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Wildlife 1 is a dedicated resource and reporting mechanism for monitoring wildlife trade and conservation issues in Asia. Education and transparency are keys to changing attitudes. A sustainable wildlife resource base is vital to ensure biodiversity, human health and food security.
Bringing you the latest from the front line in the battle for conservation and protection of Asia's remaining wildlife and habitats. With intelligence, news updates and cutting edge photography from across the region.
Press Release: Wildlife 1, in conjunction with Screen Australia, Piper Films and the South Australian Film Corporation is now producing Black Market, a feature documentary focusing on the regions illegal wildlife trade, the players involved and the impact it is having on our planet.
Synopsis
After drugs and arms, the poaching, sale and consumption of exotic wild animals is probably the most lucrative crime on the planet, worth an estimated US$10 billion annually. The trade is increasing rapidly in Asia due to booming demand and massive economic growth in the region.
It is also one of the fastest growing areas of international crime. Recent reports also reveal that some of the proceeds are being diverted to assist terrorist groups. Wary of the strict policing and penalties for drugs and arms, some terrorist organizations are now turning to wildlife.
Black Market is a journey into this world and that of key conservationists and organizations struggling to save wildlife before it is too late.
People need to be inspired and educated now more than ever before. The world is in the midst of a global environmental crisis. We are loosing species and habitats faster than we are saving them and in Asia the issue is critical.
Photography and the media have a specific role in revealing this critically important issue. Powerful images and stories that inspire people to act are a catalyst for education, cultural understanding and social action.
The series will also reveal the centuries old cultural beliefs and practices which underpin the trade alongside the more recent political and economic developments fuelling it’s increase.
We now stand at a critical moment in Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.
Earth
Humanity is part of a vast evolving universe. Earth, our home, is alive with a unique community of life. The forces of nature make existence a demanding and uncertain adventure, but Earth has provided the conditions essential to life's evolution. The resilience of the community of life and the well being of humanity depend upon preserving a healthy biosphere with all its ecological systems, a rich variety of plants and animals, fertile soils, pure waters, and clean air. The global environment with its finite resources is a common concern of all peoples. The protection of Earth's vitality, diversity, and beauty is a sacred trust. The Global Situation
The dominant patterns of production and consumption are causing environmental devastation, the depletion of resources, and a massive extinction of species. Communities are being undermined. The benefits of development are not shared equitably and the gap between rich and poor is widening. Injustice, poverty, ignorance, and violent conflict are widespread and the cause of great suffering. An unprecedented rise in human population has overburdened ecological and social systems. The foundations of global security are threatened. These trends are perilous - but not inevitable ! United Nations 'Earth Charter'
Above: Rangers on a night patrol arrest a poacher with an endangered hog badger in Bokor National Park, Cambodia. Protected areas in most Asian countries and the men and women that protect them are grossly underfunded and often outgunned. © Adam Oswell 
Above: Customers inspect Sunda pangolins in Mong La, Special region 4, Burma/China border. Hundreds of thousands of pangolins are traded and consumed in Asia every year. Large volumes of pangolins are shipped to China, Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan and other Asian countries from as far away as Malaysia and Indonesia to supply markets and consumers. © Adam Oswell
Wildlife is in crisis all over the world, especially in Asia, with many animal and plant species driven closer to extinction every day. Less than nine percent of the earth has been set aside for protected areas and there is constant pressure from development and commercial activities to reduce these areas even further. Poaching and the black market trade in wildlife has become a massive, multi-billion dollar business, with trafficking routes extending from remote national parks and reserves, where animals are trapped and killed, to major urban centres where they are sold and consumed.
Above: Much of the regions wildlife is moved between countries through remote border crossings. With large volumes of goods crossing these borders daily it is often difficult or impossible to stop the flow of wildlife via these channels. Ingrained corruption at these borders by officials also enables the trade to flourish. © Adam Oswell
Above: Convicted rhino poachers in Assam India. These local villagers reside in close proximity to many of the protected areas in Assam where populations of Indian rhino remain with horn worth literally millions of dollars. Most of the parks require 24 hour armed security patrols and the penalties for poaching are severe and include lengthy jail terms if convicted. However these people are often desperately poor and are willing to risk their lives for the large sums offered for rhino horn on the international black market. © Adam Oswell |
The trafficking of endangered wildlife is a horrific business. Each year millions of endangered primates, birds, reptiles and fish are captured and slaughtered. Yet, very few outside the conservation community—even within it—realize the magnitude of this tragedy.