World Wildlife Trade Report (a pilot edition for CoP19)

Abstract

CITES is the global treaty that regulates international trade in nearly 40,000 species of wild animals and plants, including timber and marine species, that are included in its Appendices. This World Wildlife Trade Report is a first attempt to provide as comprehensive an overview of wildlife trade as possible from all angles. It considers the routes, scale and patterns of international trade in CITES-listed species, together with the values, conservation impacts and socio-economic benefits of such trade as well as the linkages between legal and illegal trade. It aims to present a balanced view of the positive and the negative sides of wildlife trade.