríssimo et al., 2020). While demand reduc-tion activities are increasing (Veríssimo & Wan, 2019), they remain poorly funded, with only 6% of the funds committed globally to re-duce IWT focused on consumer demand (World Bank Group, 2016). This lack of investment is also reflected in the knowledge base, with limited research focused on understanding the drivers of consumer demand for illegal wildlife products, and the existing knowledge focused largely on a few species of birds and mammals (Margulies et al., 2019). We hope the Consuming wildlife – managing demand for wildlife products special feature can showcase the different types of research needed to start filling this gap.
Veríssimo, D., 't Sas‐Rolfes, M. and Glikman, J.A. (2020), Influencing consumer demand is vital for tackling the illegal wildlife trade. People Nat, 2: 872-876.
Published: Dec 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
Understanding Traditional Chinese Medicine to strengthen conservation outcomes (Open Access)
1. Numerous treatments in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) involve the use of wildlife products, including some that utilize ingredients derived from endangered flora and fauna. Demand for such endangered wildlife products in TCM can threaten the survival of species and pose serious challenges for conservation.
2. Chinese medical practice is embedded in the cultural fabric of many societies in East and Southeast Asia, and remains an integral part of everyday life and knowledge. It is grounded in principles and theories that have grown over hundreds of years and differ substantially from those of mainstream allopathic biomedicine.
3. In order to address the threats posed by the medicinal consumption of endangered wildlife, conservation scientists and practitioners will benefit from a basic understanding of TCM. Such knowledge will enable conservationists to craft culturally nuanced solutions and to engage constructively with TCM stakeholders. However, conservationists typically lack familiarity with TCM as the incompatibility of many TCM concepts with those of the biomedical sciences poses a barrier to understanding.
4. In this paper, we examine the core theories and practices of TCM in order to make TCM more accessible to conservation scientists and practitioners. A better understanding of TCM will enable conservationists to deliver more effective and lasting conservation outcomes.
H Cheung, H Doughty, A Hinsley, E Hsu, TM Lee, EJ Milner-Gulland, H Possingham, D Biggs 2020. Understanding Traditional Chinese Medicine to strengthen conservation outcomes. People and Nature.
Published: Nov 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
Ranger perceptions of, and engagement with, monitoring of elephant poaching (Open Access)
1. Ranger‐based monitoring has enormous potential to inform conservation globally, with hundreds of thousands of rangers patrolling extensive areas and recording observations of illegal activities and biodiversity. Much quantitative research has demonstrated the pitfalls and potential of data collection by rangers, but little work has considered its human dimensions. Yet poor engagement with, and ownership of, monitoring by those undertaking it may compromise data quality and thereby limit evidence‐based conservation.
2. We interviewed rangers and supervisors involved in a programme for monitoring and managing elephant poaching in the Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe. We assess the importance that rangers ascribed to data collection within their broader occupation, and their level of engagement with data management and use.
3. We found that rangers saw the collection of biodiversity data as a routine duty that helped guide patrol strategy. Reporting these data was perceived as a primary way of demonstrating fulfilled responsibilities to their supervisors. Rangers did not, however, engage actively with data management and use. Ranger sentiment was evenly divided between those who said feedback on how the data they collected were used would motivate more engaged data collection, and those who said they would continue collecting data regardless, out of duty.
4. Three elements of the occupational culture of rangers at our site—a strong sense of duty, deference to authority and knowing their defined responsibilities within the organizational hierarchy—were identified as key drivers of their engagement with monitoring.
5. Building on these findings, we develop a theory of change to develop more meaningful engagement of rangers with monitoring. We argue that more effective and sustainable monitoring can be achieved by building on existing ranger culture while also fostering rangers' appreciation of data collection and utilization. Addressing key challenges around ranger well‐being, and resource and capacity needs, is also essential.
