Prevalence and perspectives of illegal trade in cacti and succulent plants in the collector community.

Although illegal wildlife trade (IWT) represents a serious threat to biodiversity, research into the prevalence of illegal plant collection and trade remains scarce. Because cacti and succulents are heavily threatened by overcollection for often illegal, international ornamental trade, we surveyed 441 members of the cacti and succulent hobbyist collector community with a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach. We sought to understand collector perspectives on the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) and on the threats IWT poses to cactus and succulent conservation. Most respondents (74% of 401 respondents) stated that illegal collection in cacti and succulents represents a "very serious problem" and that the problem of wild plant collection is increasing (72% of 319 respondents). Most forms of illegal collection and trade were seen as very unacceptable by respondents. Self-reported noncompliance with CITES rules was uncommon (11.2% of 418 respondents); it remains a persistent problem in parts of the cacti and succulent hobbyist community. People engaging in rule breaking, such as transporting plants without required CITES documents, generally did so knowingly. Although 60.6% of 381 respondents regarded CITES as a very important tool for conservation, sentiment toward CITES and its efficacy in helping species conservation was mixed. Collectors in our survey saw themselves as potentially playing important roles in cactus and succulent conservation, but this potential resource remains largely untapped. Our results suggest the need for enhanced consultation with stakeholders in CITES decision-making. For challenging subjects like IWT, developing evidence-based responses demands deep interdisciplinary engagement, including assessing the conservation impact of species listings on CITES appendices.

Aunque el mercado ilegal de especies (MIE) representa una amenaza seria para la biodiversidad, son escasas las investigaciones sobre la prevalencia del intercambio y la colecta ilegal de plantas. Ya que las cactáceas y suculentas están amenazadas seriamente por la sobrecolección, generalmente para el mercado ornamental internacional e ilegal, encuestamos mediante una estrategia cualitativa y cuantitativa a 441 miembros de la comunidad de aficionados a coleccionar estas plantas. Buscamos entender las perspectivas que tienen los coleccionistas sobre la Convención sobre el Comercio Internacional de Fauna y Flora Silvestres (CITES) y sobre las amenazas que el MIE representa para la conservación de las cactáceas y las suculentas. La mayoría de los respondientes (74% de 401) mencionaron que la recolección ilegal de estas plantas representa un "problema muy serio" y que el problema de la recolección de plantas silvestres está en aumento (72% de 319 respondientes). Casi todas las formas de mercado y colecta ilegal fueron consideradas como inaceptables por los respondientes. El no cumplimiento autoreportado de las reglas de la CITES no fue recurrente (11.2% de 418 respondientes), pero permanece como un problema persistente en algunos sectores de la comunidad de aficionados a la colección de estas plantas. Las personas que rompieron las reglas, como con el transporte de plantas sin los documentos CITES requeridos, en su mayoría lo hicieron conscientemente. Aunque el 60.6% de los 381 respondientes consideraron la CITES como una herramienta muy importante para la conservación, los sentimientos hacia ella y su eficiencia en el apoyo a la conservación de especies fueron encontrados. Los coleccionistas de nuestra encuesta se reconocieron como actores potencialmente importantes en la conservación de las cactáceas y las suculentas, pero este recurso potencial permanece desaprovechado en su mayoría. Nuestros resultados sugieren que es necesaria una consulta reforzada con los actores en las decisiones de la CITES. Para temas exigentes como el MIE, el desarrollo de respuestas basadas en evidencias demanda una participación interdisciplinaria profunda, incluyendo la evaluación del impacto de conservación que tienen los listados de especies en los apéndices de CITES. Prevalencia y perspectivas del mercado ilegal de cactáceas y plantas suculentas en la comunidad de coleccionistas.

Understanding the drivers of expert opinion when classifying species as extinct.

