People’s Knowledge of Illegal Chinese Pangolin Trade Routes in Central Nepal

Sandhya Sharma,Hari Prasad Sharma,Hem Bahadur Katuwal,Chanda Chaulagain,Jerrold L Belant

doi:10.3390/su12124900

Abstract

Chinese pangolin populations are declining globally due to illegal wildlife trades in its range countries, especially China and Vietnam, where the largest markets for this species exist. Identifying the trade routes is crucial for developing conservation plans for the pangolin and understanding the attributes of the individuals involved in the illegal trade. We aimed to identify local trade routes and the socio-economic status of people involved in pangolin trades from the Gaurishankar Conservation Area [a Protected Area (PA)] and the Ramechhap district [a non-Protected Area (non-PA)] of Nepal. We found that pangolin traders were typically poor, illiterate, unemployed, male, and of working age (17–40 years old). Confiscation rates of pangolin parts were higher in non-PAs than Pas as the illegal trade routes seemed to differ between the PAs and non-PAs. From 2014 to 2018, the prices of pangolin scales in PAs and non-PAs increased by 50% and 67%, respectively. Our results highlight locals facilitating the trade of pangolins, therefore we recommend the need for other income generating sources such as ecotourism or providing incentives to promote local industries as well as to establish Community Based Anti-Poaching Units among range countries and trade route countries to control the trade of this globally threatened species.

Highlights

Illegal trades act as a major threat to the conservation of pangolins in Africa and Asia [1] and has resulted in local and international overexploitation of pangolins for meat and traditional medicine, in China and Vietnam [2,3,4,5,6]
Most pangolins consumed in China and Vietnam are trafficked from neighboring Asian countries, even though the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) banned international commercial trade for the wild pangolin and its body parts [7,8]
As a result of its overexploitation and illegal trade [1,5,6], the Chinese pangolin is categorized as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of Threatened Species [6] and is listed in Appendix I of CITES [16]

Summary

Introduction

Illegal trades act as a major threat to the conservation of pangolins in Africa and Asia [1] and has resulted in local and international overexploitation of pangolins for meat and traditional medicine, in China and Vietnam [2,3,4,5,6]. As a result of its overexploitation and illegal trade [1,5,6], the Chinese pangolin is categorized as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of Threatened Species [6] and is listed in Appendix I of CITES [16]. In Nepal, the Chinese pangolin is classified as one of the most threatened species due to exploitation, agricultural practices, poaching, and development [2,14], and is protected by national law with all forms of trade banned

Objectives

Methods

Results