Kuiper, T, Massé, F, Ngwenya, NA, Kavhu, B, Mandisodza‐Chikerema, RL, Milner‐Gulland, EJ. 2020 Ranger perceptions of, and engagement with, monitoring of elephant poaching. People Nat. ; 00: 1– 14
Published: Oct 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
Theoretical analysis of a simple permit system for selling synthetic wildlife goods (Open Access)
We present an economic model of a market for wildlife products. We use it to study theoretically the potential impact on the poaching of wildlife animals if a legal market for synthetic wildlife products is created. We show that allowing for a legal trade in synthetic substitutes in general has two opposing effects on poaching level: a price effect that reduces poaching by lowering the revenue generated from poaching; and a laundering effect that encourages poaching by making it easier for poachers to sell their products. When demand for wildlife goods is inelastic, the price effect is bigger, while the laundering effect is smaller; hence, establishing a legal market for synthetic substitutes is more likely to reduce poaching when demand is less sensitive to price changes. Measures that make it more difficult for poachers to launder their products reduce the laundering effect and enhance the conservation value of producing synthetic substitutes.
Frederick Chen, Michael ’t Sas-Rolfes,2020 Theoretical analysis of a simple permit system for selling synthetic wildlife goods, Ecological Economics, Volume 180.
Published: Oct 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
Moving Beyond Simple Descriptive Statistics in the Analysis of Online Wildlife Trade: An Example From Clustering and Ordination (Open Access)
Collecting data for reports on online wildlife trade is resource-intensive and time-consuming. Learning often focuses on the main item traded by each country only. However, online trade is increasing, providing potential to update the conversation from a national scale to a global scale. We demonstrate how hierarchical clustering can identify wildlife items that follow similar trading patterns. We also ordinate the clusters, and seek correlations between the clusters and global measures, such as Worldwide Governance Indicators. We primarily use a sample dataset from a published report of online traded wildlife, covering 16 countries and 31 taxa or product types. Clustering provided immediate insights, such as rhinos and pangolins were traded similarly to ivory and suspected ivory. Five out of eight clusters represented items predominately traded by one country. An ordination of these clusters, and representation of global measures on the ordination axis, show a strong correlation of the ‘Voice and accountability' score with the clusters. Consequently, from the ‘Voice and accountability' score of the United States, a country not included in our dataset, we inferred that it traded elephant items (not ivory) and owl items during 2014.
T Lee, DL Roberts 2020 Moving Beyond Simple Descriptive Statistics in the Analysis of Online Wildlife Trade: An Example From Clustering and Ordination Tropical Conservation Science Volume: 13
Published: Sep 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
Strategic advertising of online news articles as an intervention to influence wildlife product consumers (Open Access)
Changing human behavior is essential for biodiversity conservation, but robust approaches for large scale change are needed. Concepts like repeat message exposure and social reinforcement, as well as mechanisms like online news coverage and targeted advertisements, are currently used by private and public sectors, and could prove powerful for conservation. Thus, to explore their potential in influencing wildlife consumption, we used online advertisements through Facebook, Google, and Outbrain, to promote news articles discussing the use of a Critically Endangered antelope (the Saiga tatarica) as a traditional Chinese medicine in Singapore. Our message, tailored to middle‐aged Chinese Singaporean women, framed saiga horn products as being no longer socially endorsed. Through advert performance and in‐depth analyses of Facebook user engagement, we assessed audience response. Our message pervaded Singapore's online media (e.g., our adverts were shown almost five million times; and the story ran on seven news outlets), and resulted in widespread desirable audience responses (e.g., 63% of Facebook users' engagements included identifiably positive features like calls for public action to reduce saiga horn consumption, anger at having unknowingly used a Critically Endangered species, and self‐pledges to no longer use it; only 13% of engagements included identifiably negative features). This work shows that targeted dissemination of online news articles can have promising results, and may have wide applicability to conservation.
Doughty, H, Wright, J, Veríssimo, D, Lee, JSH, Oliver, K, Milner‐Gulland, EJ. (2020) Strategic advertising of online news articles as an intervention to influence wildlife product consumers. Conservation Science and Practice. ; 2:e272.
