North Korea’s Wildlife Trade Puts Endangered Species at Risk: Study

Speedy Summary

• Illegal Wildlife Trade: North Korea engages in unsustainable and illegal wildlife trade, including protected species like Asiatic black bears, long-tailed gorals, Eurasian otters, deer, and sables. The trade involves both state-sponsored activities and the black market.
• Economic Hardship Influence: Economic collapse in the 1990s led to increased wildlife exploitation for food, medicine, clothing materials, and revenue. Despite economic improvements since then, this black market trade persists.
• State-Sanctioned Exploitation: Defectors reported that the North Korean government profits from wildlife harvested by local communities. Wildlife products are used domestically (e.g., bear bile for customary medicine or furs) and traded internationally-mainly with China.
• Impact on Biodiversity: Overhunting has severely reduced populations of native mammals like deer. Sables are thought to be functionally extinct in North Korea. Additionally, Amur tigers along the China-north Korea border are at risk if they cross into North Korean territory.
• Regional Biodiversity Consequences: Illegal exploitation threatens broader biodiversity recovery efforts across Asia.

Images Included:

1. Bear bile farms across Asia (South Korean example shown)-Criticized for animal suffering and decline of wild populations.
2. Korean Demilitarized Zone-a biodiversity hotspot possibly impacted by unchecked wildlife exploitation.

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Indian Opinion Analysis

North Korea’s illegal wildlife trade illustrates a complex intersection between economic adversity and environmental exploitation that resonates globally with implications regarding biodiversity loss exacerbated by human activity under extreme hardship conditions. While India is not directly connected to these events geographically or economically when it comes to this specific case study around East Asia’s systemic Threat zones frameworks regions fail stop thriving/