The criteria as laid out by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List are the gold standard by which the extinction risk of a species is assessed and where appropriate biological extinctions are declared. However, unlike all other categories, the category of extinct lacks a quantitative framework for assigning this category. Given its subjective nature, we surveyed expert assessors working on a diversity of taxa to explore the attributes they used to declare a species extinct. Using a choice experiment approach, we surveyed 674 experts from the IUCN Species Survival Commission specialist groups and taskforces. Data availability, time from the last sighting, detectability, habitat availability, and population decline were all important attributes favored by assessors when inferring extinction. Respondents with red-listing experience assigned more importance to the attributes data availability, time from the last sighting, and detectability when considering a species extinction, whereas those respondents working with well-known taxa gave more importance to the time from the last sighting. Respondents with no red-listing experience and those working with more well-known taxa (i.e., mammals and birds) were overall less likely to consider species extinct. Our findings on the importance assessors place on attributes used to declare a species extinct provide a basis for informing the development of specific criteria for more accurately assessing species extinctions.

Los criterios establecidos por la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (UICN) son la regla de oro con la cual se evalúa el riesgo de extinción de una especie y en donde se declaran las extinciones biológicas. Sin embargo, como con todas las demás categorías, la categoría "extinto" carece de un marco de trabajo cuantitativo para asignar esta categoría. Dada su naturaleza subjetiva, pedimos a los asesores expertos que trabajan con la diversidad de taxones que exploraran los atributos que usan para declarar extinta a una especie. Mediante un experimento de elección, sondeamos a 674 expertos de los grupos especialistas y de trabajo de la Comisión de Supervivencia de Especies de la UICN. La disponibilidad de datos, el tiempo desde la última detección, la detectabilidad, la disponibilidad del hábitat y la declinación poblacional fueron atributos importantes que los asesores favorecieron al inferir las extinciones. Los respondientes con experiencia con la lista roja les asignaron mayor importancia a los atributos de disponibilidad de datos, tiempo desde la última detección y detectabilidad cuando consideraron la extinción de una especie, mientras que los respondientes que trabajan con taxones conocidos le dieron más importancia al tiempo desde la última detección. En general fue menos probable que los respondientes sin experiencia con la lista roja y aquellos que trabajan con los taxones más conocidos (es decir, mamíferos y aves) consideraran extinta a una especie. Nuestros descubrimientos sobre la importancia que los asesores colocan sobre los atributos utilizados para declarar extinta a una especie proporcionan una base para orientar el desarrollo de criterios específicos para evaluar de manera más acertada las extinciones de las especies.

Evaluating the reliability of media reports for gathering information about illegal wildlife trade seizures.

Illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is threatening many species across the world. It is important to better understand the scale and characteristics of IWT to inform conservation priorities and actions. However, IWT usually takes place covertly, meaning that the data on species, trade routes and volumes is limited. This means that conservationists often have to rely on publicly available law enforcement reports of seizures as potential indicators of the magnitude and characteristics of IWT. Still, even these data may be difficult to access, leading conservationists to use media reports of seizures instead. This is the case in countries like Nepal, which have limited capacity in data keeping and reporting, and no centralized data management system. Yet reliance on media reports risks introducing further biases, which are rarely acknowledged or discussed. Here we characterize IWT in Nepal by comparing data from three sources of information on IWT between January 2005 and July 2017: seizure reports from three Nepali national daily newspapers, official seizure records for Kathmandu district, and data on additional enforcement efforts against IWT in Nepal. We found a strong positive correlation between the number of official and media-reported seizures over time, but media under-reported seizure numbers, with 78% of seizures going unreported. Seizures of charismatic, protected species were reported more often and seizure reports involving tigers were most likely to be reported (57%). Media reports appeared to be a good indicator of trends and the species being seized but not overall seizure number, with the media largely underestimating total seizure numbers. Therefore, media reports cannot be solely relied upon when it comes to informing conservation decision-making. We recommend that conservationists triangulate different data sources when using seizure data reported in the media to more rigorously characterise IWT.