Published: Sep 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
Evaluating the application of scale frequency to estimate the size of pangolin scale seizures (Open Access)
All eight species of pangolin are principally threatened by overexploitation, both for international trafficking and local use. Much illegal trade involves scales, but there is an absence of robust conversion parameters for estimating the number of different pangolin species in given seizures. Such parameters are critical in order to accurately characterize pangolin trafficking and understand the magnitude and impact of exploitation on populations. In this study, we calculated the number of scales on 66 museum specimens representing all eight extant pangolin species from the genera Manis, Phataginus, and Smutsia, and developed a method for estimating the number of pangolins in given seizures of scales based on scale frequency. Our statistical analyses found significant variation in scale number in inter-species terms (ranging from 382 for Temminck's ground pangolin to 940 for the Philippine pangolin), and in intra-species terms, with substantial variation in the giant pangolin (509–664 scales) and minimal variation in the Chinese pangolin (527–581 scales). We discuss application of the developed sampling method in a real world context and critically appraise it against existing methods. The knowledge generated in this study should assist in understanding pangolin trafficking dynamics, though there remains a need for accurate conversion parameters for estimating the number of pangolins in illegal trade, especially for the Indian and African species.
Ullmann, T., Veríssimo, D., Challender, D.W.S, (2019) Evaluating the application of scale frequency to estimate the size of pangolin scale seizures, Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 20
Published: Sep 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
Characteristics of, and uncertainties about, illegal jaguar trade in Belize and Guatemala
Recent reports of jaguar trade have emerged throughout Latin America, but, although trade is now considered a high-priority threat to jaguars, its characteristics remain largely unknown. We aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the status of jaguar trade in Mesoamerica, focusing on Belize and Guatemala. We used key-informant interviews to explore the pathways behind the jaguar trade chain, identify the characteristics and motivations of the actors involved, and investigate the drivers and enabling factors behind jaguar trade. We distinguished between concrete evidence and strong beliefs or assumptions, thereby highlighting key areas for conservation action and of uncertainty. Our results suggest that jaguar trade is present in Belize and Guatemala, although current examples suggest it is a domestically-focused and opportunistic activity, rather than an organized international trade. Key drivers included human-wildlife conflict, opportunistic hunting, Chinese demand, drug trafficking, migration, and tourism. The areas of higher uncertainty are the role of external actors and drivers, and of commercial motivations. The main legal and institutional challenges to address this threat include the lack of resources, ineffectiveness of law enforcement, animosities between communities and the government, corruption, outdated legal systems, missing evidence, the lack of mandate of wildlife authorities and safety concerns. Key priorities for conservation interventions and research to prevent jaguar trade from escalating in these countries are to invest in local communities living in proximity to jaguars, while also investigating the role of external actors in jaguar trade, which remained largely uncertain throughout this study.
Arias, M., Hinsley, A., Milner-Gulland, E.J. (2020) Characteristics of, and uncertainties about, illegal jaguar trade in Belize and Guatemala, Biological Conservation, Volume 250
Published: Sep 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
Pangolins in global camera trap data: Implications for ecological monitoring (Open Access)
Despite being heavily exploited, pangolins (Pholidota: Manidae) have been subject to limited research, resulting in a lack of reliable population estimates and standardised survey methods for the eight extant species. Camera trapping represents a unique opportunity for broad-scale collaborative species monitoring due to its largely non-discriminatory nature, which creates considerable volumes of data on a relatively wide range of species. This has the potential to shed light on the ecology of rare, cryptic and understudied taxa, with implications for conservation decision-making. We undertook a global analysis of available pangolin data from camera trapping studies across their range in Africa and Asia. Our aims were (1) to assess the utility of existing camera trapping efforts as a method for monitoring pangolin populations, and (2) to gain insights into the distribution and ecology of pangolins. We analysed data collated from 103 camera trap surveys undertaken across 22 countries that fell within the range of seven of the eight pangolin species, which yielded more than half a million trap nights and 888 pangolin encounters. We ran occupancy analyses on three species (Sunda pangolin Manis javanica, white-bellied pangolin Phataginus tricuspis and giant pangolin Smutsia gigantea). Detection probabilities varied with forest cover and levels of human influence for P. tricuspis, but were low (<0.05) for all species. Occupancy was associated with distance from rivers for M. javanica and S. gigantea, elevation for P. tricuspis and S. gigantea, forest cover for P. tricuspis and protected area status for M. javanica and P. tricuspis. We conclude that camera traps are suitable for the detection of pangolins and large-scale assessment of their distributions. However, the trapping effort required to monitor populations at any given study site using existing methods appears prohibitively high. This may change in the future should anticipated technological and methodological advances in camera trapping facilitate greater sampling efforts and/or higher probabilities of detection. In particular, targeted camera placement for pangolins is likely to make pangolin monitoring more feasible with moderate sampling efforts.
