Asian Pangolin Conservation Workshop 2008

Workshop on Trade and Conservation of Pangolins Native to South and Southeast Asia

Jointly organised by

	and
TRAFFIC Southeast Asia		Wildlife Reserves Singapore

30 June – 2 July 2008
Singapore Zoo

Background

Because of huge volumes of pangolins recorded in trade during the 1990s a complete ban on trade was adopted by the CITES Parties in 2000. Despite this pangolins have remained the most numerous mammal species found in confiscated cargoes throughout Southeast Asia. The majority of these shipments are bound for China, for use in traditional medicines and for consumption as wild meat and tonic food. The bulk of the pangolins currently in trade are likely the Sunda Pangolin (or Malayan Pangolin) Manis javanica sourced from Malaysia and Indonesia, as populations in most other range countries have already been decimated. Pangolins have been seized regularly in Malaysia, Thailand, Lao PDR and Vietnam en route to end-use markets.

Objectives

TRAFFIC will be facilitating an international workshop involving various stakeholders in Southeast Asia to combat the pangolin trade. A ‘steering group’ of government departments, non-government organizations (NGOs) and research institutions will be used to raise further awareness of the magnitude of the pangolin trade, its relationship to demand for wildlife-derived meat and medicine, and the need to address detrimental impact on wild populations. The workshop will result in an increased awareness of consuming and source countries, which is expected to contribute to a reduction of the harvest and trade.

The workshop output will include the development of an action plan to assist relevant enforcement agencies in prioritising and focusing their efforts to halt this illegal trade. The action plan will help catalyse political will and fundraising support to implement priorities and efforts identified.

Findings and recommendations will be circulated to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Parties, International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO)-Interpol, World Customs Organisation (WCO) and to national focal points of the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) to inform a coherent approach to information/ intelligence sharing at a regional level.

Deadlines to Note

Workshop programme can be accessed here. We regret that this workshop is open to registered participants only.

For directions on how to get to us, click here.

For more information, please email
charlene@zoo.com.sg / lucia@zoo.com.sg