66th Standing Committee meeting of CITES underway in Geneva

National Ivory Action Plans, domestic legislation and additional measures to protect endangered species being discussed

Brief

Lickable toads and magic mushrooms: Wildlife traded on the dark web is the kind that gets you high

Across 51 dark web marketplaces, the authors found 153 wildlife species were being sold

Lions are still being farmed in South Africa for hunters and tourism — they shouldn’t be

In 2019, around 8,000 lions were held in over 350 facilities in South Africa, when the wild population was 3,500

CMS CoP 13 closes: Proposal to restrict trade in protected species diluted

Proposal to Article III of CMS dealing with trade of Appendix I species has been struck down 

Here's how government is encouraging illegal trade in red sanders

A contradictory policy towards export of red sanders is fuelling illegality and hurting farmers

Jumbo problem

Spate of elephant killings forces rethink of conservation policy

Simply Put: Race to extinction

Many protected migratory species declining: Report

73 per cent of Appendix I and 48 per cent of Appendix II species of the Convention on Migratory Species are diminishing, it says, with …

CITES CoP 2019: Conservationist Vivek Menon wins Clark Bavin Award

Menon, who heads conservation non-profit Wildlife Trust of India, was awarded the award for his efforts towards wildlife enforcement at the …

The pig-headed species

Overzealous conservationists block progress at CITES meet (Read full article)

Highs and lows

The government's vanaspati van scheme is good news, but for it to succeed small-scale farmers and local communities have to be brought in its fold

Grow more

There is no land to cultivate medicinal plants, neither are there any legal provisions, nor market access. At present, the risks involved are …

A Himalayan Tragedy

People who have no idea about forests step in to further trade, while the indigenous herb gatherers get exploited further

Herbal heist

Hand-in-glove with the forest department, traders of medicinal plants and herbs make hay while communities who depend on herb gathering for …

Predicting the future

A severe shortage of medicinal plants and herbs threatens ISM. Cultivation may be the only way out. But currently medicinal plants that are …

Why the new UN resolution to fight illegal wildlife trade is historic

For the first time, every country has acknowledged the seriousness of wildlife crime

Rajya Sabha passes Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill 2021

Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill allows for the transfer of elephants for ‘religious and other purposes’  

In troubled waters

What drives illegal trade in Asian bears

2,801 bears have been traded dead or alive for their parts and derivatives between 2000 and 2011 in Asia, especially in Cambodia and China, …

Vietnamese zoo admits auctioning tiger

Wildlife Week: Trade in bones, taxonomic reclassification potential threats for Asiatic lions

Vying for attention with the greatly championed and more widespread Indian tigers, Asiatic lions may be fighting a difficult battle

Will IUCN ban on domestic ivory trade spark a global battle on conservation?

Two blocs of countries seem headed for a confrontation over the issue of ban on ivory trade

Iceland resumes whale meat export

Self-withering: Biodiversity Convention’s new global framework raises basic questions

Fairness and North-South balance embedded in the treaty made the West uncomfortable with it