Out of Africa: understanding trade networks in illegal wildlife trade

This project will build on current knowledge and tackle one of the key threats to our planets biodiversity. It presents a novel and interdisciplinary method to study the trade networks behind the unsustainable use of wildlife commodities; a method designed to further our understanding of how commodities travel across landscapes and borders, and between the hands of individuals involved. Supervised by experts in wildlife trade, criminology and applied statistics, this research will bring together 3 schools from the university. It will apply the theme of sustainability to an area of science requiring further research and has the potential to improve law enforcement interventions to protect a diverse range of species threatened by illegal wildlife trade. Our results will be of value to a wide range of stakeholders, including policy-makers, conservation NGOs, and international enforcement agencies, with whom the supervisory team have established connections to ensure the research has real impact.

Abstract

Unsustainable wildlife trade has resulted in the decline of some of the worlds most threatened species. Despite trade restrictions, organised crime syndicates are increasingly sourcing wildlife commodities and moving them across landscapes and borders. Elephant ivory remains one of the commodities most frequently seized by authorities, with Africa estimated to be the origin for 80%. Using geographic profiling and electricity resistance theory we will predict the most likely supply routes between poaching events and exit ports, in addition to crucial nodes where ivory is consolidated. With these novel and interdisciplinary analytical methods we aim to further our understanding of illegal trade networks and improve law enforcement interventions, for elephant ivory, and by extension, for other illegally traded species or products.