Wildlife in a Changed World

Webinar 5: Wildlife Industry, Trade and Trafficking in the Americas and the Risks to Public Health

Professionals in wildlife care, management and policy discuss wildlife-health regulations, wildlife pathogens and potential human exposure risks across the Americas.

 

 

Panelists

Vanda Felbab-Brown, PhD

Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, Brookings Institute

Dr. Vanda Felbab-Brown is a senior fellow in the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings Institute. She is an expert on international and internal conflicts and nontraditional security threats, including insurgency, organized crime, urban violence, and illicit economies, such as drug trafficking, poaching and wildlife trafficking. Her fieldwork and research on these issues have covered, among others, Afghanistan, South Asia, Myanmar, Indonesia, the Andean region, Mexico, Morocco, Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, Somalia, and other parts of eastern, Western, and Southern Africa. She is the author of The Extinction Market: Wildlife Trafficking and How to Counter It.

 

Meredith Gore, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University

Dr. Meredith Gore is a conservation social scientist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University. She received her PhD in Natural Resource Policy and Management from Cornell University, MA in Environment and Resource Policy from George Washington University, and BA in Anthropology and Environmental Studies from Brandeis University. She is a MSU Global Research Academy Fellow,  National Academies of Sciences Jefferson Science Fellow, US Department of State Embassy Science Fellow and  Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leader. Dr. Gore uses risk concepts to build new understanding of human-environment relationships and her research is designed to build evidence for action. The majority of her activities can be described as convergence research on conservation issues such as wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, fishing and mining.

 

Mark Davis, DVM, Arcadia Animal Hospital

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Arcadia Animal Hospital

Mark Davis is a veterinary practitioner in Arcadia, FL specializing in large- and small-animal medicine, wildlife medicine and the conservation of large ungulates.  He is also a consulting veterinarian for the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation. Dr. Davis has over 35 years of hands-on experience with both agricultural and exotic hoofed animals ranging from domestic cattle to rhinos, tapirs and antelopes.  Raised in Congo, he has a deep personal and professional affinity for Africa and its wildlife, and for many years has been the lead veterinarian in the recovery program for Kenya's critically endangered mountain bongo antelope.

Paul Reillo, PhD

Director, Tropical Conservation Institute; Director, Rare Species Conservatory Foundation

Dr. Paul Reillo is founding director of the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation (RSCF), a publicly supported 501c(3) wildlife conservation organization based in Loxahatchee, Florida. A Maryland native, Reillo has a background in environmental engineering (B.A., Johns Hopkins) and ecological genetics (Ph.D., University of Maryland), and has spent many years as a field-oriented research zoologist and conservationist. Today he focuses on the demography and genetics of small populations of endangered wildlife, and develops recovery strategies for flagship species, notably the mountain bongo antelope from Kenya and the endemic Amazon parrots of Brazil and the Caribbean. 

Moderator

Cristina M Gomes, PhD

Assistant Director, Tropical Conservation Institute

Dr. Cristina Gomes is the Assistant Director of the Tropical Conservation Institute. A zoologist (Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela) and evolutionary anthropologist (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany), Gomes specializes in primate behavioral ecology and conservation. She has also developedd a number of conservation and education initiatives, aimed at protecting wildlife and their natural habitat, and supporting local human populations in improving their health and standard of life. Cristina joined the Tropical Conservation Institute in 2017, where she currently oversees the development of numerous applied conservation and education programs.

Webinar 4: The decision to ban the trade and consumption of wildlife in China

Experts in wildlife conservation and trade in China provide insights into the scope, implementation process, challenges and global impacts of the ban. We will post questions answered live and information on any follow-up webinars here soon. 

 

The use of data or figures shared in this webinar is not authorized. Please contact tci@fiu.edu if you would like to watch an unedited version of this recording or if you would like to use any of the figures shared by panelists.

Panelists

Hong Liu, PhD

Associate Professor, Institute of Environment, Florida International University

Dr. Hong Liu is an Associate Professor at the International Center for Tropical Botany, the Tropical Conservation Institute and the Department of Earth and Environment at Florida International University, and a Research Associate at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Her main research interests are plant conservation ecology. She works in Florida USA and tropical China, addressing important environmental issues such as the impacts of climate change on rare and threatened species, conservation of heavily exploited and trafficked plant species, and the role of biotic interactions in population persistence and expansion. She has served as a member of the IUCN SSC Orchid Specialist Group since 2012 and the wild orchid trade subgroup since 2016. Her findings have influenced several conservation policies and measures.

