The illegal wildlife trade is characterised by its sheer complexity. According to 2024 figures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), thousands of species of plants and animals are illegally traded across almost every country in the world, for a dizzying array of purposes.
A core framework to regulate the international wildlife trade is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES.
It works by determining which species can and cannot be traded internationally, including the purpose of trade (commercial trade versus wildlife that is imported as someone's personal effects, for example), and under what conditions.
It currently has 184 member countries plus the European Union and regulates international trade in nearly 41,000 species, the vast majority of which are plants.
The researchers of the Wildlife Trade programme argue that while CITES will remain important in tackling the illegal wildlife trade, more sophisticated approaches are needed to understand and govern it effectively.
They say an approach that considers the complex relationships between people and their local environments (or social-ecological systems) and engages fully with local communities as key actors is needed to more effectively inform regulations and policies while ensuring they are socially just.