Introduction to Biodiversity and Wildlife Trafficking

Wild trafficking is not limited to Asian, African or South American countries. The European Union (further – the EU), as the biggest trading block in the world, is also very heavily affected. Most of the illegally harvested timber comes, in the form of timber or wood products, to Europe, and the same applies to illegally caught fish and seafood. Europe has also become the most important transit region for wildlife products travelling from Africa to South East Asia. Tourists try to smuggle pet animals or exotic souvenirs taken from the wild into Europe: examples are parrots from South America, caviar from the Caspian Sea, reptiles from Africa and orchids from South East Asia.

Wildlife trafficking contributes to the loss of biodiversity, threatens in particular endangered species - lions, elephants, tigers, rhinos, whales, turtles and others - with extinction and leads to substantial loss of income for populations in the third world. Illegal logging accelerates deforestation and contributes to climate change; illegal fishing promotes overfishing and negatively influences fish stocks.

The EU, aware of the fact that the global phenomenon of wildlife trafficking needs more than a reaction from the EU Member States alone, tries very seriously to combat wildlife trafficking within and outside Europe. Since 1982, it has adopted provisions on trade in endangered species and adhered to the international Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), as soon as it was legally possible to do so. Its rules against illegal logging and the import of timber stemming from this try to efficiently regulate the timber market. And its provisions against illegal fishing attempt to stop such activities in European waters as well as the landing of such fish in the EU.