TRAFFICKING OF WILD SPECIES - GLOBAL WARMING

Juan Carlos García CodronUniversity of Cantabria

Topic I

TRAFFICKING OF WILD SPECIES

Topic I

TRAFFICKING OF WILD SPECIES

* one of the main problems for biodiversity conservation

* widespread in all regions of the world

* the second largest illegal trade (€4-5 billion/year?)

* relation with poverty and inequalities

The human species belongs to the animal kingdom.

For biological reasons, its existence would not be possible without other living creatures.

and, for this reason,

the conscious use of animals, plants and fungi by the people

has existed in all ages and societies…

... as well as unconscious (microorganisms in food or in our bodies…)

prehistoric tools for hunting and fishing

The conscious use takes many forms and has been changing depending on our cultural evolution

... of our lifestyles

…... of our wealth

children and aboriginal hunters, 1900 approx. Argentina

The most important objectives for the capture of animals have been:

* Obtaining food

Food markets in Saigon (Vietnam) and Dapaong (Togo)

The most important objectives for the capture of animals have been:

* Obtaining food* Domestication (to obtain company, food, help at work, protection…)* Religion- beliefs (rituals, offerings, divination, magical practices...)

superstitioncuring diseases

Shell from the Philippines used as a water basin in a spanish church

Animal parts for voodoo rites (Benin, Nigeria…)

The most important objectives for the capture of animals have been:

* Obtaining food* Domestication (to obtain company, food, help at work, protection…)* Religion- beliefs (rituals, offerings, divination, magical practices...)

superstitioncuring diseases

* Fun (spectacles, sports, hunting ...)* Social status (symbols, heraldic, luxury...)* Zoos, museums, collections* Science (research, experimentation…)

The demands have changed over time in each region…and they still vary today between different parts of the world

In this way, in most developed Western countriesanimals are no longer caught in a significant way to

Obtaining foodReligion- beliefs (rituals, offerings, divination, magical practices...)

superstitioncuring diseases

Fun (spectacles, sports, hunting ...)

…although certain uses persist -even illegally- among some people

Traffic of protected birds between SE Europe and Italy

Sale of coral in Croatia

The demands have changed over time in each region…and they still vary today between different parts of the world

In this way, in most developed Western countriesanimals are no longer caught in a significant way to

Obtaining foodReligion- beliefs (rituals, offerings, divination, magical practices...)

superstitioncuring diseases

Fun (spectacles, sports, hunting ...)

…although certain uses persist -even illegally- among some people

rite of sorcery in Cantabria

…in most developed Western countriesthe use of animals caught in the wild is strictly regulated or have been prohibited

Domestication (to obtain company, food, help at work, protection…)Social status (symbols, luxury...)Zoos, museums, collectionsScience (research, experimentation…)

but this regulation raises the price of these animal (often very much) and stimulates illegal trade

trafficker arrested while trying to introduce 22 pythons attached to his body

However, in less developed societies (for example, rural populations in Africa and Latin América...)

captured animals are mainly used for

FoodTo obtain different materials (skin, bones, fat ...)Religion- beliefs (rituals, offerings, divination, magical practices...)

superstitioncuring diseases

But also for Domestication (to obtain company, food, help at work, protection…)Fun (spectacles, animal fighting...)Social status (symbols, luxury...)

animals are generally captured by people in its immediate surroundings and the money earned for them is reduced

At the same time, in other regions (as the countries of Southeast Asia)millions of animals are caught every year to be used as

Traditional medicineFoodDomestication (working animals, protection…)

But also forFun (spectacles, animal fighting...)Social status (symbols, luxury...)Zoos, museums, collectionsScience (research, experimentation…)

these countries are very densely populated and its environment is very transformed…

…so the capture of animals implies a heavy environmental pressure …and the demand can only be satisfied by the importation

In Asia, traditional medicine is the main concern in relation with threatened species

It is believed that 800 million of people use medicines of this type only in China

The consumption of traditional remedies made of

tiger bone, bear gall bladder, rhinoceros horn, dried geckoes and other animal parts is of huge proportions.

Chinese medicines

The use of animal parts in Chinese medicine is not new,

but the increase in the standard of living has made these remedies available to most people in recent years.

The Chinese culture believes that all parts of the animals can be used as medicine.

The use of endangered tiger products is seen as a symbol of high status and wealth.

