A new joint report by two international wildlife organisations to encourage “managed” wildlife trade as jobs for the poor, came under fire by local wildlife groups.

“This concept should not be adopted. The ones who would benefit are big traders not small ones, and certainly not endangered wildlife,” shot Surapol Duangkhae, former secretary general of Wildlife Fund Thailand.

Last week Traffic, a wildlife trade monitor, and World Wildlife Fund International issued a report called “Trading Nature: the contribution of wildlife trade management to sustainable livelihoods and the Millennium development goals”.

It said a managed trade on wildlife and wildlife products can offer opportunities to poor people and communities.

The report recommended governments explore “semi-intensive production methods”, experiment with management regimes, develop “pro-poor” approaches to standards and certification schemes, and consider co-ordinated approaches to different components of wildlife trade. Read the rest of this entry »