Free Market
Environmentalism
Press Release:
If you want to save the tiger, allow people to sell it
(Liberty Institute version)
Sustainable Development Network, India - Liberty
Institute, June 11, 2007
MESSAGE TO CITES DELEGATES FROM PEOPLE-ORIENTED CONSERVATIONISTS:
IF YOU WANT TO SAVE THE TIGER, ALLOW
PEOPLE TO SELL IT
The Sustainable Development Network (SDN), a coalition of people-oriented
conservation groups, today called upon delegates to the
CITES meeting, June 3-15, 2007, in The Hague
to reconsider the ban on sale of tiger parts, which it says is undermining
effective conservation by reducing the incentives to manage tigers
sustainably and increasing the number of wild tigers that are poached. The
SDN argues that trade in certified farmed tiger parts could meet existing
and future demand, thereby reducing pressure on wild tigers.
The conservation community has for many years been split over whether
commerce in endangered species is desirable. While the evidence has
increasingly suggested that commerce must be part of the solution, opponents
of commerce have dominated the debate. As a result, restrictions on commerce
have become the cornerstone of conservation polices, with the consequence
that tigers and several other species have been driven to the verge of
extinction in the wild.
One fundamental problem is that by making trade in these wildlife products
illegal, the trade has been driven underground. Recent estimates put the
value of illegal trade in wildlife at over US $6 billion a year – which
would make it the third most traded illicit product after drugs and arms.
Indian policy analyst and developer of SDN’s Save the Tiger Initiative,
Barun Mitra, puts it succinctly: “When trade is outlawed, only outlaws
trade.”
Some of the poorest people in the world live in close proximity to tigers
and other valuable resources, yet they have little incentive to conserve and
manage those resources sustainably, because they are not allowed to own or
trade in them. As a result, only criminals and smugglers profit from
poaching. This is bad for the people who share the tiger’s habitat and very
bad for tigers.
The contrast with crocodiles – another large carnivore – could not be more
stark. Three million crocodiles are farmed each year in facilities as
disparate as Australia, South Africa and the United States – enabling the
demand for crocodile parts to be met legally, while massively reducing the
pressure on wild crocs. In 1971, all of the world’s 23 species of crocodile
were classified as endangered; now, the eight farmed species are no longer
threatened and populations of eight other species have recovered.
As Mr Mitra, whose Liberty Institute was a founding member of the SDN, puts
it “The only market failure in tiger conservation is the failure to let
markets operate.”
In the new proposal – the “Save the Tiger Initiative” – the SDN outlines
ways of enabling people to own and sell tigers, which would provide
incentives for a range of commercial activities, from eco-tourism to
breeding tigers and trading in tiger parts. Under this proposal, the SDN
believes that the tiger, which is such a charismatic and culturally rich
species, can become economically viable and thereby survive in the wild.
Barun Mitra concluded, “The tiger could easily earn its keep and buy its way
out of extinction – if we allow it to do so,” adding that cooperation
between China and India offers the best hope for this mighty but endangered
beast.
TO SPEAK TO BARUN MITRA OR OTHER SDN CONSERVATION EXPERTS,
CONTACT:
Mr M S Vasudevan, Liberty Institute, New Delhi:
libertyinstitute@gmail.com, Tel: +91-11-25079215
www.InDefenceofLiberty.org , www.LibertyIndia.org
Mr Mark Baillie, International Policy Network, London:
mark@policynetwork.net, Tel+44 20 7836 0751 / +44 7785 990 390
www.policynetwork.net , www.sdnetwork.net
The
Sustainable Development Network is a
coalition of individuals and non-governmental organizations who believe in a
people-oriented view of sustainable development.
Author: SDN is a coalition organizations who believe in a
people-oriented view of sustainable development.
