Today’s #Biodirectos tried to address the problem of wildlife trafficking, one of the main routes of transmission of zoonotic diseases.

Today saw the fourth edition of the #Biodirectos series, a series of online meetings, broadcast live and simultaneously on the different social media channels (Twitter, Facebook and YouTube).

Today’s programme has sought to address the problem of wildlife trafficking, one of the main routes of transmission of zoonotic diseases. Illegal wildlife trafficking generates about $23 billion a year, placing it in the fourth position of illegal markets after drug trafficking, counterfeiting and human trafficking.

MITECO has been working for years to address this problem. In 2018, it launched the Spanish Action Plan against Illegal Trafficking and International Poaching of Wildlife (TIFIES Plan) to prevent illegal trafficking and poaching by attacking their causes at source, making Spain the first European country to transpose the 2016 European Union Action Plan against wildlife trafficking into the national context.

Recently , mechanisms have been reinforced to curb the demand for wild species, establishing border controls, the import of up to 1,700 species has been prohibited, which in addition to being invasive exotic species could transmit diseases, and work is being done on a positive list of pets, species that are harmless to health and with animal welfare conditions.

In addition, Spain is working to improve the application of the regulations for this type of administrative infractions and to apply the biodiversity conservation law.

Since the implementation of the TIFIES Plan, various highly specialised training courses have been carried out with Seprona agents, such as in the recognition and identification of ivory, or courses in gross wood anatomy within the framework of an operation against international timber trafficking.

It is essential to prevent poaching at source. For this reason, MITECO has also carried out training courses for environmental guards working in the field in the countries of origin.

Luis Mariano González, head of the Conservation Actions Area of the General Subdirectorate of Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity of MITECO, participated in the meeting, who stressed the devastating impact on nature of this illicit business. He was accompanied by Luis Suárez, conservation coordinator of WWF Spain, and Jesús Gálvez, lieutenant colonel head of Operations of the Seprona of the Civil Guard.

During this cycle, the need to maintain a balance in ecosystems has been stressed, which allows avoiding the risk of pathogen spread. Every year, one and a half million live birds and 440,000 tons of medicinal plants are trafficked. The scale and speed with which natural ecosystems are being destroyed globally is unprecedented. This serious conservation problem also becomes a health problem, as there are jumps between species and pathogens end up affecting humans.

The aim of #Biodirectos, organised by MITECO through the Biodiversity Foundation, is to raise awareness of the important role that biodiversity plays in relation to human health, as well as to address various issues related to the opportunities offered by a green reconstruction after the global crisis generated by COVID-19. During the four events already held, which already have more than 23,000 views, experts from various fields have participated, with the aim of seeking solutions to the main challenges we face as a society, such as the health and environmental crisis. The next #Biodirectos will focus on the solutions that the green entrepreneurship sector is providing to the crisis.