Identifying opportunities for expert-mediated triangulation in monitoring wildlife trade on social media.

Wildlife trade has rapidly expanded on social media platforms in recent years, offering an easy means for traders to access international markets. Investigating this trade activity poses a complex challenge to researchers seeking to understand online trade and moderators seeking to disrupt illicit and harmful activity. Current survey methods frequently rely on text-based searches and focus on posts in which the advertisement is explicit. However, such approaches risk overlooking a growing volume of relevant content, particularly outside social media groups. We used posts from pages promoting West African birds for trade as a case study to explore the availability of information for making inferences about trade activity on social media, specifically information indicating that trade activity was occurring or that could be used to infer trade routes. We recorded 400 posts from 12 pages that we inferred either promoted or facilitated wildlife trade, of which 19.7% were explicit advertisements and 23.8% contained taxa-related terms. In the remaining 341 posts, profile information was the most common indicator of trade activity, but a variety of indicators (e.g., images of birds in trade and trade enquiries) were identified across imagery, text, and comments. We identified multiple types of geographical information that could help infer trade routes and thus the likely legality of trade, although most were relatively rare and sometimes contradictory. Our findings suggest that triangulating multiple types of information from within, across, and beyond posts is vital for effectively identifying and interpreting wildlife trade content on social media. Therefore, were commend that expert-mediated triangulation should be integrated in and used alongside automated detection systems and moderating practices of social media companies.

Identificación de las Oportunidades para la Triangulación Mediada por Expertos en el Monitoreo del Mercado de Fauna en las Redes Sociales Resumen El mercado de fauna se ha expandido rápidamente en las redes sociales en años recientes, brindando un medio sencillo para que los comerciantes tengan acceso a los mercados internacionales. El estudio de esta actividad comercial representa un reto complejo para los investigadores que buscan entender el comercio en línea y para los moderadores que intentan interrumpir la actividad ilegal y dañina. Los métodos actuales de censos dependen frecuentemente de búsquedas basadas en texto y se enfocan en publicaciones en las que el anuncio es explícito. Sin embargo, dichas estrategias corren el riesgo de ignorar el volumen creciente de contenido relevante, particularmente aquél fuera de los grupos de las redes sociales. Usamos como estudio de caso las publicaciones obtenidas de páginas que promocionaban aves del oeste de África para su comercio y así exploramos la disponibilidad de información para inferir sobre la actividad comercial en las redes sociales, específicamente la información que indicaba que estaba ocurriendo la actividad comercial o que podría usarse para inferir las rutas de comercio de fauna. Registramos 400 publicaciones de doce páginas que inferimos promocionaban o facilitaban el comercio de fauna, de las cuales el 19.7% fueron anuncios explícitos y el 23.8% contenía términos relacionados con los taxones. En las restantes 341 publicaciones, la información del perfil fue el indicador más común de la actividad comercial, pero una variedad de indicadores (p. ej.: imágenes de aves en el mercado o preguntas sobre su venta) también fueron identificados en las imágenes, textos y comentarios. Identificamos diferentes tipos de información geográfica que podría ser útil para inferir rutas de comercio y, por lo tanto, su probable legalidad, aunque en la mayoría de los casos estas rutas fueron poco frecuentes o contradictorias. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que la triangulación de diferentes tipos de información dentro, entre y más allá de las publicaciones es vital para identificar e interpretar efectivamente contenidos sobre el comercio de fauna en las redes sociales. Por ello recomendamos integrar la triangulación mediada por expertos y usarla en conjunto con los sistemas automatizados de detección y prácticas de moderación con los que cuentan las compañías de redes sociales.

Post COVID-19: a solution scan of options for preventing future zoonotic epidemics.

