Appropriate regulation of the wildlife trade is vital to achieving positive conservation outcomes for many wild species. Join co-author and Oxford Martin School Research Associate, Michael 't Sas-Rolfes and Senior Fellow of the Oxford Martin School, Achim Steiner, for a discussion about the implications of this new book, which explains how and why existing regulations often ignore critical economic insights, thereby undermining their effectiveness. They will cover key topics such as the effects of trade bans and policies toward accumulated product stockpiles, wildlife farming, and the legal sale of synthetic substitutes.

This book presents a thorough overview and assessment of the economics of the wildlife trade for scholars and conservationists, requiring only a basic understanding of economic principles.

Wildlife conservation and the sustainable extraction of living organisms from the wild for human use are fundamentally tied to issues of resource allocation and economics. Yet, there has been a conspicuous dearth of scholarly contribution that examines the wildlife trade using the theories and analytical tools provided by economists. This book fills this gap by presenting a theoretical framework built on a foundation of microeconomic theory that is used to analyze the trade in wildlife goods, the potential effects of various conservation policies, and the economic forces that govern the workings of the markets for wildlife goods. The focus of the book is on explicating the possible impacts of supply-side policies that have been implemented or proposed to achieve a sustainable level of wildlife extraction. The policies that will be considered include the following: stricter anti-poaching policies; trade bans; and legalizing the sale of alternative sources of supplies such as farmed goods, synthetic substitutes, and accumulated stockpiles. The book discusses how the implementation of these policies could affect the incentives of both the suppliers and buyers of wildlife goods to participate in these markets. It also considers how market structure, market concentration, and asymmetric information can affect the impact of these policies.

This book is intended for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers in the field of wildlife conservation who are familiar with basic economics and interested in a rigorous exposition of the economic principles relevant to the study of the wildlife trade.

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Michael 't Sas-Rolfes
Interdisciplinary Conservation Scientist and Economist

Michael ’t Sas-Rolfes is an interdisciplinary conservation scientist and economist with four decades of experience in the wildlife sector. He is a Research Fellow at the Oxford Martin Programme on Wildlife Trade at the University of Oxford, and at the African Wildlife Economy Institute at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He also serves on the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s African Rhino Specialist Group and its Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Group.

Achim Steiner
Senior Fellow, Oxford Martin School

Achim Steiner is a global leader in sustainable development and international relations and diplomacy. A former UN Under-Secretary-General and head of UNDP, UNEP, and IUCN, he is currently a Senior Fellow at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, focusing on national security and global risks, and the Chair of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference. He has lived and worked across Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe, and serves on various international boards and councils.

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