Here are some examples of how tiger parts are used:

* Tiger claws: used as a sedative for insomnia * Teeth: used to treat fever * Fat: used to treat leprosy and rheumatism * Nose leather: used to treat superficial wounds such as bites * Tiger bone: used as an anti-inflammatory to treat rheumatism and arthritis,

weakness, headaches, stiffness or paralysis and dysentery * Eyeballs: used to treat epilepsy and malaria * Tail: used to treat skin diseases * Bile: used to treat convulsions in children associated with meningitis * Whiskers: used to treat toothaches * Brain: used to treat laziness and pimples * Penis: used in love potions such as tiger soup, as an aphrodisiac * Dung or feces: used to treat boils, hemorrhoids and cure alcoholism

Are the capture and the trade of living creatures really necessary?taking into account the preceding, there is not a single response

every region of the world presents different biological resourcesdifferent needs (real or perceived)differents situations (political, economic, social awareness…)

We can ban the human consumption of meat from wild animals in Europe

but we can’t in Africa

some species are scarce in some regions but not in othersIs there a need to protect all species in the same way all over the world?

obviously not

eating worms for salebushmeat in a restaurant (Zimbabwe)

Moreover, many people want to possess objects, plants or animals simply because they are scarce

To have something expensive and difficult to obtain gives prestige(as with gold or diamonds)

…and that makes that the more rare is an animal, the more you pay for it…and more people try to catch it

…until its extinction

Can we prevent a person from a poor country trying to sell an animal or a plant for a tourist to get some money?

the problem will persist as long as major economic differences remain between those people:

10€ is not much money for a souvenirbut it is a very important amount for a boy from Brazil or Cambodia

The problem is that the price paid in Asia for a single rhinoceros hornequals the annual income of 275 people in Zambia

How can we prevent that desperately poor people do not try to kill and sell rhinos, elephants, leopards ...?

employees of a national park cutting the horn of a rhino to avoid traffickers kill him

These activitiesare very harmful to the environmentand detrimental to society

therefore, the usual response of governments is to establish mechanisms of control (or prohibition)

which are very difficult to implement effectively

If the sale of animals is forbidden but demand remains…... and if there are people disposed to pay big money for these animals in other countries

... trade will continue to exist illegally

Objects made of brown bear partsHanoi airport (Vietnam)

Why does the illegal animal trade is bad?CONSEQUENCES OF ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE

Direct consequences in the COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN:

Illegal trafficking of animals has major implications in ecosystems

pressure on wildlife is very strong → species extinction

It is estimated that only 1 animal in 10 survives the illegal trade

- the mortality is high in the catch, - in many cases the young are caught killing the mother.

Furthermore, - most animals dies in a few weeks due to improper care

Why does the illegal animal trade is bad?CONSEQUENCES OF ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE

Direct consequences in the COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN:

The capture, hunting and removal of animals from the wild is the second threat to the survival of species, after habitat destruction

RUPTURE OF ECOLOGICAL EQUILIBRIUM

Indirect consequences:

As it is illegal, traffic is controlled by criminal organizations…Which bribe the police and authorities to act more easily,

…generating corruptionand causing crime (murders, robberies, gang wars ...)

Moreover, the traffickers need the complicity of some people of indigenous communities who are paid ridiculous amounts per head regardless of the species.

Child catching a sloth in Brazil

Moreover, the traffickers need the complicity of some people of indigenous communities who are paid ridiculous amounts per head regardless of the species.

For example, a Blue-throated Macaw an endangered bird that lives only in the Pantanal (Bolivia- Brazil),

can cost up to € 50 000 in the U.S. or Europe, but the traders don’t pay more than 20€ to his hunters.

traffic deteriorates the environment but does not enrich the inhabitants…most of the benefit remains in the hands of traffickers

Now, please, try to solve this addition:

Environmental degradation+

more corruption +

more criminality +

negligible benefits=

?