Binbin Li, PhD

Assistant Professor, Environmental Research Center, Duke Kunshan University

Dr. Binbin Li is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences at the Environmental Research Center at Duke Kunshan University. She holds a secondary appointment with Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. Her research focuses on endangered and endemic species conservation in China such as giant pandas, and on priority setting and management of protected areas. She promotes the use of innovative technology, market tools and policies to solve conservation issues and assists local community development. She is an IUCN Species Survival Commission expert and serves on the editorial board of Biodiversity Science. Dr. Li received her PhD in Environment from Duke University, M.S in Natural Resources and Environment from University of Michigan and B.S in Life Sciences with a dual degree in Economics from Peking University (2010).

Wuying Lin

Scientific Director, Guangxi Biodiversity Research and Conservation Association 

Wuying Lin is the Scientific Director of Guangxi Biodiversity Research and Conservation Association (BRC) - a grassroot conservation NGO in China. She is also member of the IUCN SSC Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group, 2018 Pew Marine Fellow, member of Homeward Bound Project and China Ambassador of Citizen Science Asia. For the past 10 years, Wuying has worked on karst ecosystem conservation and coastal and marine ecosystems conservation in Southern China, especially focusing on human-nature relationships and forgotten species and communities. As a leader in coastal and marine conservation she has founded FFI China and BRC’s coastal and marine conservation project. She is now developing the first citizen science-based platform for coastal and marine biodiversity conservation actions in China. Her pioneer work has increased the participation of individuals and local Chinese communities in environmental protection and conservation practice.

Moderator

Cristina M Gomes, PhD

Assistant Director,  Tropical Conservation Institute

Dr. Cristina Gomes is the Assistant Director of the Tropical Conservation Institute. A zoologist (Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela) and evolutionary anthropologist (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany), Gomes specializes in primate behavioral ecology and conservation. She has also developedd a number of conservation and education initiatives, aimed at protecting wildlife and their natural habitat, and supporting local human populations in improving their health and standard of life. Cristina joined the Tropical Conservation Institute in 2017, where she currently oversees the development of numerous applied conservation and education programs.

 

Panelists

Vanda Felbab-Brown, PhD

Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, Brookings Institute

Dr. Vanda Felbab-Brown is a senior fellow in the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings Institute. She is an expert on international and internal conflicts and nontraditional security threats, including insurgency, organized crime, urban violence, and illicit economies, such as drug trafficking, poaching and wildlife trafficking. Her fieldwork and research on these issues have covered, among others, Afghanistan, South Asia, Myanmar, Indonesia, the Andean region, Mexico, Morocco, Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, Somalia, and other parts of eastern, Western, and Southern Africa. She is the author of The Extinction Market: Wildlife Trafficking and How to Counter It.

Susan Lieberman, PhD

Vice-President, International Policy, Wildlife Conservation Society

Dr. Susan Lieberman is Vice President, International Policy with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), where she leads WCS’s policy engagement in multiple intergovernmental fora. She has worked in international biodiversity conservation, at the intersection of science and policy, for more than 30 years, including extensive experience with international wildlife trade including wildlife trafficking. She has extensive experience with treaties and other intergovernmental bodies, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), and the UNESCO-World Heritage Convention. She obtained her Ph.D. in tropical ecology from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, where she also did postdoctoral research. 

Paul Reillo, PhD

Director,  Tropical Conservation Institute; Director, Rare Species Conservatory Foundation

Dr. Paul Reillo is founding director of the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation (RSCF), a publicly supported 501c(3) wildlife conservation organization based in Loxahatchee, Florida. A Maryland native, Reillo has a background in environmental engineering (B.A., Johns Hopkins) and ecological genetics (Ph.D., University of Maryland), and has spent many years as a field-oriented research zoologist and conservationist. Today he focuses on the demography and genetics of small populations of endangered wildlife, and develops recovery strategies for flagship species, notably the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow, the mountain bongo antelope from Kenya and the endemic Amazon parrots of Brazil and the Caribbean. 

Moderator

Cristina M Gomes, PhD

Assistant Director,  Tropical Conservation Institute

Dr. Cristina Gomes is the Assistant Director of the Tropical Conservation Institute. A zoologist (Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela) and evolutionary anthropologist (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany), Gomes specializes in primate behavioral ecology and conservation. She has also developedd a number of conservation and education initiatives, aimed at protecting wildlife and their natural habitat, and supporting local human populations in improving their health and standard of life. Cristina joined the Tropical Conservation Institute in 2017, where she currently oversees the development of numerous applied conservation and education programs.

 

Panelists

LoraKim Joyner, DVM

Co-director, One Earth Conservation

Dr. Joyner has worked in the front-lines of parrot conservation in the Americas for more than 30 years and currently oversees projects in 7 countries in Central and South America. She is also certified as a Nonviolent Communication Trainer and a Unitarian Universalist minister, bringing the human dimensions of conservation to her work. You can contact Dr. Joyner here.

