Commercial Trade of Wildlife - Traffic's Priority Species And Ecoregions

TRAFFIC is a leading wildlife trade monitoring network sponsored jointly by the World Wildlife Fund and the World Conservation Union (IUCN). It works closely with the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Regarding threatened species, TRAFFIC states its objective as: "To ensure that wildlife trade does not result in the endangerment of any wild animal or plant species." As of 2004, TRAFFIC's priority species included:

• Elephants—Elephant tusks are highly valuable in the illegal ivory trade.
• Tigers—Tiger bones and other parts are used in traditional Asian medicine. Tiger skins are also valuable in illegal markets.
• Tibetan antelope—This species is poached for its precious wool, known as shahtoosh.
• Sharks—The highly endangered whale sharks are hunted for meat, fins, liver, skin, and cartilage.
• Marine turtles—Demand for meat, eggs, and turtle shells has resulted in the overexploitation of numerous species, including the Caribbean hawksbill turtle.
• Rhinos—Rhinoceros are poached for their horns, which are used in traditional Asian medicine.
• Sturgeon—Sturgeon are overexploited for their eggs, which make up the luxury food caviar, as well as for their meat.
• Freshwater turtles—The number of critically endangered freshwater turtle species has increased rapidly in the early 2000s. Softshell turtles represent a luxury food in Asia, and turtle shells are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
• Mahogany—Mahogany tree species are exploited for timber that is used to make furniture, boats, musical instruments, expensive wood paneling, and other products.
• Agarwood—Agarwood is the fragrant heartwood of certain tree species and is used for medicine, perfume, and incense in Ayurvedic, Tibetan, and traditional East Asian medicine.

TRAFFIC also listed the following priority ecoregions in 2004:

• Asian forests
• Southeast Asian mangroves
• Lower Mekong Basin
• Russian Far East
• Eurasia-Central Asia
• Altai-Sayan region
• East African coastal marine environments
• East African coastal forests
• North America's Chihuahuan Desert
• North America's high arctic
• Amazonian flooded forests
• Amazonian freshwater environments
• The Andes