In a landmark move to safeguard endangered plant species, UK conservationists have joined forces with e-commerce giant eBay to combat the rampant illegal plant trade.
The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Traffic, a wildlife trade monitoring network, are sounding the alarm on the devastating impact of illegal plant harvesting, driven by surging global demand for exotic houseplants and fuelled by online marketplaces. The issue is growing "at such a rate that, in many cases, their existence is now under threat".
This unprecedented collaboration aims to 'develop a blueprint' for eBay to bolster its trading policies, cracking down on illegal plant sales and engaging other platforms to follow suit.
The conservationists emphasise that illegal trade often masquerades as legitimate sales, deceiving well-intentioned buyers. "Illegal trade can hide in plain sight, mimicking the legal trade in cultivated specimens grown by responsible plant growers," they explained. "Many don't realise that the availability of some plants online may be threatening the survival of the species in the wild."
South Africa, a hotspot for succulent poaching, has witnessed a dramatic rise in plant theft, with law enforcement seizing over a million illegally harvested succulents since 2019. Many of these plants, "poached from the wild, end up for sale online around the world," noted the charities, adding the practice is "destroying precious ecosystems, feeding organised crime, and depriving local communities of livelihoods".
Dominique Prinsloo, Traffic's project manager, hailed the eBay partnership as a "critical first step" in tackling the "complex poaching and trade issues" around the problem. "We need to work collaboratively to address legislation, policies and detection around the online plant trade," Prinsloo said.
The project will leverage FloraGuard, a cutting-edge web-crawling tool, to pinpoint online adverts offering endangered species.
eBay, which blocked or removed half a million items violating its wildlife policies last year, has pledged "significant resources" to this cause.
This groundbreaking initiative marks a pivotal moment in the fight against the illegal plant trade, offering a glimmer of hope for endangered species teetering on the brink of extinction.
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