Discuss the objectives and major achievements of TRAFFIC (the wildlife trade monitoring network) over last few years.

TRAFFIC is a wildlife trade monitoring network under the aegis of World Wildlife Fund(WWF) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is founded in 1976 with headquarters at Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is established with the objective to ‘ensure the trade of wild plants and animals is not a threat to their survival and the conservation of nature’. It also works to prevent wildlife crime and trafficking. TRAFFIC since inception has grown from a group of volunteers gathering data and analysis to a well formed structure with branches all over the globe.
Some of the major achievements of  TRAFFIC include,

• TRAFFIC came up with Elephant Trade Information System to track the illegal trade of elephants for Ivory.
• TRAFFIC was successful in influencing the European Union and its wildlife trade regulations. TRAFFIC aided EU in drafting wildlife regulations which came to force in 1997.
• It pushed United Nations to come up with a resolution on protecting wildlife making all the countries a part of combatting wildlife crime and illegal trade.
• TRAFFIC strategically exposed the illegal trade prevalent in many countries and helped them strengthen their wildlife protection acts.
• TRAFFIC has worked throughout its lifetime to protect species like elephants, rhinos and tigers which attract poachers and smugglers. 
• TRAFFIC established partnerships and collaborations with various groups across the globe like CITES, World Customs Organisation, GEF, World Bank, ROUTES partnership, Wildlife Justice Commission, etc.

Topics: GS-III: Conservation Environmental Pollution Degradation