Khwaja, H. ..., Challender, DWS. (2019) Pangolins in global camera trap data: Implications for ecological monitoring, Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 20
Published: Aug 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
A scoping review of celebrity endorsement in environmental campaigns and evidence for its effectiveness (Open Access)
The use of celebrities in marketing campaigns is widespread globally, including in environmental conservation. Celebrity endorsements are pervasive, but there is limited evidence of their effectiveness. We conducted a review of celebrity‐endorsed environmental campaigns. We report on the extent to which celebrities have been used in these campaigns, whether evaluation of the endorsement has been conducted, and assess whether there is evidence that the celebrities achieved the objectives they set out to accomplish through their engagement. We searched the peer‐reviewed and grey literature in six languages from July 2018 to January 2019 and found 79 campaigns implemented in nine countries from 1976 to 2018. Two thirds of campaigns were implemented in China and reported in Chinese. Only four campaigns were evaluated, but none of the evaluations provided evidence of the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement. Evaluation focused instead on overall campaign outputs and outcomes. Claims of effectiveness were made, but the lack of measurable objectives, theory of change, outcome indicators, and critical evaluation renders it impossible to determine whether the outcomes achieved by the campaigns can be attributed to celebrity endorsement. It thus remains unclear whether celebrity endorsement can contribute to conservation efforts. It is essential for environmental practitioners and researchers to report the outcomes and lessons learned from celebrity endorsements to ensure that their future use in conservation marketing campaigns is evidence‐based, thereby improving conservation practice.
Olmedo, A., Milner-Gulland, E.J., Challender, D., Cugnière, L., Dao, H., Nguyen, L., Nuno, A., Potier, E., Ribadeneira, M., Thomas-Walters, Laura; Wan, Anita; Wang, Yifu; Veríssimo, Diogo. (2020) A scoping review of celebrity endorsement in environmental campaigns and evidence for its effectiveness. Conservation Science and Practice. ; 2:e261.
Published: Aug 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
The Seven Forms of Challenges in the Wildlife Trade (Open Access)
Initiatives that aim to regulate the international wildlife trade must take into account its multiple and often complex dimensions in order to be effective. To do this, it is essential to understand the interactions between three of the key dimensions of the wildlife trade: (1) taxonomic unit, (2) geographic origin, and (3) product form and transformation. We propose a framework to provide a structured approach to defining the complexities of the wildlife trade, based on Rabinowitz’s seven forms of rarity. We demonstrate the complexities and how they apply to our framework using two contrasting examples: the trade in elephant ivory, and the horticultural orchid trade. Further we use the framework to map different traceability solutions. To be as efficient as possible, efforts to tackle the illegal and unsustainable utilisation of wildlife should take a more structured approach. This framework identifies challenges that current initiatives may face, how they may interact and provides a structure for designing future interventions.