Branson W Ritchie, PhD, DVM

Director, Technology Development and Implementation at  New Materials Institute; Director,  Infectious Diseases Laboratory

Diplomate American Board of Veterinary Practitioners and Diplomate European College of Zoological Medicine, he is a Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Georgia. Dr. Ritchie and his teams have worked to develop innovative technologies that improve the health and happiness of companion and free-ranging animals, as well as humans, through translational technologies.

Juan Carlos Cantú

Director,  Defenders of Wildlife Mexico

Juan Carlos oversees the organization’s programs for parrots and other birds, sea turtles, marine mammals, mangroves, sharks, reptiles, endangered species and invasive species. He is a founding member of the Technical Advisory Subcommittee for the Protection, Conservation and Recovery of Psittacines in which he served as chair of Commerce, Illegal Trade and Regulations. He was the main author of the report of illegal trade of parrots which was the basis for the 2008 parrot trade ban. You can find more information on Juan Carlos' efforts in parrot conservation here and contact him here.

Daniel Lebbin, PhD

Vice President of Threatened Species,  American Bird Conservancy

Dr. Lebbin and his international team work with partner organizations across Latin America and the Caribbean to conserve parrots and other wild bird species and their habitats. For parrots in particular, ABC has helped establish multiple nature reserves for the rarest species, developed ecotourism accommodations at many of these reserves to finance management, supported nest box programs to boost reproduction, as well as research to guide conservation and anti-trafficking and anti-persecution campaigns.You can contact Dr. Lebbin here.

Paul Reillo, PhD

Director,  Tropical Conservation Institute; Director, Rare Species Conservatory Foundation

Dr. Reillo  has a background in environmental engineering (B.A., Johns Hopkins) and ecological genetics (Ph.D., University of Maryland), and has spent many years as a field-oriented research zoologist and conservationist.  He has been immersed in parrot conservation for over 30 years, spearheading in situ and ex situ recovery programs for Brazil's Red-browed parrot and the endemic Amazons of the eastern Caribbean. You can contact Dr. Reillo here.

Moderator

Cristina M Gomes, PhD

Assistant Director,  Tropical Conservation Institute

Dr. Cristina Gomes is the Assistant Director of the Tropical Conservation Institute. A zoologist (Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela) and evolutionary anthropologist (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany), Gomes specializes in primate behavioral ecology and conservation. She has also developedd a number of conservation and education initiatives, aimed at protecting wildlife and their natural habitat, and supporting local human populations in improving their health and standard of life. Cristina joined the Tropical Conservation Institute in 2017, where she currently oversees the development of numerous applied conservation and education programs.

Panelists

LoraKim Joyner, DVM

Co-director, One Earth Conservation

Dr. Joyner has worked in the front-lines of parrot conservation in the Americas for more than 30 years and currently oversees projects in 7 countries in Central and South America. She is also certified as a Nonviolent Communication Trainer and a Unitarian Universalist minister, bringing the human dimensions of conservation to her work.

Branson W Ritchie, PhD, DVM

Director, Technology Development and Implementation at  New Materials Institute; Director,  Infectious Diseases Laboratory

Diplomate American Board of Veterinary Practitioners and Diplomate European College of Zoological Medicine, he is a Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Georgia. Dr. Ritchie and his teams have worked to develop innovative technologies that improve the health and happiness of companion and free-ranging animals, as well as humans, through translational technologies.

Juan Carlos Cantú

Director,  Defenders of Wildlife Mexico

Juan Carlos oversees the organization’s programs for parrots and other birds, sea turtles, marine mammals, mangroves, sharks, reptiles, endangered species and invasive species. He is a founding member of the Technical Advisory Subcommittee for the Protection, Conservation and Recovery of Psittacines in which he served as chair of Commerce, Illegal Trade and Regulations. He was the main author of the report of illegal trade of parrots which was the basis for the 2008 parrot trade ban.

Daniel Lebbin, PhD

Vice President of Threatened Species,  American Bird Conservancy

Dr. Lebbin and his international team work with partner organizations across Latin America and the Caribbean to conserve parrots and other wild bird species and their habitats. For parrots in particular, ABC has helped establish multiple nature reserves for the rarest species, developed ecotourism accommodations at many of these reserves to finance management, supported nest box programs to boost reproduction, as well as research to guide conservation and anti-trafficking and anti-persecution campaigns.

Paul Reillo, PhD

Director,  Tropical Conservation Institute; Director, Rare Species Conservatory Foundation

Dr. Reillo  has a background in environmental engineering (B.A., Johns Hopkins) and ecological genetics (Ph.D., University of Maryland), and has spent many years as a field-oriented research zoologist and conservationist.  He has been immersed in parrot conservation for over 30 years, spearheading in situ and ex situ recovery programs for Brazil's Red-browed parrot and the endemic Amazons of the eastern Caribbean.