The crisis generated by the emergence and pandemic spread of COVID-19 has thrown into the global spotlight the dangers associated with novel diseases, as well as the key role of animals, especially wild animals, as potential sources of pathogens to humans. There is a widespread demand for a new relationship with wild and domestic animals, including suggested bans on hunting, wildlife trade, wet markets or consumption of wild animals. However, such policies risk ignoring essential elements of the problem as well as alienating and increasing hardship for local communities across the world, and might be unachievable at scale. There is thus a need for a more complex package of policy and practical responses. We undertook a solution scan to identify and collate 161 possible options for reducing the risks of further epidemic disease transmission from animals to humans, including potential further SARS-CoV-2 transmission (original or variants). We include all categories of animals in our responses (i.e. wildlife, captive, unmanaged/feral and domestic livestock and pets) and focus on pathogens (especially viruses) that, once transmitted from animals to humans, could acquire epidemic potential through high rates of human-to-human transmission. This excludes measures to prevent well-known zoonotic diseases, such as rabies, that cannot readily transmit between humans. We focused solutions on societal measures, excluding the development of vaccines and other preventive therapeutic medicine and veterinary medicine options that are discussed elsewhere. We derived our solutions through reading the scientific literature, NGO position papers, and industry guidelines, collating our own experiences, and consulting experts in different fields. Herein, we review the major zoonotic transmission pathways and present an extensive list of options. The potential solutions are organised according to the key stages of the trade chain and encompass solutions that can be applied at the local, regional and international scales. This is a set of options targeted at practitioners and policy makers to encourage careful examination of possible courses of action, validating their impact and documenting outcomes.

Motivations for the use and consumption of wildlife products.

The dominant approach to combating the illegal wildlife trade has traditionally been to restrict the supply of wildlife products. Yet conservationists increasingly recognize the importance of implementing demand-side interventions that target the end consumers in the trade chain. Their aim is to curb the consumption of wildlife or shift consumption to more sustainable alternatives. However, there are still considerable knowledge gaps in understanding of the diversity of consumer motivations in the context of illegal wildlife trade, which includes hundreds of thousands of species, different uses, and diverse contexts. Based on consultation with multiple experts from a diversity of backgrounds, nationalities, and focal taxa, we developed a typology of common motivations held by wildlife consumers that can be used to inform conservation interventions. We identified 5 main motivational categories for wildlife use: experiential, social, functional, financial, and spiritual, each containing subcategories. This framework is intended to facilitate the segmentation of consumers based on psychographics and allow the tailoring of interventions-whether behavior change campaigns, enforcement efforts, or incentive programs-to the specific context in which they will be used. Underlining the importance of consumer research and collaborating with local actors is an important step toward promoting a more systematic approach to the design of demand reduction interventions.

Motivaciones para el Uso y Consumo de Productos de Fauna Resumen Tradicionalmente, la estrategia dominante para combatir el mercado ilegal de fauna ha sido restringir la oferta de productos de fauna. Aun así, los conservacionistas cada vez reconocen más la importancia de implementar intervenciones por el lado de la demanda que se enfoquen en los consumidores finales en la cadena de mercado. Su objetivo es reducir el consumo de fauna o redirigir ese consumo hacia alternativas más sustentables. Sin embargo, todavía existen vacíos de conocimiento en el entendimiento de la diversidad de motivos para los consumidores dentro del contexto del mercado ilegal de fauna, el cual incluye cientos de miles de especies, diferentes usos y contextos diversos. Con base en consultas a varios expertos con una diversidad de antecedentes, nacionalidades y taxones de enfoque desarrollamos una tipología de motivos comunes que tienen los consumidores de fauna que pueden usarse para orientar las intervenciones de conservación. Identificamos cinco categorías principales de motivos para el uso de fauna: vivencial, social, funcional, financiero y espiritual, cada uno con subcategorías. Este marco de trabajo tiene la intención de facilitar la segmentación de consumidores con base en psicográficos y permitir la personalización de las intervenciones - sean campañas de cambios en el comportamiento, esfuerzos por hacer cumplir las reglas o programas de incentivos - al contexto específico en el que serán utilizadas. Resaltar la importancia de los estudios de mercado y la colaboración con los actores locales es un paso importante hacia la promoción de una estrategia más sistemática para el diseño de intervenciones para reducir la demanda.

