Denis D. Gray, Associated Press Yahoo News 19 Nov 10;
BANGKOK – Wildlife trafficking officials say they have reached a preliminary agreement with an ethnic minority group in Myanmar to close down markets where hundreds of poached tigers from across Asia are sold for use in purported medicines and aphrodisiacs in China.
The markets, in an area of northeastern Myanmar controlled by the Wa minority, are considered one of the world's hot spots for wildlife trafficking, and among the only places left where tiger parts are openly sold.
"Basically closing these markets will alleviate pressure on all of Southeast Asia's tiger populations because the sourcing is being done from areas as far away as India and Sumatra," said William Schaedla of the wildlife trade monitoring group TRAFFIC. "If we were to close these markets it would stop the drain on those source populations of tigers."
Schaedla, TRAFFIC's Southeast Asia director, spoke ahead of a "tiger summit" in St. Petersburg, Russia, aimed at saving the endangered species from extinction. There are believed to be as few as 3,200 wild tigers remaining, down from about 100,000 a century ago — a decline of 97 percent.
The Nov. 21-24 conference, hosted by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, will attempt to finalize a plan to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022. It is being described as the first international meeting on a single wildlife species.
"If the markets are not closed, we will see the end of all tigers," Schaedla told a press conference Friday. None of the goals set at the St. Petersburg summit can be reached if the illegal wildlife trade in the Thailand-Myanmar-China border region is not stopped, he said.
A TRAFFIC report released Friday said in a decade-long investigation, hundreds of parts of more than 400 big cats were seen in the Myanmar-China border town of Mong La, controlled by the Wa, and Tachilek, on Myanmar's border with Thailand.
Some traders operated small warehouses with shelves of rolled-up tiger and leopard skins. Bones, paws, penises and teeth were also found, used for home decor, magic amulets and products advertised as health tonics and aphrodisiacs, the report said.
The wildlife trade is especially rife in the Wa region, with Chinese traders coming to Mong La to buy and eat wild animals, gamble and consort with prostitutes in what TRAFFIC investigators described as a "wild west" atmosphere. Tiger bone wine is a popular drink with those out for sex.
The Wa, who have forged a semiautonomous region and field a powerful army, have long been accused of massive drug trafficking.
"They're interested in establishing contact with the outside world, and this is a much less contentious issue than some of the other things that they're facing, such as human trafficking or drugs or some of the other crime issues. And it's perhaps also a much more straightforward issue for them to take care of," Schaedla said, explaining why the Wa may want to make a deal to shut down the markets.
Schaedla said he was cautiously optimistic the Wa could be trusted to keep the agreement with TRAFFIC, a joint program of WWF and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Myanmar border markets act as deadly trade gateway for tigers
WWF 19 Nov 10;
Bangkok, Thailand—Black markets along Myanmar, Thailand and China’s shared borders play a crucial role facilitating the deadly illicit trade in tigers and other endangered species say TRAFFIC and WWF in the lead up to the International Tiger Conservation Forum starting Sunday in St Petersburg, Russia.
The report is accompanied by a short documentary called Closing a Deadly Gateway that illustrates the illegal trade described in the report. The film shows interviews with poachers and alarming footage of butchered tigers.
“With as few as 3,200 wild tigers worldwide, the ongoing large-scale trade documented in this report cannot be taken lightly. Illegal trade poses the most immediate and dire threat to the survival of tigers. Moreover, it puts all Asia’s big felines at serious risk,” noted TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Regional Director, William Schaedla.
“Wildlife laws in Myanmar and Thailand clearly prohibit trafficking in tigers and other big cats. We urge authorities to bring the full weight of the law to bear upon traffickers.”
Provincial markets and retail outlets at the Myanmar towns of Mong La, near the China border and Tachilek, on the Thai border, were found to play a pivotal role in the large scale distribution of big cat parts including whole skins, bones, paws, penises, and teeth. The products are transported by road and sea into China and Thailand or sold to Chinese nationals who cross the Myanmar border to gamble and consume exotic wildlife.
The report comes as tiger range State governments, including representatives from Myanmar, China, and Thailand, are expected to meet in St. Petersburg, Russia hosted by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
“A critical part of saving wild tigers must be to shut down the illegal trade in tiger parts,” said Michael Baltzer, head of WWF’s Tigers Alive initiative. “With all the tiger range countries convening this month in Russia for a groundbreaking summit on the future of the tiger, illegal trade such as this must stay front and centre in the negotiations.”
Findings point to a flourishing illegal trade in tigers and other wildlife through Myanmar that thrives despite national and international laws. The majority of this trade occurs in non-government controlled areas between northern Myanmar and southern China. The fact that these areas maintain their own governments not linked to Myanmar’s capital poses difficulty co-ordinating effective enforcement action.
“There is an urgent need to step up efforts if the region is to save its declining tiger populations. We need to enhance information gathering and ensure government and non-government agencies share information in transparent and timely ways from the local level to the regional scale,” said Peter Cutter, Coordinator for WWF Greater Mekong Region’s tiger conservation in Thailand.
Tiger populations in the Greater Mekong—an area that includes Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam—have plummeted from an estimated 1,200 during the last Year of the Tiger in 1998 to about 350 today.
“Alarmingly, the landscape between Myanmar and Thailand holds the greatest hope for tiger population recovery in this region,” said Cutter, “but this can only happen if there are unprecedented and co-ordinated regional efforts to tackle illegal wildlife trade.”
The TRAFFIC/WWF report found whole animals as well as parts and derivatives are sourced within Myanmar and from Lao PDR, Thailand, Malaysia, India and Indonesia; then trafficked across national borders into non-government controlled areas in Myanmar. Wildlife traders in Myanmar’s non-government controlled areas reported that high profit margins, corrupt authorities and little fear of recrimination enables them to trade openly in prohibited wildlife. While local communities are sometimes involved, they are rarely major drivers of the illegal activities.
TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Director, William Schaedla, summarized the problem. “The area is struggling with governance and tigers are easy money for everyone from mafia types to anti-government opposition groups. Some of these players should be countered with direct enforcement actions. Others might be receptive to work through regional agreements and international bodies in order to address the problem.”
