CITES Trade Database
Definition
Maintained by UNEP-WCMC, this holds records of all reported legal CITES-listed species trade. Used to detect permit fraud, unusual trade volumes, and laundering of illegal specimens.
- Maintained by
- UNEP-WCMC
- Content
- Records of reported legal CITES-listed species trade
- Investigative use
- Detecting permit fraud and unusual trade volumes
- Also used for
- Identifying laundering of illegal specimens
Common questions
How does an investigator use trade volume data to detect fraud?+
A sudden spike in declared exports from a country with a small known wild population, or repeated permits citing the same quota that has already been exhausted, are the kind of statistical anomalies analysts flag for further investigation using the database.
Does the database only record illegal trade?+
No, it records legally reported trade under valid CITES permits; its investigative value comes from comparing what was legally declared against known population sizes, seizure records, and other data sources to spot discrepancies suggesting laundering.
Can the database alone prove a specific shipment was fraudulent?+
No, the database supports pattern analysis across many records; confirming any single suspect shipment still requires physical inspection, permit verification, and often forensic species or provenance testing of the actual specimens.
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