Do or die: deciding the pangolin’s fate at CoP17

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 will be remembered by many delegates attending Cites CoP17 as a bitter-sweet day for pangolins – an ancient species that has earned the unfortunate label of “the most trafficked mammal we have never heard of ”.

After months of vociferous lobbying, conservationists succeeded in eliciting the unanimous support of 19 range countries to uplist the species’ status from Appendix II – which allows for restricted trade – to Appendix I– a total ban on all trade, except for scientific research.

But the lifeline that been thrown to this troglodyte creature also constitutes an acknowledgement that other measures to save it have failed.

To date the pangolin had remained under the radar of mainstream conservation campaigns, unlike the high-profile marketing drives undertaken on behalf of elephant, rhino, tiger, leopard and lion. Not only is it extremely elusive – it is a nocturnal loner – funding shortages have also hampered research into its habitat and genealogy.

Dan Challender, who co-chairs the Pangolin Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, has described it as “the forgotten species”. But this moniker has now changed, thanks to CoP17.

Although Cites was only expected to make its decision on the fate of the pangolin on October 5 – the final day of the conference – the unanimous vote meant the uplisting of all eight species was implemented immediately.

Of the eight species, four are from Asia and four from Africa.

“It is essential to embrace our endangered species as a country, continent and as the world, to speak in one, united voice,” says Ray Jansen, chairman of the African Pangolin Working Group – a non-profit organisation established in 2011 to research, raise awareness and lobby for greater protection of the species.

“We must show that pangolins are untouchable, that trade is a no-no. This requires removing demand and increasing stiff penalties for all wildlife crimes in general, and pangolin trafficking in particular.”

Although statistics on numbers of African and Asian pangolins are unclear, conservationists and scientists have pointed out that, based on seizures of pangolin scales and meat transported from Africa to Asia, over 1million pangolins are estimated to have been poached in the past decade.

The rate at which they are being slaughtered for scales and meat is therefore completely unsustainable.

Although the local market for pangolin still revolves principally around traditional healing, followed by a much smaller trade in bush meat, South African pangolins are being caught and trafficked by middlemen who regard this elusive animal as a lucrative commodity.

The Limpopo-based anti-poaching unit, Protrack, said there have been seven arrests in Limpopo since the beginning of the year, alongside Northern Cape, where the Temminck’s ground pangolin – a species indigenous to southern and South Africa – is most commonly found.

Rynette Coetzee,whoistheBiodiversityOfficeratthe Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said: Although we have no idea how many pangolin are left in South Africa, if one does a risk assessment, it is necessary to err on the side of caution.

“This is because huge numbers of scales are leaving South Africa and the continent, which make the su rvival of the species unsustainable.”

For example, in July, Hong Kong Customs seized over 4 000kg of pangolin scales hidden in a container labelled “sliced plastics” from Cameroon. This represent up to 6 000 pangolins – the largest seizure of pangolin scales in five years.

Indeed, pangolin body parts have been used for centuries in traditional Asian and African medicine. But it is evident that in Asia, especially China and Vietnam, pangolin scales are now being exploited for everything from fashion items to status symbols, and the species is being eaten to near-extinction.

Inevitably, Africa has become the next port of call. – The Conservation Trust