National Geographic
National Geographic: Myanmar Feeds China’s Pangolin Appetite
New study shows open availability of world’s most trafficked mammal in town bordering China. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED January 19, 2016 Myanmar and pangolins. Not words I normally think of together. That’s why the recent report by TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring NGO, on pangolin trafficking in Myanmar took me by surprise. While I’ve followed…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Elephants Win as Hong Kong’s Leader Says It Will Ban Ivory Trade
Shutting down the world’s largest legal ivory market would be a conservation milestone. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED January 14, 2016 Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Leung Chun-ying, announced plans to ban the domestic ivory trade during his 2016 Policy Address. The annual speech lays out the year’s policy agenda. In the middle of the two-hour monologue, between statements on…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Why Shutting Down China’s Ivory Trade Won’t Be Easy
An undercover investigation shows how Chinese businesses launder illegal ivory into the legal market and also trade in illegal rhino horn. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED Fri Jan 08, 2016 China is the world’s largest ivory consumer, with its legal market often providing cover for illegal ivory. The intertwining of these two markets—legal and illegal—is…
Read MoreNational Geographic: New Protections For World’s Largest Population of Giant Manta Rays
Peru and 12 other nations now seek to protect these creatures, whose meat and gill plates are coveted in China. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED Fri Jan 08, 2016 Giant manta rays captured the world’s attention last April when a fisherman in northern Peru unintentionally caught a behemoth weighing 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms). The accidental snagging of this large ray…
Read MoreNational Geographic: How the International Trade in Geckos Is a Scam
The coauthor of a new report says low-profile species are often hit hardest by illegal and unsustainable trade. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED Wed Jan 06, 2016 For many species threatened by the illegal wildlife trafficking, such as rhinos, elephants, tigers, and bears, debates persist as to whether a legal trade in their parts and products can reduce…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Chinese Researchers Explore How to Implement Ivory Ban
China has a 3,000-year tradition of carving ivory. Shutting down its thriving ivory market won’t be easy. By Laurel Neme, National Geographic PUBLISHED Tue Dec 15, 2015 When Chinese President Xi Jinping announced in September 2015 that China would, together with the United States, work toward a complete domestic ban on ivory, it was a welcome…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Take it to the People: Model for an Ivory Sales Ban
Posted: 11/24/2015 Elephant ivory seized by officials in Hong Kong. Photo courtesy of Alex Hofford. Voters in Washington state sent a strong message to the world on November 3 when they passed the country’s first-ever comprehensive state ban on commerce in endangered animal species. The Washington Animal Trafficking Initiative 1401 (I-1401) prohibits…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Hong Kong ‘Open-Minded’ to Banning its Ivory Trade
In a major policy shift, the world’s largest legal ivory market pledges new efforts to combat wildlife trafficking and may end ivory sales. By Laurel Neme, for National Geographic PUBLISHED October 28, 2015 Hong Kong—the world’s largest retail market for elephant ivory—says it may now consider banning its ivory trade. Hong Kong is also a major transit hub for…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Three-Year Timeline of Ivory Milestones in Hong Kong and Mainland China
For years, the Hong Kong’s government rejected eliminating its huge retail ivory market, and mainland China has shown itself to be more forward thinking. Yet recent events—including evidence showing that Hong Kong’s ivory traders use the legal market as a conduit for illegal ivory, public protests against the trade, and moves in mainland…
Read MoreNational Geographic: How World’s Largest Legal Ivory Market Fuels Demand for Illegal Ivory
New report shows that limited oversight of Hong Kong’s ivory traders allows laundering of illegal ivory through legal markets. By Laurel Neme, for National Geographic PUBLISHED October 22, 2015 A new report by WildAid, an international nongovernmental organization that aims to eliminate illegal wildlife trade, together with undercover video by independent investigators provided to WildAid and WWF-Hong Kong,…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Ripple Effect: Saving Elephants One Kid at a Time
Children’s voices can be extremely powerful—a fact readily apparent on a recent Sunday when more than 325 people—most of them children—participated in Vermont’s first kid-driven Global March for Elephants and Rhinos. The event was initiated by 12-year-old Taegen Yardley, who organized a network of youngsters from across the state. Student “champions” at more than…
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