Horizon Scan of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) represents the largest infrastructure and development project in human history, and presents risks and opportunities for ecosystems, economies, and communities. Some risks (habitat fragmentation, roadkill) are obvious, however, many of the BRI's largest challenges for development and conservation are not obvious and require extensive consideration to identify. In this first BRI Horizon Scan, we identify 11 frontier issues that may have large environmental and social impacts but are not yet recognised. More generally, the BRI will increase China's participation in international environmental governance. Thus, new cooperative modes of governance are needed to balance geopolitical, societal, and environmental interests. Upgrading and standardising global environmental standards is essential to safeguard ecological systems and human societies.

Ten-year assessment of the 100 priority questions for global biodiversity conservation.

In 2008, a group of conservation scientists compiled a list of 100 priority questions for the conservation of the world's biodiversity. However, now almost a decade later, no one has yet published a study gauging how much progress has been made in addressing these 100 high-priority questions in the peer-reviewed literature. We took a first step toward reexamining the 100 questions to identify key knowledge gaps that remain. Through a combination of a questionnaire and a literature review, we evaluated each question on the basis of 2 criteria: relevance and effort. We defined highly relevant questions as those that - if answered - would have the greatest impact on global biodiversity conservation and quantified effort based on the number of review publications addressing a particular question, which we used as a proxy for research effort. Using this approach, we identified a set of questions that, despite being perceived as highly relevant, have been the focus of relatively few review publications over the past 10 years. These questions covered a broad range of topics but predominantly tackled 3 major themes: conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems, role of societal structures in shaping interactions between people and the environment, and impacts of conservation interventions. We believe these questions represent important knowledge gaps that have received insufficient attention and may need to be prioritized in future research.

Men ask more questions than women at a scientific conference.

Gender inequity in science and academia, especially in senior positions, is a recognised problem. The reasons are poorly understood, but include the persistence of historical gender ratios, discrimination and other factors, including gender-based behavioural differences. We studied participation in a professional context by observing question-asking behaviour at a large international conference with a clear equality code of conduct that prohibited any form of discrimination. Accounting for audience gender ratio, male attendees asked 1.8 questions for each question asked by a female attendee. Amongst only younger researchers, male attendees also asked 1.8 questions per female question, suggesting the pattern cannot be attributed to the temporary problem of demographic inertia. We link our findings to the 'chilly' climate for women in STEM, including wider experiences of discrimination likely encountered by women throughout their education and careers. We call for a broader and coordinated approach to understanding and addressing the barriers to women and other under-represented groups. We encourage the scientific community to recognise the context in which these gender differences occur, and evaluate and develop methods to support full participation from all attendees.

Estimating the extent and structure of trade in horticultural orchids via social media.

The wildlife trade is a lucrative industry involving thousands of animal and plant species. The increasing use of the internet for both legal and illegal wildlife trade is well documented, but there is evidence that trade may be emerging on new online technologies such as social media. Using the orchid trade as a case study, we conducted the first systematic survey of wildlife trade on an international social-media website. We focused on themed forums (groups), where people with similar interests can interact by uploading images or text (posts) that are visible to other group members. We used social-network analysis to examine the ties between 150 of these orchid-themed groups to determine the structure of the network. We found 4 communities of closely linked groups based around shared language. Most trade occurred in a community that consisted of English-speaking and Southeast Asian groups. In addition to the network analysis, we randomly sampled 30 groups from the whole network to assess the prevalence of trade in cultivated and wild plants. Of 55,805 posts recorded over 12 weeks, 8.9% contained plants for sale, and 22-46% of these posts pertained to wild-collected orchids. Although total numbers of posts about trade were relatively small, the large proportion of posts advertising wild orchids for sale supports calls for better monitoring of social media for trade in wild-collected plants.