Asia’s burgeoning demand for wildlife is decimating wild populations around the planet, warned scientists meeting last week at the largest-ever gathering of tropical researchers in Asia.

To address the growing threat, the Asia chapters of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) and the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC), called for urgent action from the scientific community and national governments, including stepped up law enforcement, more targeted research to understand market trends, legislation to address loopholes in wildlife laws, better monitoring of markets, and better regulation of commercial captive breeding facilities.

Notably, the bodies criticized the scientific community for failing to keep pace with the illegal wildlife market.

Asia’s burgeoning demand for wildlife is decimating wild populations around the planet, hastening the demise of biodiversity already under threat from habitat destruction and climate change, warned scientists meeting last week at the largest-ever gathering of tropical researchers in Asia.

To address the growing threat, the Asia chapters of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) and the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC), called for urgent action from the scientific community and national governments, including stepped up law enforcement, more targeted research to understand market trends and what species are being trafficked, legislation to address loopholes in wildlife laws, better monitoring of online and offline markets, and better regulation of commercial captive breeding facilities to curb laundering of wild caught animals as captive-bred.

The resolution proposed “imposition of trade sanctions” against countries that fail to effectively implement or enforce the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). It also called for strengthening of those charged with managing and implementation CITES as well as efforts to address the demand side of the problem.