Implementing Otter Recovery Strategies in South-East Asia

Asia is experiencing an unprecedented surge in the illegal wildlife trade and this trade in otters has reached crisis proportions in Southeast Asia in the last ten years. The four Asian otter species receive little protection in the region and are experiencing precipitous population declines. The loss of otters, top predators in freshwater wetland ecosystems, has a profound, negative impact on local food webs and wetland habitats. The project supported by Fondation Segré and implemented by the IUCN Otter Specialist Group and TRAFFIC South-East Asia has the goal to eliminate the illegal otter trade and commerce in Southeast Asia through the following objectives

• Develop a database of otter seizures to identify trade routes and pinpoint actions
• Monitor local markets and online trade to inform law enforcement activities
• Raise awareness among governments through law enforcement workshops and among the local communities through a range of communication tools