Roberts, D.L. and Hinsley, A. (2020) The seven forms of challenges in the wildlife trade Tropical Conservation Science. v13
Published: Aug 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
COVID-19, Systemic Crisis, and Possible Implications for the Wild Meat Trade in Sub-Saharan Africa (Open Access)
Wild animals play an integral and complex role in the economies and ecologies of many countries across the globe, including those of West and Central Africa, the focus of this policy perspective. The trade in wild meat, and its role in diets, have been brought into focus as a consequence of discussions over the origins of COVID-19. As a result, there have been calls for the closure of China’s “wet markets”; greater scrutiny of the wildlife trade in general; and a spotlight has been placed on the potential risks posed by growing human populations and shrinking natural habitats for animal to human transmission of zoonotic diseases. However, to date there has been little attention given to what the consequences of the COVID-19 economic shock may be for the wildlife trade; the people who rely on it for their livelihoods; and the wildlife that is exploited. In this policy perspective, we argue that the links between the COVID-19 pandemic, rural livelihoods and wildlife are likely to be more complex, more nuanced, and more far-reaching, than is represented in the literature to date. We develop a causal model that tracks the likely implications for the wild meat trade of the systemic crisis triggered by COVID-19. We focus on the resulting economic shockwave, as manifested in the collapse in global demand for commodities such as oil, and international tourism services, and what this may mean for local African economies and livelihoods. We trace the shockwave through to the consequences for the use of, and demand for, wild meats as households respond to these changes. We suggest that understanding and predicting the complex dynamics of wild meat use requires increased collaboration between environmental and resource economics and the ecological and conservation sciences.
McNamara, J., Robinson, E.J.Z., Abernethy, K. et al. COVID-19, Systemic Crisis, and Possible Implications for the Wild Meat Trade in Sub-Saharan Africa. Environ Resource Econ 76, 1045–1066 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-020-00474-5
Published: Aug 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
Beyond banning wildlife trade: COVID-19, conservation and development
One of the immediate responses to COVID-19 has been a call to ban wildlife trade given the suspected origin of the pandemic in a Chinese market selling and butchering wild animals. There is clearly an urgent need to tackle wildlife trade that is illegal, unsustainable or carries major risks to human health, biodiversity conservation or meeting acceptable animal welfare standards. However, some of the suggested actions in these calls go far beyond tackling these risks and have the potential to undermine human rights, damage conservation incentives and harm sustainable development. There are a number of reasons for this concerns. First calls for bans on wildlife markets often include calls for bans on wet markets, but the two are not the same thing, and wet markets can be a critical underpinning of informal food systems. Second, wildlife trade generates essential resources for the world’s most vulnerable people, contributing to food security for millions of people, particularly in developing countries. Third, wildlife trade bans have conservation risks including driving trade underground, making it even harder to regulate, and encouraging further livestock production. Fourth, in many cases, sustainable wildlife trade can provide key incentives for local people to actively protect species and the habitat they depend on, leading to population recoveries. Most importantly, a singular focus on wildlife trade overlooks the key driver of the emergence of infectious diseases: habitat destruction, largely driven by agricultural expansion and deforestation, and industrial livestock production. We suggest that the COVID-19 crisis provides a unique opportunity for a paradigm shift both in our global food system and also in our approach to conservation. We make specific suggestions as to what this entails, but the overriding principle is that local people must be at the heart of such policy shifts.
D Roe, A Dickman, R Kock, EJ Milner-Gulland, E Rihoy, M ’t Sas-Rolfes 2020 Beyond banning wildlife trade: COVID-19, conservation and development, World Development, Volume 136
Published: Jul 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
A synthesis of (non‐)compliance theories with applications to small‐scale fisheries research and practice (Open Access)
Non‐compliance in fisheries is a persistent challenge for the conservation and sustainable management of the oceans and has particularly acute impacts in small‐scale fisheries contexts. Small‐scale fisheries often suffer from chronic overexploitation, poor management, lack of enforcement and non‐compliance, but small‐scale fishers are highly dependent on the ocean as a source of employment and food. Improving our understanding of the determinants of non‐compliant behaviours in small‐scale fisheries can help develop strategies to prevent and reduce its consequences. Here, we review two main approaches for the study of non‐compliant behaviours and crimes more broadly, spanning criminology, economics and psychology. On the one hand, actor‐based approaches address the underlying motivations for people to comply or not with regulations. Opportunity‐based approaches, on the other hand, assume that non‐compliance is not distributed randomly across space and time and focuses on the role that the immediate environment plays in the performance of non‐compliant behaviours. We discuss potential applications of actor‐based and opportunity‐based approaches in guiding small‐scale fisheries non‐compliance research. Moreover, we provide guiding principles for integrating these approaches in a complementary way, highlighting opportunities and challenges for building a better non‐compliance research agenda for fisheries and beyond. Addressing non‐compliance is a common challenge for natural resource management in multiple ecosystems. Integrating these two perspectives has the potential to improve both research and practice.
