SOME STRATEGIES FOR THE CONTROL OF ILLEGAL TRADE AND TRAFFICKING IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF FAUNA AND FLORA IN WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA

Illegal trade and trafficking in endangered species of fauna and flora is an ugly trend that has been fueled by increasing demands for exotic species of plants and animals worldwide. The increasing urge to get rich quick by many and decline in economic fortunes of west and central African nations has not helped matters. Therefore, quite a number of people living below the poverty line can easily be enticed to do a number of illegal things to survive. Nigerians as well as foreigners partake in these trades without fear especially as our wildlife laws are too weak, ambiguous, contradictory or obsolete. For these reasons and more, mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, fishes, insects and plants as well as their parts and products have been illegally exported from the region for many years.

The current preponderance of New Government Zoos, Bird Parks, Private Wildlife Sanctuaries, Private Animal Laboratories, Private Zoos and collections etc in the developed world has fueled the international demands for endangered species of animals and even plants in recent times.

In these direction, these nations loses enormous foreign exchange and stand a chance of loosing some species to extinction apart from loosing credibility as CITES signatory nations. More research and monitoring; review and updating of wildlife legislations, law enforcement, promotions of transboundary cooperation as well as provision of alternatives to bush meat, employment and social security are recommended.

CURRENT TRENDS IN ENDANGERED SPECIES TRAFFICKING IN THE REGION

The Southeastern Corner of Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon all the way to Gabon, Central Africa as far as the Congo is reputed as being the last strong hold of the tropical rainforests ecosystem and as such one of the most important as far as biological diversity is concerned in the sub-region.

Thus, it is regarded as a ‘Biodiversity Hotspot’ for the tropical African sub-region and part of the continuous Guinean forests zone. The area contains an array of endangered and endemic species of Fauna and Flora, which are highly priced in the international Pet trade markets. Apart from the protected areas within the region, other forests are also known to habour a number of endangered and endemic species of fauna and flora. Some of these species command great prices in hard currencies. This is because, the rarer the species, the harder it is to obtain a specimen and the greater the demand for it in zoos, sanctuaries, laboratories and captive breeding facilities. These very rare species are among the critically endangered, endangered and threatened taxa. Among the faunal classes, Great Apes such as Gorillas, Chimpanzees and Bonobos as well as Primates eg Mandrills, Drills, Guenons, Mangabeys, Colobus monkeys and Prosimians, etc., are highly exploited in their natural habitats. Other charismatic mammalian species such as the big Cats are also traded for various reasons including their peculiar attributes. Birds such as Psitacines (parrots, macaws, etc), Cranes and Eagles are sold mostly for their talking or ability to mimic humans and plumes, while Reptiles such as snakes are traded for traditional, cultural and scientific purposes as well as their skins and to some extent as bush meat. It is now possible to see just nearly any species in trade.