Madagascar, an island nation situated in the Indian Ocean, is known for its unique flora and fauna. However, it has become a hotbed for wildlife trade in recent years, with rare and endangered species such as lemurs and chameleons being poached and trafficked to Southeast Asia. In an effort to address this issue, TRAFFIC, a global wildlife trade monitoring network, conducted a comprehensive assessment of the trade routes and patterns between Madagascar and Southeast Asia. The findings of this report shed light on the magnitude of the illegal wildlife trade and call for more concerted efforts to curb it. This article will provide an overview of the key findings and recommendations presented in the TRAFFIC Wildlife Trade Report.
A new study from TRAFFIC reveals that Southeast Asia is playing a significant role in the legal and illicit trade of Madagascar’s rare and endemic wildlife. The report calls for intensified international cooperation to stem biodiversity loss, highlighting the long-term and sustained exploitation of Madagascar’s unique wildlife despite enforcement efforts and trade restrictions for many years.
The assessment of wildlife trade between Madagascar and Southeast Asia showed that 30% of 121 seizure incidents involving Madagascar between 2000 and 2021 clearly stated the involvement of any Southeast Asian country. The Southeast Asian countries were not only implicated because seizures took place there, but also they played a role along the trafficking route as transit points, re-exporters or intended destinations. Thailand was the most implicated Southeast Asian country, primarily as a destination country.
Of the 36 seizures involving Madagascar and a Southeast Asian country, half of the confiscations took place in Madagascar before being trafficked to other destinations. Meanwhile, 12 seizures were intercepted in the Southeast Asian nations of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, and six others occurred in other Asian, African and European countries and territories along the trade route. The confiscated items included timber from Madagascar’s famed rosewood species, and reptiles and amphibians, of which 5000 Malagasy tortoises were Critically Endangered and prohibited from international trade.
The study revealed that a wide range of wildlife – 328 CITES-listed taxa – were legally exported from Madagascar to Southeast Asia from 1975 to 2019. Much of the exported commodities were declared as being taken from the wild. Legal exports from Madagascar to Southeast Asia were dominated by live reptiles, amphibians, and flowering plants. Thailand was the largest Southeast Asian importer, accounting for 83% of all transactions. Madagascar also imported wildlife from Southeast Asia, with Indonesia being the largest regional source of wildlife to Madagascar.
The study concludes that Southeast Asian countries play a vital role in both the legal and illegal trade of Madagascar’s threatened endemic species. The variety of Malagasy species legally traded is significant, and Malagasy reptiles and amphibians are traded openly and underground in Southeast Asia’s major physical and online markets. The report notes that only concerted and well-coordinated efforts across borders to regulate legal trade and tackle illegal trade will stem the losses.
Authorities in Madagascar and Southeast Asia must communicate, share intelligence, jointly investigate and disrupt the organized networks driving illegal trade, the authors said. The study also urged all parties to address discrepancies and gaps in the scrutiny, control, and reporting of legal trade, warning that failure to do so could give rise to traffickers using legal trade as a cover to mask illegal trade.
While acknowledging recent efforts to strengthen laws and firm action in both Madagascar and Southeast Asia, the authors noted challenges in the conviction of traffickers, communications between concerned agencies and countries, and gaps in information on the legal status of shipments that hampered efforts to tackle the trafficking effectively. It’s simply because of the gaps and shortcomings of the current legal systems harmonization.
In conclusion, the new TRAFFIC study highlights the importance of international cooperation to prevent biodiversity loss and halt the trade of Madagascar’s rare and endemic wildlife. The report calls for concerted and well-coordinated efforts across borders to regulate legal trade and tackle illegal trade to stem the losses. It emphasizes the need for authorities in Madagascar and Southeast Asia to communicate, share intelligence, jointly investigate and disrupt the organized networks driving illegal trade, and address discrepancies and gaps in the scrutiny, control, and reporting of legal trade.