Oyanedel, R, Gelcich, S, Milner‐Gulland, EJ. (2020) A synthesis of (non‐)compliance theories with applications to small‐scale fisheries research and practice. Fish and Fisheries; 21: 1120– 1134.
Published: Jul 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
Wild assumptions? Questioning simplistic narratives about consumer preferences for wildlife products (Open Access)
1. That wildlife consumers prefer wild products to farmed alternatives is a widely reported finding in the conservation literature. These reported preferences for wild products have been interpreted as evidence that farming and associated trade undermine conservation efforts. These conclusions have then been used to influence policy recommendations and the design of conservation interventions related to use of farming itself, as well as to underpin consumer behaviour change campaigns.
2. However, for many species and products, the wild versus farmed narrative is based on assumptions that over‐simplify consumer behaviour and can lead to conclusions that do not recognize the complexity of real wildlife markets. These assumptions include the notions that consumers of the same products have homogeneous preferences, that wild and farmed are the only distinct product types available, and that these preferences do not change over time.
3. We highlight the difficulty in linking stated preferences and real‐world behaviour, due to confounding factors. A consumer who typically prefers wild products may be deterred by factors such as legality, high prices or even simple availability.
4. We recommend that researchers embrace these complex markets rather than trying to simplify them, and clearly state the limitations of studies that try to make the connection between stated preferences and actual behaviour. This includes considering the full range of products available, what or who might influence the actual purchasing decision a consumer makes, and the diversity of people who may buy wildlife products.
5. Considering this complexity is likely to improve evidence‐based recommendations for the design of large‐scale conservation interventions and policy changes. This will ensure that these interventions are better able to reduce the negative impacts on biodiversity from illegal and unsustainable trade, and promote sustainable trade that can benefit both people and wildlife.
Hinsley, A, 't Sas‐Rolfes, M. (2020) Wild assumptions? Questioning simplistic narratives about consumer preferences for wildlife products. People and Nature. 2: 972– 979
Published: Jun 2020 | Categories: Research Articles
Saiga horn user characteristics, motivations, and purchasing behaviour in Singapore: Research Brief
The saiga is a Critically Endangered antelope from Central Asia. Its horn is used in traditional Chinese medicines (TCM)mainly to treat fever and heatiness (a TCM state of illness with symptoms like nasal congestion and sore throat). Poaching for saigas in the 1990’s caused a <95% population decline(Milner-Gullandet al. 2001). Poaching still persists today despite many policy efforts from range states and international bodies (CMS-CITES 2005). Saiga have also been impacted by recent mass bacterial and viral disease outbreaks (Kock et al. 2018). Singapore is recognised as a topsaiga consumer country (CITES 2018). Saiga horn is marketed most commonly as ling yang (羚羊) or antelope’s horn. Sometimes "Cornu Saiga tataricae" is listed as an ingredient. Common alternatives are barley water, chrysanthemum tea, honeysuckle, and goat’s horn.
Resulting policy brief of Doughty et al. (2019) used for the 2019 CITES Conference of the Parties. DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/sjqpu, (brief was discussed by delegates during saiga up-listing discourse)
Published: May 2020 | Categories: Research Briefs
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