Author Description
The planet is currently experiencing alarming levels of species loss caused in large part by intensified poaching and wildlife trafficking driven by expanding demand, for medicines, for food, and for trophies. Affecting many more species than just the iconic elephants, rhinos, and tigers, the rate of extinction is now as much as 1000 times the historical average and the worst since the dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. In addition to causing irretrievable biodiversity loss, wildlife trafficking also poses serious threats to public health, potentially triggering a global pandemic. The Extinction Market explores the causes, means, and consequences of poaching and wildlife trafficking, with a view to finding ways of suppressing them. Vanda Felbab-Brown travelled to the markets of Latin America, South and South East Asia, and Eastern and Southern Africa, to evaluate the effectiveness of various tools, including bans on legal trade, law enforcement, and interdiction; allowing legal supply from hunting or farming; alternative livelihoods; anti- money-laundering efforts; and demand reduction strategies. This is an urgent book offering meaningful solutions to one of the world's most pressing crises.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
How can international policy and law enforcement effectively suppress the global wildlife trafficking crisis that threatens biodiversity and public health? Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, utilizes her extensive field research and policy expertise to analyze the complex drivers of poaching. She presents a comprehensive framework that evaluates the efficacy of various intervention strategies, ranging from strict prohibition to market-based solutions, while highlighting the systemic failures that allow these illicit markets to flourish.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of wildlife trafficking networks across Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
- Evaluation of anti-money laundering efforts and law enforcement interdiction tactics.
- Assessment of demand reduction strategies and alternative livelihood programs for local communities.
Scope Limits
- The text focuses primarily on policy and economic interventions rather than the biological or ecological specifics of individual species.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts recognize this work as a rigorous, evidence-based examination of the intersection between conservation and international crime. Readers frequently note the detailed, policy-oriented approach that provides a pragmatic look at the challenges of global wildlife regulation.
Page Count:
406
Publication Date:
2017-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190911387
ISBN-13:
9780190911386
Non-Fiction
Criminology
Public Policy
Global Studies
Wildlife conservation