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Limbe, Cameroon, July 2016—The often neglected role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs)—the people often most heavily impacted by wildlife poaching and associated crime—was the focus of a meeting held in Limbe this February.

As governments around the world prepare for the Seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP 17) and the questions on how to foster support of local people for conservation, a new report sheds light on the need for IPLCs to be a key part of the strategies to combat illegal wildlife trade.

Globally, poaching and associated illegal wildlife trade is devastating populations of iconic wildlife species such as rhinos and elephants, as well as a host of lesser known ones. Across West and Central Africa, wildlife crime is impacting elephants, timber, great apes, pangolins, birds, reptiles and medicinal plants.

However, despite high-level recognition of the problem, the emphasis in solutions to date has been largely on strengthening law enforcement efforts and reducing consumer demand for illicitly sourced wildlife commodities. Considerably less emphasis has been placed on the role of the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities who live with wildlife.

Yet illegal wildlife trade has an enormous impact on such people, who are affected by insecurity and the depletion of important livelihood and economic assets, while often being excluded from the benefits of conservation. They can also be very negatively affected by heavy-handed, militarized responses to wildlife crime that frequently make little distinction between the illegal activities driven by large scale profits—crimes of greed—versus those driven by poverty—crimes of need.

“For too long the voices of those who hold the key to solving the poaching crisis have not been heard,” said Rosie Cooney, Chair of IUCN's Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group. “This meeting aimed to address that and provide a platform for those at the grassroots level to speak up to protect their livelihoods and their futures from the treats posed by illegal wildlife trade.”

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