The AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowships Program and Biodiversity Affinity Group are hosting a half-day long symposium to discuss the complexities and interdependence of Wildlife Trafficking and multi-factorial drivers. The illicit trade in wildlife and wildlife parts is now a multi-billion industry decimating iconic animal populations, undermining security across nations, and threatening ecosystems, food security, human health, and livelihoods among the world’s poorest communities. The symposium will gather together leading experts to discuss the challenges of developing, implementing, and evaluating policies addressing the impacts of wildlife trafficking on biodiversity, development, human health, law enforcement, and regional security. Experts from federal agencies, intergovernmental organizations, law enforcement groups, and NGOs will present on and discuss existing policies, policy successes and failures, and how to adaptively manage policy moving forward.

Outcomes will include assessments of existing domestic and international policy, and ways to communicate more effectively and coordinate efforts for combating the illegal trade in wildlife. Communicating accurate and reliable data on threats to wildlife populations from poaching and illicit global trade is critical for informing decision-makers and implementing effective conservation, monitoring, and law enforcement measures, with implications for improving regional security and economic prosperity.