Now, please, make this addition:

Environmental degradation+

more corruption +

more criminality +

negligible benefits=

more poverty / deterioration of living conditions

But illegal wildlife trade has also consequences for the countries of destination:

Many pets escape or are released by their owners…

…when they are able to survive and reproduce, they can be installed permanently becoming invasive species

Invasive species compete with local damaging ecosystemsand causing disturbance to people

Invasive parrots occupying the habitat of pigeons in Madrid Parrot nests in Madrid

In some cases, exotic pets carry diseases that do not exist in destination countries

... and that can be transmitted to humans or threaten the local fauna

Finally, illegal trade allows people to consume traditional remedies

that are generally not effective

…instead of use the modern medicine, science-basedmany people who could be cured die each year for this reason

Illegal trafficking exists in all countries of the worldbut their gravity and evolution are unequal

the main areas of origin are Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin Americathe main destination areas are Southeast Asia (for medicine and food)USA and Europe (pets)Middle East and Persian Gulf (pets, private collections, hunting, shows ...)

Solutions?

* International agreements to regulate the legal trade (which is an important source of revenue for many countries)

* Police checks at borders and airports* Intensify the sanctions not only the traffickers but also to customers

but this will be insufficient

... and the traffic will continue to exist... unless you get reducing

Disparities between rich and poor countries,Lack of environmental awarenessand the irrationality of many people

Discovery of a shipment of death birds by the border police (Italy)

But things can change through culture: in Europe, very recently,* children were told that it was not wrong to kill elephants* children were told it was normal or keep wild animals in captivity* wild animals were caught just for fun* wild animals are caught for food* and medicines were made with animal and plants taken in the wild

Now, all those things have almost disappeared in most advanced countries

Thanks to the culture

Can we move in that direction and around the world?

Topic II

GLOBAL WARMING

Thanks to the fossils we know that terrestrial ecosystems have been changing continuously over time

…and these changes reflect a succession of different types of climates

Fossilized traces of hail

Fossilized plants of cold climates found in Germany

Fossilized remains of a forest in a region that today is occupied by desert (Arizona-USA)

By this,

we know that certain periods have been warmer…

…and other cooler than today,

in accordance with cycles lasting millions of years

But we also know that during the Quaternary the climate has experienced very important alternances (hot-cold) in cycles of about 100,000 years.

cold periods were called "glaciations”,

while hot are called "interglacials"

During the glaciations temperatures were much cooler than current in the middle and high latitudes (dark green and blues in the map),

…but did not change much in the tropics (yellow, brown and red)

…as a result, large areas of land were covered by ice

and sea level dropped more than 100 meters

…exposing large areas that are now submerged

…and generating important changes in the coastline

Ason estuary during the last glaciation and today

These cycles caused major changes in ecosystems:

* large regions that are habitable today were covered with ice or suffered very cold climates,

* while others, that are now deserts, were covered with vegetation

Prehistoric engravings with representations of livestock and wild animals in the Libyan desert

Finally, we also know that climate have shorter fluctuations (a few centuries)…although they are much less important (less than one degree centigrade)

These "minor" fluctuations, have little effect on ecosystems, but have been very important for people throughout history

For example, during the Middle Ages there was a warm phase that allowed the Vikings to colonize Iceland and Greenland

Settlement of viking origin in the Faeroe Islands

... and between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries there was a cold and very irregular phase

…which has been called the “Little Ice Age" in Europe the winters were exceptionally coldcausing great difficulties to the people (loss of crops, death from cold or hunger ...)

Painting depicting a winter during the Little Ice Age in Belgium

... ports and rivers froze preventing navigationwhich paralyzed trade for long periods each year

Engraving showing the organization of a fair on the frozen River Thames in London (XVII century)

... In some mountain areas glaciers advanced down valleys destroying villages and crops

Position of the glacier of Argentieres today (left) and in the nineteenth century (right). French Alps.

... Northern parts of Europe were abandoned by their inhabitants because agriculture became impossible

In the Scottish Highlands agriculture disappeared as a result of excessive cold and many people had to migrate to more benign regions

... while in Spain many "wells" were built to take advantage of the snow (selling it in cities) in regions where it is very rare today

Remnants of snow pits in Mallorca and Alicante

All this was caused by a difference of no more than 1 º C

¿is 1ºC a big difference?

All changes and fluctuations described so far have a natural originand, therefore, are “normal”

They are caused by physical or astronomical processesand will continue to occur even if humanity disappears

…and they have nothing to do with human activity

Small fluctuations in Earth's orbit characteristics explain most of the climatic cycles

However, over the last century,there has been a break in the "normal" trend of temperatures

that suddenly have begun to increase in an illogical manner

illogical?

temperature difference compared to the period 1930-60

year

De

gre

es

ºC

However, over the last century,there has been a break in the "normal" trend of temperatures

that suddenly have begun to increase in an illogical manner

illogical?

