The cost of knowing what will stop wildlife trafficking: Organizations reallocating 3% annually could reveal what works to protect species

Abstract

Wildlife trafficking is a multibillion-dollar illicit business that drives biodiversity loss, compromises bio- and national security, and can threaten the safety and wellbeing of local communities. A new study reveals that we have profound opportunities to expand the evidence about what works to stop wildlife trafficking and that we have clear models to inform rigorous evaluation of interventions. These findings present an opportune invitation: How will the conservation community fund at scale the evidence testing to establish what works to stop wildlife trafficking? We amplify this call and urge donor governments, multilateral institutions, and private foundations globally to help transform the way we combat wildlife trafficking by dedicating at least 1–3% of budgets to testing the effectiveness of interventions. We calculate allocations based on current evidence and funding levels by intervention category and find that this would translate into global donors investing only US$2.6–5.7 million annually in evidence testing. By reallocating a small portion of investments to building evidence through evaluation, we can significantly advance our understanding of what effectively works to stop wildlife trafficking.