Illegal wildlife trade in Mesoamerica 713
transportation of wildlife species. Large-scale agricultural de- velopment across the region, such as oil palm in Honduras and Guatemala, sugar cane in Belize and Guatemala, and cattle ranching in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala, amongst others, will probably lead to further land clearance and loss of habitat for many species already facing numer- ous threats.
(10) Timber traceability evolving at the sawmill level Timber traceability mechanisms have evolved with a focus upon long-term forest logging concessions, especially those with certifications from, for example, the Forest Stewardship
Council.However, tracing timber is problemat- ic when illegally cut from protected areas, extracted under short-term or fraudulent timber licences, or from areas cleared by large-scale agricultural developers. Once at the sawmill, timber from protected species can be mixed with other non-protected species and laundered into the regional and international legal trade. Weak enforcement of laws and regulations, low detection and prosecution rates, and small penalties, provide little deterrent against the harvest of protected species. Timber traceability methods are therefore evolving to address laundering at sawmills.
(11) New trade routes expanding wildlife trafficking path- ways internationally Mesoamerica has expanded its global economic reach to additional markets, with the negotia- tion of several trade agreements across new regions (World Bank, 2013). These new connections have opened trade routes and potential markets for wildlife products and live trade. The economic growth of destination countries also creates more opportunity to use these trade routes for the trafficking of valuable wildlife species. Although the USA is the largest importer of wildlife from the region (UNEP- WCMC, 2014), it is increasingly being used as a transit route to traffic wildlife species to these new international markets (Goyenechea & Indenbaum, 2015).
(12) Xylotron timber scanner advancing law enforcement capacity The Xylotron (Hermanson &Wiedenhoeft, 2014) is a timber scanner that is being trialled at a national and re- gional level by theWood Forensic Laboratories in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and San Pedro Sula, Honduras, for auto- matically identifying the species of timber
samples.This scan- ner can help tackle illegal logging by providing enforcement agencies with amore accuratemethod of wood identification and adding to a worldwide species reference database (Koch et al., 2015). Designed at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Product Laboratory, the Xylotron is being tested by several institutions and government agencies in Mesoamerica, with funding and technical support from the U.S. Forest Service.
(13) More accessible technology becoming available to com- bat wildlife crime More sophisticated technology has been coming into Mesoamerica, with options to access software on mobile phones and other devices. This exposure to tech- nology facilitates greater use of geospatial tools such as CyberTracker (CyberTracker Conservation, Cape Town, South Africa), ArcGIS (Esri, Redlands, USA) and GPS track- ers disguised as wildlife (Baraniuk, 2017), which can assist with anti-poaching efforts and commercial timber tracking on the ground. Since Belize piloted the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool in a marine environment for the first time in 2014, this technology is increasingly being adopted across Mesoamerica and has been used in terrestrial and marine sites in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Mexico.
(14) Smaller wildlife species being targeted by traffickers Experts have observed an increased demand for smaller wildlife species, presumably facilitated by the fact that these are easier to transport without being detected and harder to identify by law enforcement agencies. Species that have been targeted have included miniature orchids, reptiles, amphibians, spiders and insects for hobbyists, col- lectors and the pet trade. It is possible that the global trend towards urbanization and associated shift to smaller living spaces has been driving the demand for these smaller species (Reuter & Mosig, 2010).
(15) Satellite technology being used to trace illegal logging at the source As the value of sustainable forest management is being recognized, there has been an increased develop- ment of timber traceability systems. The advancement in satellite technology in particular has provided the opportun- ity to improve monitoring of natural resource use in remote areas. For example, theUKSpace Agency awarded a GBP 5.3 million grant to Guatemala in 2017 to develop satellite re- mote sensing and Global Navigation Satellite Systems for the detection and analysis of forest cover loss (British Embassy Guatemala City, 2017). In addition to providing in- telligence for enforcement agencies, this technology could also potentially extend traceability to other commercially exploited wildlife species.
Discussion
We identified 15 priority emerging trends to guide research- ers, decision-makers and practitioners working towards ad- dressing illegal wildlife trade in Mesoamerica. Five trends highlight the digital transformation of the region, with technological advancements perceived as both threats and opportunities. For example, increased access to social media and GPS technology (on mobile phones) can provide a
Oryx, 2021, 55(5), 708–716 © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605319001133
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