Price increase of ivory
Price of ivory has increased from $200 a kilo in 2004 to $850 to $900 in 2008.
Source: The Economist, “Call of the wild,” March 8, 2008, pg. 85.
Decline of Rhino population
In the early 1970s, the global rhino population stood at 75,000. In 2008, it stood around 11,000.
Source: The Economist, “Call of the wild”, March 8, 2008, pg. 86.
Gas and Oil Smuggling Market Value: $6.2 Billion
$5 Billion worth of gas and oil is smuggled out of Iraq every year, with an additional $1.2 Billion smuggled out of other areas of the world.
Source: $5 billion losses for Iraq to Gas Smuggling: Sam Dagher, ‘Basra strike against Shiite militias also about oil,” Christian Science Monitor, April 9, 2008.
Additional $1.2 Billion from [...]
Trash Smuggling Market Value: $11 Billion
According to the United States Government, trash smugglers who illegally dump trash and other hazardous materials earn $10 to $12 billion.
Source: United States International Crime Threat Assessment, “Environmental Crimes,” December 15, 2000, available at Federation of American Scientists, (last accessed: January 30, 2006).
Illegal Logging Market Value: $15 Billion
According to a briefing paper by Chatham House, illegal logging activities “may account for over a tenth of the total global timer trade, representing products worth at least $15bn a year.”
Source: Duncan Brack, “Illegal Logging: Briefing Paper”, August 2006, Chatham House: Energy Environment and Development Programme, (accessed: December 15, 2007).
Illegal Fishing Market Value: $16.50 Billion
The total value of Illegal Fishing losses worldwide is between $10 billion and $23 billion annually.
Source: MRAG and the University of British Colombia Fihseries Centre, “The Globa Extent of Illegal Fishing, ” April 2008.
Animal and Wildlife Trafficking and Smuggling: $20 Billion
The WWF (formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund) has estimated that animal and wildlife trafficking to be worth between $15 billion and $25 billion a year.
Source: Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark, “Poaching for Bin Laden,” Guardian, May 5, 2007, (accessed: May 7, 2007).
Estimated 19,000 elephants are poached every year
Source: Associated Press, “One-time ivory sale approved,” International Herald Tribune, June 14, 2007.
Only 50 to 150 tigers remain in wild in Vietnam due to poaching
Source: AFP, “Wildlife smuggling in Asia still a roaring trade,” Yahoo News, June 3, 2007.
60 percent of rhino population were killed in two African countries between 2003 and 2005
Source: Arthur Max, AP, “Crime syndicates smuggling wildlife,” Yahoo News, June 7, 2007.
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