Wildlife Trade Symposium: Evolving Perspectives on the demand for illegal wildlife products Oxford University

Discussion and conclusions from the symposium, with, Ming Lee, Principal Investigator, Sun Yat-sen University, Wildlife trade issues in China and Southeast Asia, Bob Smith,Director, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), Naomi Doak, Head of Conservation Programmes, The Royal Foundation, E.J. Milner-Gulland, Tasso Leventis Professor of Biodiversity, Oxford University, and Rosaleen Duffy, Professor, University of Sheffield

Panel discussion on theme 3 of the symposium. With Deborah Hembury, Rachel Ash, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Lixin Huang, American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Anastasiya Timoshyna, Programme Leader, Medicinal Plants, TRAFFIC.

Lixin Huang, American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, givesa talk for the symposium on traditional Chinese medicine and common misconceptions about it. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an ancient and profound healing art that originated more than 3,000 years ago. It comprises a number of therapeutic practices, among them Chinese acupuncture, herbology, nutrition, Taiji Quan and Qigong. All have long proven efficacy in treating a wide range of disease conditions. At the core of TCM is an understanding that the body, mind and human spirit are integrally connected, and that restoring and maintaining energetic balance are essential to health and well-being. What the Chinese people discovered through practical experience over many centuries is increasing being validated by modern science and medicine. Acupuncture and TCM has been practiced side-by-side with western medicine in China since 1960s. In US, many large hospitals have Chinese acupuncture to treat pain and various medical conditions. According to the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies (WFCMS), TCM doctors and practitioners provide medical services to their people in over eighty countries. China’s relationship with medicinal animals and plants spans at least 2,000 years. In ancient times, TCM healers lived in local villages and treated local people with medicinal animals and plants with little to no challenges. However, today, our world has an ever-growing human population with the biggest demand for natural resources yet. Among users of Chinese herbal medicine (the largest component of TCM), there are two major groups of users. The first being patients receiving prescriptions from TCM doctors with medical diagnosis; and the other being consumers purchasing products for traditional food therapies as 'nutrition' and/or as gifts from legal and illegal markets without medical advise from TCM doctors. To address the illegal wildlife trade, we need to understand the differences between the two consumer groups and to work together with the TCM medical profession in developing effective strategies to intervene and change consumers’ behaviour.

Anastasiya Timoshyna, Programme Leader, Medicinal Plants, TRAFFIC, gives a talk for the symposium on her research on sustainable wildlife trade. Wild plants are used in products consumed daily around the world, including food, medicines and cosmetics, often as ‘hidden ingredients’ that consumers and companies are unaware of due to the complexity of trade chains. This trade contributes to the livelihoods of millions of people, but many of the plant species used are under pressure from unsustainable harvesting and all too often the economic benefits are inequitably shared. Best practices for verifying wild collection sustainability are available, for example the FairWild Standard. Its implementation as a certification scheme (in India, Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan, Poland among others), as well as the best practice by industry (for example with the traditional Chinese medicine manufacturers and traders), and for policy frameworks by governments provide lessons learnt around the impacts of this work on trade chains. Looking into the future, a number of interventions are required to create a significant change in this business and to have an impact on the number of species and volume of wild-collected material in trade. These include a combination of increased incentives and pathways for businesses, communities and consumers to engage in responsible trade practices.

Panel discussion looking at theme 2 of the symposium. With Professor David Macdonald, founding Director of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Hollie Booth, Sharks and Rays Advisor, SE Asia Archipelago, WCS Indonesia, Michael ‘t Sas-Rolfes, fellow of the Oxford Martin Programme on Illegal Wildlife Trade, and P Siriwat, Oxford Brookes University

Panel discussion looking at the first theme's panel. With Kelly Malsch, Head of Species Programme, UNEP WCMC, Steven Broad, Executive Director, TRAFFIC, Elizabeth Davis and Joss Wright, Senior Research Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford University.