Taking a more nuanced look at demand reduction

The illegal wildlife trade is a multibillion dollar industry, and a major cause of wildlife declines (Nellemann et al. 2014). It can contribute to the spread of invasive species and diseases, and the loss of biodiversity in ecosystems can have knock-on effects on their stability, productivity, and efficiency. Conservationists increasingly recognise the importance of demand-side interventions in the form of demand reduction, with multiple calls for demand reduction in both the academic and grey literature (e.g. (Challender et al. 2014; Burgess 2016)). Demand reduction campaigns are just beginning to be implemented in the conservation sector. However, much of these developments have neglected…