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The Durrell Trust for Conservation Biology
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CV
PhD research entitled "The trade and conservation of pangolins in Asia" Supervisors: Professor Stuart Harrop and Professor Douglas MacMillan Having previously studied the captive behaviour and husbandry of the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica), with the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Programme in Vietnam, my current interest is the trade in relation to the conservation of the four pangolin species in Asia.
Regulation has primarily been used to control the illegal trade but there is a need to improve its effectiveness both nationally and internationally. Simultaneously, there is a need to understand the underlying problem of demand for pangolins and their derivative products. The behaviour of stakeholders involved in illegal hunting and trade also commands attention if the most appropriate trade interventions are to be implemented. My current research addresses these needs with the aim of analysing the implementation of policy, the factors shaping stakeholder behaviour and the dynamics of the international trade in Asian pangolins. My research objectives are:
Funding ESRC/NERC Studentship
Publications Challender, D. 2009. Asian Pangolins: How behavioural research can contribute to their conservation. Proceedings of the Workshop on Trade and Conservation of Pangolins native to South and Southeast Asia, 30 June-2 July 2008, Singapore Zoo, Singapore. TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. Challender, DWS, Nguyen Van, T, Jones, M and May, L (2011). Time-budgets and activity patterns of captive Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica). Zoo Biology, 29, 1-13.
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All four species have historically been subject to hunting and utilisation region-wide, for both food and medicinal purposes. The species remained subject to these anthropogenic pressures throughout the 20th century, but recent decades have seen a shift from local utilisation to large scale commercial harvesting. This is largely attributed to demand from China where pangolin meat is consumed and the scales powdered for use in traditional medicines. Heavy collection pressure, trade and domestic use are thought to have extirpated the species in certain parts of the region. Today, international trade continues despite the animals being listed on CITES Appendix II, with zero annual export quotas, and being protected species in most range states.