Asia
Mongabay.com: Leuser’s Legacy: how rescued orangutans help assure species survival
30th March 2016 / Laurel A. Neme Mongabay.com Meet two blind orangutans: Leuser and Gober, their offspring, and the people of the SOCP rescue group. Together they’re creating a future for Indonesian orangutans. Agribusiness is rapidly razing the prime forest habitat of Sumatra’s 14,600 remaining orangutans; replacing it with vast stretches of oil palm plantation. The species’…
Read MoreHuffington Post: For Pangolins, A Long Hard Road to Freedom
03/18/2016 by Laurel Neme Freelance Journalist and Author This pangolin was recently rehabilitated and released in Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Save Vietnam’s Wildlife. Pangolins are scaly anteaters about the size of a house cat. They’re presumed to be the world’s most trafficked mammal, with an estimated 100,000 plucked from the wild every year in Africa and…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Happy Ending for Smuggled Pangolins
Wildlife Watch 16 rare scaly anteaters are back in the wild after being rescued from Vietnam’s illegal wildlife trade. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED March 15, 2016 This story was updated to reflect that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today issued a preliminary finding to a scientific petition submitted by conservation groups, saying that Endangered Species Act…
Read MoreNational 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: 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 MoreHuffington Post: Chinese Researchers Explore Options for Ivory Ban
Posted: 12/16/2015 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 step in the fight against elephant poaching. Yet it was also only the first step in a long road. Now comes the…
Read MoreHuffington Post: Hong Kong Open to Closing Ivory Trade Markets (3)
By Laurel Neme Posted: 11/06/2015 In a major policy shift, Hong Kong–the world’s largest retail market for elephant ivory–says it may now consider banning its ivory trade. “The Government is open-minded on the ban on domestic trade” was how a spokesperson for Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) put it in an email…
Read MoreHuffington Post: How Legal Markets Fuel Ivory Smuggling in Hong Kong
Posted: 10/27/2015 Hong Kong’s legal ivory market fuels ivory smuggling and elephant poaching says 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, the report, Illusion of Control, released Oct 23 in Hong Kong, reveals that ivory traders…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Endangered Orangutans Gain from Eco-Friendly Shifts in Palm Oil Market
Oil palm plantations are a major threat to orangutans, but new initiatives for deforestation-free palm oil may help save them. Laurel Neme for National Geographic Published October 9, 2014 Orangutans are endangered. Now, they’re also at the epicenter of a quiet revolution, a transformation taking place on our grocery store shelves, as one company after…
Read MoreNational Geographic: In Hong Kong, Kids Take Action to Stop the Illegal Ivory Trade
Schoolchildren are working together to raise awareness of the toll of the illegal ivory trade. Photograph by Katrina Shute Laurel Neme for National Geographic Published April 24, 2014 Part of our weekly “In Focus” series—stepping back, looking closer. Hong Kong schoolchildren are transforming attitudes about elephant ivory through small actions that are having…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Good News for Animals in Nepal: A Full Year Without Poaching
Bucking the worldwide trend, Nepal continues its successful fight against poaching. Laurel Neme for National Geographic Published March 12, 2014 On World Wildlife Day, March 3, Nepal celebrated 365 days with zero poaching. No rhinos, tigers, or elephants were killed. It’s the second year of such success in Nepal. In 2011 the country also had…
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