TY - JOUR
T1 - International socioeconomic inequality drives trade patterns in the global wildlife market
AU - LIEW, Jia Huan
AU - KHO, Zi Yi
AU - LIM, Rayson Bock Hing
AU - DINGLE, Caroline
AU - BONEBRAKE, Timothy Carlton
AU - SUNG, Yik Hei
AU - DUDGEON, David
PY - 2021/5/5
Y1 - 2021/5/5
N2 - The wildlife trade is a major cause of species loss and a pathway for disease transmission. Socioeconomic drivers of the wildlife trade are influential at the local scale yet rarely accounted for in multinational agreements aimed at curtailing international trade in threatened species. In recent decades (1998-2018), approximately 421,000,000 threatened (i.e., CITES-listed) wild animals were traded between 226 nations/territories. The global trade network was more highly connected under conditions of greater international wealth inequality, when rich importers may have a larger economic advantage over poorer exporting nations/territories. Bilateral trade was driven primarily by socioeconomic factors at the supply end, with wealthier exporters likely to supply more animals to the global market. Our findings suggest that international policies for reducing the global wildlife trade should address inequalities between signatory states, possibly using incentive/compensation-driven programs modeled after other transnational environmental initiatives (e.g., REDD+).
AB - The wildlife trade is a major cause of species loss and a pathway for disease transmission. Socioeconomic drivers of the wildlife trade are influential at the local scale yet rarely accounted for in multinational agreements aimed at curtailing international trade in threatened species. In recent decades (1998-2018), approximately 421,000,000 threatened (i.e., CITES-listed) wild animals were traded between 226 nations/territories. The global trade network was more highly connected under conditions of greater international wealth inequality, when rich importers may have a larger economic advantage over poorer exporting nations/territories. Bilateral trade was driven primarily by socioeconomic factors at the supply end, with wealthier exporters likely to supply more animals to the global market. Our findings suggest that international policies for reducing the global wildlife trade should address inequalities between signatory states, possibly using incentive/compensation-driven programs modeled after other transnational environmental initiatives (e.g., REDD+).
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85105490807&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1126/sciadv.abf7679
DO - 10.1126/sciadv.abf7679
M3 - Journal Article (refereed)
C2 - 33952526
SN - 2375-2548
VL - 7
JO - Science advances
JF - Science advances
IS - 19
M1 - eabf7679
ER -