In a recent article, "Prince William will need new ideas to tackle wildlife crisis," Oxford University conservationist Paul Jepson critiques the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, hosted in February 2014 by the UK Government and the Prince of Wales. Jepson's narrative deserves comment due to some misconceptions he puts forth, including confusion over the intent and substance of the London Conference and of a related but separate scientific meeting that was hosted by the Zoological Society of London the same week, the United for Wildlife (UfW) International Wildlife Trafficking Symposium.

Jepson considers the Conference a less ambitious shadow of the 1933 London Conference on African Wildlife, which inspired the formation of national parks and nature reserves. This comparison is inappropriate given that February's meetings focused not on broad approaches to wildlife conservation but more on the specific threats that trafficking poses to commercially valuable species (especially elephants, rhinos, and tigers). He makes the comparison partly to draw attention to the need to address local livelihoods and sustainable use, wildlife farming, and the idea of legal trade in certain species.

Jepson then draws a dichotomy between this approach of promoting use and trade, and what he sees as the more regulatory approach adopted by the 2014 London Conference, which called for reducing demand for wildlife products, ensuring effective legal frameworks, and strengthening law enforcement. Once that dichotomy is drawn, Jepson reverts to a condemnation of prohibition-based approaches to conservation, and a reiteration of the call for sustainable use, community-based approaches, and promotion of legalized trade.

This tired repetition of an old dichotomy misses the point. High-value wildlife products, such as elephant ivory and rhino horn, are now traded transnationally by capitalized criminal syndicates, facilitated by corruption at many levels. In this context, strengthening regulation and enforcement by national authorities is essential in protecting local rights and resources. Organized criminal activities, and the corruption that underlies them, undermine local livelihoods and reduce opportunities for sustainable use.

Read Simon Hedges' full commentary on Policy Innovations >>