We investigate and campaign against environmental crime and abuse. Our undercover investigations expose transnational wildlife crime, with a focus on elephants, pangolins and tigers and forest crimes such as illegal logging and deforestation for cash crops such as palm oil. We work to safeguard global marine ecosystems by addressing the threats posed by plastic pollution, bycatch and commercial exploitation of whales, dolphins and porpoises. Finally, we reduce the impact of climate change by campaigning to eliminate powerful refrigerant greenhouse gases, exposing related illicit trade and improving energy efficiency in the cooling sector. We use our findings in hard-hitting reports to campaign for new legislation, improved governance and more effective enforcement. Click to see author's profile.
A document recently issued by the government of Shaanxi Province appears makes no reference to the November 2018 claims that a full ban on tiger and rhino products is still in effect. Instead, it states that permits to buy or sell these products can be applied for in “special circumstances.”
Scientists announced today that only 10 vaquita porpoises likely remain in the world and that the animal’s extinction is virtually assured without bold and immediate action. Time is running out for Mexican President Lopez Obrador to stop all gillnet fishing and save the vaquita.
The overwhelming public support for closing the UK’s ivory market was a critical part of encouraging lawmakers to act, and the campaign was a good example of what can happen when NGOs combine forces to work together and engage with other fields.
The quota could result in the slaughter of up to 2,130 baleen whales during a five year period, in defiance of the international ban on commercial whaling.
For the Idu Mishmi people, the tiger is their brother. In order to save the Idu tigers, this exceptional relationship must also be preserved.
This syndicate has been involved in multiple shipments of illegal ivory tusks from Africa to China and has been directly involved in the trade for years, so dismantling the operation has put a major dent in global illegal ivory trafficking operations.
Wherever legal domestic ivory markets may be, the evidence clearly shows that they provide easy opportunities for the laundering of illegal ivory and also sustain demand for ivory among consumers. The UK’s new Ivory Act is one of the strongest ivory bans in the world and covers the vast majority of items in trade.
On October 29th, the Government of China revealed that it allows commercial trade in tiger bone and rhino horn from farmed animals for use in traditional Chinese medicine research and clinical treatments. This is a brazen and regressive position which drastically undermines international efforts for tiger and rhino conservation.
The fourth conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) in London this week has seen high-level participation from governments, NGOs, and the private sector, focusing the attention of the international community on commitments to tackle IWT as a form of serious organised crime.
Can emphasizing positive cultural connotations and mythology help bring pangolins back from the brink of extinction? This unusual-looking creature may benefit from being thought of as a sign of good luck or a symbol of hope, rather than a killable commodity.
An undercover investigation has revealed that Vietnamese criminal syndicates are becoming increasingly prolific, presenting a fast-growing threat to already besieged populations of elephants and other endangered wildlife.