Not exactly, we know that the warming is caused by human activities

that produce contaminationaltering the composition of the atmosphere

Evolution of world temperature (red line)

Atmospheric content of CO2

(blue line)

year

Do you see a relationship between the two lines?

Evolution of world temperature (red line)

Atmospheric content of CO2

(blue line)

year

The atmosphere is like a greenhouseit retains some of the heat we receive from the sun

and so, we speak of the " greenhouse effect“

if we modify its compositionthe intensity of greenhouse effect changes immediately

The first consequence is a strong increase in temperature

Temperature change for the period 2000 to 2009 relative to the temperatures from 1951 to 1980

but rainfall is also changing…increasing in some regions and declining in others

As well of the intensity of major stormsand the trajectory of some the cyclones:

for the first time in history, a tropical cyclone has hit the Spanish coast and another to those of Uruguay and Southern Brazil

Effects of tropical storm “Delta" in the Canary Islands in 2004

Yes, yes, I know, butIs that really so important?What are the consequences?

the consequences are very diverse and cover many different aspectsfor example, the temperature increase means a reduction in snowfall

and this is forcing the retreat of all the glaciers around the world

Rhone Glacier in the nineteenth century and today (Switzerland)

Ice melting during the dry season is the only source of water in some tropical regions(for example in some areas of Peru, Bolivia, Kenia…)

If the glaciers disappear, people will run out of water

Reduction of the area covered by ice on Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania)

In mid latitudes (Europe, USA…) there’s a big concern about the ski resorts: In most of them, the number of "days without snow increases from year to year

Meanwhile, the Arctic sea ice is melting causing major environmental impacts

and endangering many species that need ice (as the polar bears)

Change in precipitation and increased temperatures will cause many regions suffer water stress (lack of water)…

…while in others, the rain can be prejudicial because of excessive

The melting of polar ice and the dilatation of ocean water is producing a general increase in sea level

The melting of polar ice and the dilatation of ocean water is producing a general increase in sea level

This fact leads to beach erosion

Beach erosion in Oyambre (Cantabria). The monument was erected in 1928 in a prairy, away from the sea

The melting of polar ice and the dilatation of ocean water is producing a general increase in sea level

This fact leads to beach erosionand threatens many cities located at sea level in deltas and flat areas

as, for example, Tokyo (Japan)Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)Miami and New Orleans (USA)Alexandria (Egypt)Dacca (Bangladesh)Cotonou (Benin)Lagos (Nigeria)

etc.

Look at the position of the coast at Lagos (Nigeria), depending on sea level

Urbanized areas (in grey)

Sea level (in relation with present)

But the worst can happen in large deltas, very flat and crowdedNile (Egypt), Ganges (Bangladesh), Mekong (Vietnam), Yangtse (China), etc

In these places people do not have place to go

Global warming also produces impacts on ecosystems…at sea (death of corals by excessive temperature ...)

…as on the continentswhere many species must move

toward the poles or towards the summits

looking at lower temperatures

…or change their habits to adapt to new conditionsas some Cantabrian bears that have ceased to hibernate

Other problems are related to agriculture

In general, climate change

…will benefit the regions in middle and high latitudes (which are usually richer countries)

… and harm to the Mediterranean and tropical areas (where there are many poor countries)

In many poor countries, some crops will no be possible and shall be abandoned

Finally, it is foreseeable that certain tropical diseases may extend to regions where they do not exist

During the Quaternary glaciations temperature differences were about 10ºC…but the changes occurred over several thousand of years

During the little ice age the difference was approximately 1ºC

In all these cases ecosystems had time in order to adapt

But now, mathematical models predict a rise in temperatures that could reach 5°C

…in a century

Climate change has never been so fastand you can not to know how ecosystems,

people, society will respond

It is clear that the problem is very seriousbut the economic implications of any measures to stop warming are very important

Most Governments defends the interests of their industries…and do not care to respect international commitments

hoping that others doand that others will pay the bill

Meanwhile, each day that passes the earth becomes more and more sick

something must be doneand, for this,

an agreement between all countries is necessary and very urgent

That is what we expect of you

Ladies and gentlemen, Delegates of the General Assembly

Do not forget to smile

Thanks for your attention!Juan Carlos García Codron