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‘Reduction of Illegal Global Wildlife Trade through Novel Conservation Forensics Research’

The team from the School of Biological Sciences, Dr Caroline Dingle, Dr David Baker, Dr Timothy Bonebrake and Professor David Dudgeon, has adopted conservation forensics to provide authorities investigating illegal wildlife trafficking with accurate scientific data to use against traffickers. The team received the University’s Knowledge Exchange Excellence Award 2020 for this project.

Conservation research undertaken at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) allowed increased enforcement of national and international law protecting endangered species and supporting illegal wildlife trade reduction. Conservation actions stemming from this research resulted in increased protection of turtles, pangolins and fish under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and via the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Further, newly developed forensics techniques uncovered extensive criminal activities and supporting successful prosecution. As Hong Kong is a global hub for wildlife crime, this research has led to significant reductions in illegal trade.

Dr Caroline DingleDr David BakerDr Timothy Bonebrake, and Professor David Dudgeon received the University’s Knowledge Exchange Excellence Award 2020 for this project.

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