FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – TUESDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2025

Oxford researchers urge reforms to improve global wildlife trade regulation as CITES turns 50

• This week, the world’s governments are meeting in Geneva for the 78th meeting of the Standing Committee of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
• CITES is the main agreement that regulates international wildlife trade, which is critical to ensuring that trade does not damage the status of wild populations of plants and animals.
• The year 2025 marks 50 years since CITES came into force,* yet new research led by the University of Oxford has found that it is failing to adequately deter the illegal extraction and trade of many species.
• The researchers propose a new framework for CITES, the use of which could make the Convention more effective.
• This framework supports sustainability by deeply analysing wildlife trade systems and ensuring that CITES trade measures fit within wider supply chain structures. It also ensures these trade systems are fair and recognised by those involved.

Billions of people worldwide depend on wild species for food security, livelihoods, income generation, and well-being. Achieving long-term sustainability in the trade and use of wild species is a key global priority—not only for conservation but also to support the billions of people who rely on these species. CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is the foundation of international action to support sustainable trade. It currently provides legal protection to over 40,000 animal and plant species, playing a crucial role in safeguarding biodiversity.

Researchers at the University of Oxford critically evaluated the effectiveness of CITES, asking ‘is the Convention solving the problem for which it was designed?’ Their analysis revealed critical flaws in the CITES approach — including a predominant focus on state-led law enforcement to prevent the illegal trade and extraction of species, and the exclusion of nuanced socio-economic analysis in decision-making. While the Convention has drawn attention to overexploitation, it is not deterring widespread illegal activities in wildlife trade systems in many parts of the world. Evidence indicates that in recent years illegal wildlife trade has involved thousands of CITES-listed species and occurred in at least 162 countries.

Dr Michael ’t Sas-Rolfes (University of Oxford), a co-author of the study, explains: “The current approach is proving ineffective for many species due to under-resourced public agencies and a lack of motivation, as many consider the laws illegitimate. In some cases, simply prohibiting international trade appears to accelerate overexploitation—the opposite of the intended effect.”

Informed by this evaluation, the researchers have developed a new decision support tool for CITES. This is based on an in-depth understanding of wildlife trade systems, and the use of inclusive and consultative governance processes to revise or redesign the rules and regulations around the use and trade of species.

Dr Dan Challender (University of Oxford), lead author of the study, says: “Current decision-making processes in CITES assume that a predominant focus on state-led law enforcement is the best solution, when in fact, this approach is proving inadequate for many species across most parts of the world. The time has come for CITES to change. There should be much more focus on exploring institutionally diverse conservation models so there is less reliance on under-resourced public agencies.”

Co-author, Professor E.J. Milner-Gulland (University of Oxford), adds: “We need to move away from debates about whether to simply ban international trade in species and toward understanding wildlife trade systems in-depth so that interventions are evidence-based, tailored to particular species and trade systems, and legitimate for the people involved. This may involve tightening or relaxing trade measures for species, and importantly, situating CITES trade measures within the wider institutional landscape.”

Unlike the current approach, where many species in CITES receive a one-size-fits-all approach to trade regulation, the proposed framework tailors interventions to specific trade systems, situates them within broader institutional settings, and aligns institutions along international supply chains. Supported by a robust evidence base, these interventions could include:

• devolving land and/or use rights to species to indigenous peoples and local communities;
• management and/or ownership of species by private actors;
• programmes to reduce consumer demand;
• the development of responsible markets for wildlife products in circumstances where this would be likely to benefit species.

As one example, pangolins are a group of species threatened by overexploitation, including for illicit, international trade. Use of the proposed approach could suggest that securing tenure rights and/or formal rights to use and potentially trade pangolins by indigenous peoples and local communities in West and Central Africa – where this can be demonstrated to be sustainable – could better serve the conservation of the species in the long term. Current trade measures and associated recommendations in CITES advise against any trade and promote non-consumptive use of these species. This is despite the extraction and consumption of pangolins being socially legitimate in many parts of these regions.

“Tailoring interventions to specific trade systems and embracing collaborative governance can help to ensure that new or revised laws and rules are legitimate to actors along supply chains, meaning there is a greater likelihood that these actors will comply with such rules” explains Dr Challender. “State-led law enforcement would still be needed at some level but community-based monitoring and clearly-defined property rights could mean less reliance on the state.”

Professor Milner-Gulland adds: "This more nuanced approach does require collecting and analysing relevant evidence in collaboration with local people, regional and national officials, but this evidence is needed anyway in order to make informed decisions - the new framework provides a way of integrating social, economic and ecological evidence to enhance understanding of what might work, and avoid unintended consequences of international decisions."

Using this approach, the researchers believe CITES could fulfil its promise to safeguard biodiversity as well as support the people who rely on these vital resources, ensuring that international wildlife trade is legal and sustainable as the Convention enters its 51st year. The researchers are liaising closely with colleagues in different countries who are signatories to CITES, and with the secretariat, to ensure that this new framework is developed in a way that meets their needs, and could complement and enhance existing approaches and initiatives at both national and international levels.

*The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed on 3 March 1973 and entered into force on 1 July 1975.

Notes to editors

The paper ‘A theory of change to improve conservation outcomes through CITES’ has been published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2025.1425267

Interviews with the corresponding author are available on request. Media contact: Dr Caroline Wood caroline.wood@admin.ox.ac.uk   01865 280534

About the University of Oxford

Oxford University has been placed number 1 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for the ninth year running, and ​number 3 in the QS World Rankings 2024. At the heart of this success are the twin-pillars of our ground-breaking research and innovation and our distinctive educational offer.

Oxford is world-famous for research and teaching excellence and home to some of the most talented people from across the globe. Our work helps the lives of millions, solving real-world problems through a huge network of partnerships and collaborations. The breadth and interdisciplinary nature of our research alongside our personalised approach to teaching sparks imaginative and inventive insights and solutions.

Through its research commercialisation arm, Oxford University Innovation, Oxford is the highest university patent filer in the UK and is ranked first in the UK for university spinouts, having created more than 300 new companies since 1988. Over a third of these companies have been created in the past five years. The university is a catalyst for prosperity in Oxfordshire and the United Kingdom, contributing £15.7 billion to the UK economy in 2018/19, and supports more than 28,000 full time jobs.

The Department of Biology is a University of Oxford department within the Maths, Physical, and Life Sciences Division. It utilises academic strength in a broad range of bioscience disciplines to tackle global challenges such as food security, biodiversity loss, climate change and global pandemics. It also helps to train and equip the biologists of the future through holistic undergraduate and graduate courses. For more information visit www.biology.ox.ac.uk.