Encore: CITES A Treaty for our Times with Dr. Ronald Orenstein Part 2

“For the worst possible reasons, elephants and rhinoceroses are front-page news today, the poster children for the worst excesses of organized wildlife crime. The present crisis is the outcome of some 40 years of history, some of it acted out in nature and some at international meetings where the rules defining the fate of species are endlessly fought over.” What has changed dramatically is the landscape of highly organized crime, of which the sole purpose is economics: get rich. When at the CITES level, focus is brought to the true costs of illegal trade and wildlife crime, we do have, in place, through CITES, a binding international system and mechanisms to buttress participatory working groups, creating solutions and enforcing them. And this is where we, through our member nations laws and the work of public NGOs, to reflect changes in the overarching the landscape relevant to our times.