Wildlife trade, environmental crimes 

October 19, 2025

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress 2025, held from October 9 to 15 in Abu Dhabi, adopted key resolutions recognising the commercial trade in wildlife as pets and environmental crimes such as illegal logging and mining as serious threats to biodiversity, public health, and sustainable development.

The Congress highlighted that the trade in live wild animals, whether legal or illegal, is rapidly expanding and threatens the survival of many species, often driving local and global extinctions. The trade caters to household markets and elite collectors seeking rare or exotic species. According to the IUCN, such activities inflict severe animal suffering due to poor capture, transport, and housing, leading to high rates of injury, disease, and mortality.

The resolution also stressed the public health risks associated with wildlife trade. Animals carrying pathogens move across multiple trade routes from the wild to urban markets, creating potential disease spillovers. Additionally, some traded species may become invasive, endangering native wildlife, agriculture, and livestock. The Congress noted that organised crime and corruption often facilitate this trade.

Criticising existing regulatory frameworks that rely on “negative lists,” which allow trade unless proven harmful, the IUCN called for a shift to a “positive list” system. This approach permits trade only in species explicitly assessed as safe and sustainable. The resolution acknowledged the role of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in regulating international wildlife trade.

On environmental crimes, the Congress adopted a resolution on Crimes Affecting the Environment (CAE), urging stronger international cooperation and cross-border law enforcement. It identified wildlife trafficking, illegal deforestation, mining, fishing, and pollution as transnational crimes committed at industrial scales. The IUCN noted that such crimes exacerbate biodiversity loss, climate change, and environmental degradation, undermining global goals including the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The resolution highlighted links between environmental crimes and corruption, financial offences, human trafficking, and labour violations. It emphasised the disproportionate impact on Indigenous peoples, local communities, women, and other vulnerable groups. Civil society, academia, private sector actors, whistleblowers, and media were recognised as crucial in reporting and mitigating such crimes.

The Congress directed the IUCN Director General and Council to form a Task Force to develop a comprehensive CAE strategy, noting that no dedicated international legal framework currently addresses these crimes comprehensively. The resolution urged governments and private sector actors, particularly in finance and transport, to strengthen accountability, integrate crime prevention into law enforcement, and support environmental defenders.