28.5. TRAFFIC: THE WILDLIFE TRADE MONITORING NETWORK

♤ TRAFFIC is a joint conservation programme of WWF and IUCN.

♤ It was established in 1976 by the Species Survival Commission of IUCN, principally as a response to the entry into force during the previous year of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

♤ TRAFFIC is an international network, consisting of TRAFFIC International, based in Cambridge, UK with offices on five continents.

♤ Since its founding, TRAFFIC has grown to become the world’s largest wildlife trade monitoring programme, and a global expert on wildlife trade issues.

♤ This non-governmental organization undertakes its activities in close collaboration with governments and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Secretariat.

Goal

♤ To ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.

Vision

♤ Is of a world in which trade in wild animals and plants will be managed at sustainable levels without damaging the integrity of ecological systems and in such a manner that it makes a significant contribution to human needs, supports local and national economies and helps to motivate commitments to the conservation of wild species and their habitats.