全球智库信息集成服务系统

Wildlife crime is an issue of considerable international concern. And with the recent increase in the illegal wildlife trade, and the increasing militarisation with which some kinds of wildlife crime are carried out, concern is growing. Poverty is often cited as a driver of wildlife crime, but wildlife crime, and responses to it, can also have negative impacts on poor people.

Using Uganda as a case study, we review the evidence for the following potential linkages. Is poverty a driver of wildlife crime? What impacts does wildlife crime have on poor people? And what impacts do responses to wildlife crime have on poor people?

Despite contradictory evidence, we conclude that poverty is one driver of wildlife crime among many, and that in general wildlife crime tends to have positive impacts on poor people who engage in it. Improved monitoring and evaluation would allow us to more confidently determine the impact of responses to wildlife crime on local people.