WWF International Review 2016 - 12

WILDLIFE
Our goal: the world's most threatened and
ecologically, economically and culturally
important species are secure in the wild.

CITES SUCCESSES

There were some big wins for our goal of ending the illegal trade
in wildlife. At the world's largest ever wildlife trade conference,
attended by governments who sign up to the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna
(CITES), all our major asks were achieved. This included better
protection for pangolins - the world's most trafficked mammal -
as well as grey parrots, sharks and rays. Global bans on trade in
ivory and rhino horn were also maintained. And for the first time,
there were also resolutions on tackling corruption and reducing
demand for products from endangered species.

CHINA TO BAN DOMESTIC IVORY TRADE

WWF resolutely supported the watershed decision by the Chinese
government to end the world's primary legal ivory market by
the end of 2017. This represents a major boost to international
efforts to tackle the elephant poaching crisis in Africa, where up
to 20,000 elephants are taken illegally each year. This builds on
other positive governmental decisions in 2016: the US introduced
strict domestic ivory regulations, while Hong Kong announced a
ban that will come into force in five years.

PANDAS OUT OF THE RED

After many years of sustained effort, the giant panda - WWF's
symbol and a flagship species for conservation - is no longer
listed as endangered. Its status was upgraded to vulnerable on
the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, following a 17 per cent
population increase over the last decade. But there was bad news
too: the eastern lowland gorilla - the world's largest ape - is now
critically endangered, and wildlife numbers globally continue
to fall.

WWF Annual Review 2016 | page 12
http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/our_global_goals/species_programme/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of WWF International Review 2016
