Global wildlife trafficking is a vast illicit industry worth an estimated $57-180 billion per year worldwide, with the true total cost to the global economy of transnational wildlife crime at $1-2 Trillion annually (World Bank). In addition, global wildlife trafficking is a major driver of pandemics, and closely intertwined with transnational organized crime, corruption, and authoritarian regimes.
This talk will explore the geopolitical dimensions of the issue, in particular the role of China, Africa-Asia relations, and the ways in which Transnational Organized Criminal networks influence – and even at times a tool of – international Statecraft.