WIREDGOV

The laundering of illegally sourced endemic species undermines conservation efforts. National governments must switch the incentives to ensure sustainable trade benefits are captured locally.

Latin American countries boast rich ecosystems with a wealth of biodiversity, creating considerable international demand for the region’s fauna and flora. To ensure the exploitation and trade of coveted wildlife is sustainable, countries have introduced legislation to comply with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – a legally binding international instrument that regulates trade in more than 40,900 species – and impose additional regulations or restrictions on the management, use and trade of wildlife as necessary.

However, enforcing such legislation is challenging in practice. Difficulties around validating the authenticity of permits, combined with poor traceability mechanisms for wildlife and regulatory ambiguities all create opportunities for illicit actors to pass off illegally sourced Latin American wildlife products as legitimate goods in legal global supply chains, a phenomenon known as ‘wildlife laundering’.

Compared to conventional trafficking methods, wildlife laundering allows illicit traders to operate in broad daylight. By using front companies and fraudulent paperwork, they can provide their activities with a veneer of legitimacy that is difficult to challenge.

Despite growing calls in international fora from source countries for stronger measures to combat wildlife laundering, progress is slow. In the meantime, there is a need for a regulatory rethink by source country governments to ensure the benefits from sustainable wildlife trade are captured locally.

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