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| WildAid anti- poaching poster |
Editor’s note: According to Interpol, the illegal trade in wildlife is worth $6 billion per year. Only the illegal drugs trade and arms trade are more profitable. WildAid focuses on fighting wildlife crime. Its three-pronged approach includes providing financial assistance, training and equipment to rangers in national parks and marine reserves in developing countries; exposing middlemen to reduce illegal smuggling and trade; and raising awareness among consumers of the need to stop buying wildlife products.
San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown had proclaimed August 2nd, 2001, “WildAid Day.” All four of WildAid’s original band of warriors were gathered in that city to announce the North American launch of the group’s Asian Conservation Awareness Program (ACAP). Later in the day, WildAid supporters would have a chance to meet the group at the Film Center at the Presidio.
I parked early at the Commercial Street garage, and exited on foot to the north. Directly across the street was an alley with a winding path through tall Redwoods and open pavilians of benches, sculpture, fountains and reflecting pools. The western wall of this forest-like elongated acre-sized nook was the stretched pyramid of the 60 story Transamerica Building. In the branch filtered summer sun sat lunching dozens of San Franciscans on this weekday, mostly workers and bike couriers, as we on errands marched past.
About one hour before they were to leave for the WildAid day festivities I arrived at WildAid’s headquarters on Pacific, notepad in hand, to conduct some quick interviews. At that moment three of the four original WildAid Warriors were present in the office, co-Founder Suwanna Gauntlett based in Phenom Penh in Cambodia, Steve Galster based in Bangkok, and Steve Trent from London. Feeling fortunate to get three of these globetrotters together in an office at once, I got right down to business:
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| Left to right: Steve Galster, Suwana Gauntlet, Steve Trent |
Suwana Gauntlet
Phenom Penh, Cambodia
Working to curb illegal wildlife trade and strengthen protected areas.
Steve Galster
Bangkok, Thailand
Working to curb illegal wildlife trade and strengthen protected areas.
Steve Trent
London, UK
Coordinating worldwide public awareness campaign to reduce consumption of illegal wildlife products.
“When the buying stops, the killing can too.”
INTERVIEW
EW
How is WildAid different?
Suwanna Gauntlett
WildAid is focused on protecting the supply of wildlife through law enforcement. Also we commit 100% of donations to go directly to equipping and training local wildlife law enforcement organizations. Our overhead is completely supported through the Barbara Delano Foundation, so 100% of every contribution goes directly to action in the field.
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| Vials of dried bear heart. |
EW
Why are you, Steve Trent, based in London?
Steve Trent
London is the World’s media center. From there we can most effectively coordinate worldwide awareness campaigns. Most of our campaigns are focused in Asia, though, and WildAid also has an office in Beijing, the capital city of China.
WildAid also works on international legal initiatives, such as a worldwide fisheries management plan for sharks. International agreements are enforced by signer nations other commercial fish such as Tuna or Cod. Because Sharks do not reproduce nearly as quickly as those fish, sharks now face extinction, even though there are still relatively vast numbers of them. Currently over 100 million sharks are killed each year, according to WildAid figures.
EW
Why isn’t WildAid in India, after all, they’ve got a billion people, too?
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| Assam State, India, in yellow |
Steve Galster
Lots of groups are already working in India. We have worked in Assam to help establish a Rhino park.
Suwanna Gauntlett
“In many countries there is an epidemic of poaching. One of the reasons we chose Cambodia was because unlike many countries there still is lots of forest cover.”
EW
Who is helping you with your campaigns?
Suwanna Gauntlett
In Cambodia we are working with the Environmental Ministry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Royal Gendarmie. For example, so far we have trained over 50 officers for Cambodia’s Department of Forestry. We try to empower governments and local organizations to take charge of wildlife law enforcement and patrol protected areas. Thailand’s Royal Forest Department asked us for help after hearing about our successes in Russia.
EW
How would you describe the most serious threats to wildlife in the world today?
Steve Galster
There are two kinds of direct threats to wildlife, subsistence poachers, local inhabitants who kill a few animals to provide for themselves and their families, and serious poachers with global networks of illegal wildlife smugglers and traders.
EW
What do you think about fee hunting, where massive of wildlife can be nurtured on commercial estates?
Steve Galster
We’ve tried to involve the local community. It hasn’t helped to curb poaching. Management plans of any kind for most of these regions is a long way off. People and wildlife can survive together, but poor people for the most part still view wildlife and forests as a resource and not as rare bastions of biodiversity.
EW
Are there reliable data on how many tigers are left?
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| Confiscated tiger rug. |
Steve Galster
We’re collaborating with wildlife measurement agencies. Tiger numbers are down, right now we think there are about 5,000 of them left in the wild. The Java, the Caspian and the Bali Tiger are already extinct. In the near term that can happen elsewhere in Asia.
EW
What is an example of a WildAid program that worked?
Suwanna Gauntlett
The tiger population in Siberia is an example of recovery of a species. That population has stabilized for now, and effective protection programs are working.
Steve Trent
Our awareness campaigns are proving successful because we have enlisted people who have cultural resonance. In China, for example, we have signed on Jackie Chan, Michelle Lao, and Coco Lui. Our ongoing campaign “When the buying stops, the killing can too,” has been effective in getting agencies and companies to voluntarily stop selling or consuming shark fin soup, for example.
EW
It’s unusual for an NGO to be working so closely and cooperatively with the local governments. How has WildAid accomplished this?
Steve Trent
Most of the local groups we talk to are not used to having an NGO like WildAid coming in saying ‘we want to help’ and taking time to earn their trust. But people in these countries do realize they have a long-term economic interest in protecting wildlife and forests,. Wherever we go, we take time to build trust with the local people and organizations who are already involved in wildlife protection. We ask the people in these countries ‘do you want us here?’ first, and then work with them directly to provide training and equipment.
The photographs below were on display at the WildAid Day event show containers of pills taken from Bear Gall and Tiger Bones. These medicines are reputed by traders to effectively treat a variety of serious ailments including cancer and heart disease. There was also a confiscated rug made from the coat of a full-grown Bengal Tiger.
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