Beyond enforcement: involving indigenous peoples and local communities in combating illegal wildlife trade

A new report focuses on the importance of indigenous peoples and local communities in countering illegal wildlife trade. A new report on combating the illegal trade in wildlife highlights the vital importance – and complexities – of involving indigenous people and local communities in conservation efforts. The report, entitled 'Beyond enforcement: involving indigenous peoples and local communities in combating illegal wildlife trade', documents a workshop in Limbe, Cameroon, in February 2016 which brought together practitioners, government officials and researchers from 12 countries to discuss how to combat illegal wildlife trade (IWT) . The workshop focused on the neglected role of indigenous peoples and local communities – the people often most heavily impacted by poaching and associated crime.