Joining the dots in an era of uncertainty – Reviewing Myanmar’s Illegal wildlife trade and looking to the future

Abstract

Myanmar spans important bioregions and acts as both a source and a conduit for wildmeat and illegal wildlife trade across Asia. Interplays between internal demand for wildmeat and external demands for wildlife products from neighbouring China and Thailand shape the illegal wildlife market in Myanmar. While some information on trade, market locations, and key border crossings exists, this is frequently limited to target species and this information has not been synthesized. We review the available literature on the illegal wildlife trade in Myanmar. We find that a small number of wildlife markets along Myanmar’s Eastern border are well studied (24% of all studies focus on just 2 markets) but domestic trade and consumption is less well known and links between internal markets and border markets are unclear. For example, we found 31 market surveys carried out at three major markets on the Chinese and Thai border and 37 market surveys across the rest of the country combined. Interview surveys were more evenly distributed but still biased towards border regions. We recommend the establishment of a national wildlife crime database to improve data sharing, providing an integrated national-level perspective on the illegal wildlife trade within Myanmar and across its borders. While data sharing is crucial, without the capability and will to enforce legislation, the illegal wildlife trade in Myanmar represents a major threat to the biodiversity of the region the continued survival of several endangered species.