Based on what I’ve been reading over the last two weeks, I am not the only person to ask this question, nor is it a recent development. At least as early as 1926, published literature was asking whether African big game populations were declining (Friedmann 1926), and in 1931 an article quoting Major RWG Hingston […]
Archive for the ‘international trade’ Tag
Are giraffes a big conservation story?
Fishing down the coral reef
Over the past week I’ve been looking into the challenges facing reef fishes and the environments they inhabit, and there are some very clear recurrent themes: overexploitation (on a number of levels), habitat degradation (for a variety of reasons), and climate change. These are all big issues and unfortunately some of them are probably not […]
A sustainable rose would smell as sweet
Over the past few weeks, I’ve learned that there are a number of environmental and social concerns around the farming of cut-flowers- there are questions about pesticide and water use, about the impacts on families and communities, about poaching and introduced pests. But there are also quite a few organizations working to improve the conditions […]
Natural born flowers
In my last post I talked about some of the environmental concerns surrounding the cut flower industry, namely pesticides, water use, and the movement of parasites and diseases. While there are many other facets to growing flowers for bouquets, I want to highlight two other issues, both of which I think we can influence: wildflower […]
The smell of pesticides in the morning
I had been a little worried that I wasn’t going to be able to find much research concerning the cut-lower industry, or that, if I did, it would all be about developing new varieties of popular flowers. In fact, I was surprised at the extent of the literature- researchers have been paying attention to multiple […]
A wave of invasives
Over the past week, I started looking into invasive aquatic plants, focusing largely on which species seem most worrisome, how they are being moved around, and how they may impact the ecosystems they invade. After a little searching, I started to see patterns with regard to names and means of transport, but I also started […]
Making international regulations stick
In my last few posts, I’ve talked about species whose international trade was regulated on a global level, with varying degrees of control and success. To finish out this month, I want to discuss one further level of CITES that makes conservation both more individual and complicated. In addition to Appendices I and II, CITES […]
If a tree falls in the forest
Is there any way to be certain that it was cut legally? In many ways, that is the challenge for sustainable management of timber, especially in tropical locations. If you have seen this month’s edition of ‘National Geographic,’ you will already have a sense of just difficult it can be to monitor and enforce national […]
Does it really help to be on the A list?
As I mentioned in my last post, species listed on Appendix I of CITES are not permitted in international commercial trade. These are species which are threatened with extinction if trade continues. Trade is allowed only for non-commercial use and under exceptional circumstances. In order for the specimen to be transported internationally, first an import […]
Endangered species in our CITES
It’s always nice to take a break from the usual routine- a small diversion can provide amusement, a new viewpoint, or just a chance to try something new. This month, I’ve decided to step away from the usual format and go with four posts which provide mainly information about three different elements of one larger […]