© In Defence of Liberty
Press release: IF YOU WANT TO SAVE THE TIGER,
ALLOW PEOPLE TO SELL IT (SDN version)
June 11, 2007
MESSAGE TO CITES DELEGATES FROM PEOPLE-ORIENTED CONSERVATIONISTS:
IF YOU WANT TO SAVE THE TIGER, ALLOW PEOPLE
TO SELL IT
The Sustainable Development Network (SDN), a coalition of people-oriented
conservation groups, today called upon delegates to the CITES meeting in The
Hague to reconsider the ban on sale of tiger parts, which it says is
undermining effective conservation by reducing the incentives to manage
tigers sustainably and increasing the number of wild tigers that are
poached. The SDN argues that trade in certified farmed tiger parts could
meet existing and future demand, thereby reducing pressure on wild tigers.
The conservation community has for many years been split over whether
commerce in endangered species is desirable. While the evidence has
increasingly suggested that commerce must be part of the solution, opponents
of commerce have dominated the debate. As a result, restrictions on commerce
have become the cornerstone of conservation policies, with the consequence
that tigers and several other species have been driven to the verge of
extinction in the wild.
One fundamental problem is that by making trade in these wildlife products
illegal, the trade has been driven underground. As Kirsten Conrad, a tiger
conservation expert, notes, "Despite legal protection over most of its
range, prohibition of international trade, anti-poaching efforts, and
millions spent by NGOs and governments, demand for tiger parts shows no sign
of abating."
Recent estimates put the value of illegal trade in wildlife at over US $6
billion a year – which would make it the third most traded illicit product
after drugs and arms. Indian policy analyst and developer of SDN's
Sustainable Tiger Initiative, Barun Mitra, puts it succinctly: "When trade
is outlawed, only outlaws trade."
Some of the poorest people in the world live in close proximity to tigers
and other valuable resources, yet they have little incentive to conserve and
manage those resources sustainably, because they are not allowed to own or
trade in them. As a result, only criminals and smugglers profit from
poaching. This is bad for the people who share the tiger’s habitat and very
bad for tigers.
The contrast with crocodiles – another large carnivore – could not be more
stark. Three million crocodiles are farmed each year in facilities as
disparate as Australia, South Africa and the United States – enabling the
demand for crocodile parts to be met legally, while massively reducing the
pressure on wild crocs. In 1971, all of the world's 23 species of crocodile
were classified as endangered; now, the eight farmed species are no longer
threatened and populations of eight other species have recovered.
As Mr Mitra, whose Liberty Institute was a founding member of the SDN, puts
it "The only market failure in tiger conservation is the failure to let
markets operate."
In the new proposal – the “Save the Tiger Initiative” – the SDN outlines
ways of enabling people to own and sell tigers, which would provide
incentives for a range of commercial activities, from eco-tourism to
breeding tigers and trading in tiger parts. Under this proposal, the SDN
believes that the tiger, which is such a charismatic and culturally rich
species, can become economically viable and thereby survive in the wild.
Kirsten Conrad explains why she supports the SDN Initiative: "While all this
sounds cold-blooded—tigers are not tubs of margarine nor domestic livestock—
conservationists do not have the luxury of ignoring the distasteful but
possibly effective strategy of allowing trade in captive-bred tigers, at
least not if they are truly intent on saving the tiger from extinction."
Barun Mitra concluded, “The tiger could easily earn its keep and buy its way
out of extinction – if we allow it to do so,” adding that cooperation
between China and India offers the best hope for this mighty but endangered
beast.
NOTE: The 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is currently taking
place in The Hague (3-15 June 2007). Asian big cats are on the agenda under
"Species trade and conservation issues" but some countries want the topic
dropped.
TO SPEAK TO BARUN MITRA OR OTHER SDN CONSERVATION EXPERTS, CONTACT:
Mark Baillie,
mark@policynetwork.net
The
Sustainable Development Network is a
coalition of individuals and non-governmental organizations who believe in a
people-oriented view of sustainable development.
Photo copyright © Zuzana Kukol & REXANO
www.REXANO.org