Globalization, the Corona Pandemic and the Need for Joint Action against Illicit Trade in Wildlife

This article discusses the negative impact that the Corona pandemic has had on global cooperation and on public sentiments towards globalization. It shows that globalization is not only a victim of the pandemic, but is also blamed to be responsible for it. The article, however, argues that globalization, in the sense of global cooperation and joint action to strengthen international law, is also the solution to the problem. The effort to find a vaccine against COVID-19 can only be successful through global cooperation. Moreover, the article notes that the origin of both this virus and the 2002-2004 SARS virus is from wild-animals, and that around 75% of new or emerging infectious diseases that have affected humans over the past three decades originate in animals. Hence, joint action, through the strengthening of the international conventions against illicit trade in wildlife (in particular the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora–CITES) and protection of biodiversity is urgently needed. The article argues that the aftermath of a mega-crisis, such as the Corona pandemic, is a golden opportunity for a major reform of this field of law in order to reduce significantly the trade in wild animals, in particular endangered species, and preserve their natural habitat. If, in the past, these objectives were seen as conflicting with economic interests, with the latter quite clearly having taken the upper hand, we can now see that preserving wildlife and its habitat is also very much in the economic interest of the world.