Endangered Species Negative

RKS Seniors 2016

Louis Shulman
If you are looking for a highlighted file you are in
the right place.

Notes
Dear Reader,
These notes include a few off case ideas/ recommendations, explanations of the off
case positions in this file, and a basic understanding of the affirmatives
advantages... Enjoy
Off Case Ideas/ Recommendations:
T: T Cant Be a Quid Pro Quo, T Economic excludes wildlife trade, T increase aff
doesnt increase trade
K: Anthro K, Terror Talk K (Only if they read the terror scenario)
CP: Pressure CP, AFRICOM CP
DA: Russia China Relations DA, Elections (China bashing links, CITES links), DA that
are predicated off of cooperating with China,
The Advantages:
Biodiversity: The best arguments against this advantages are alt causes to
biodiversity loss and the lack of a definite threshold/ time frame for the impact.
Many of the largest contributors to biodiversity loss are habitat loss, climate
change, pollution, and invasive species. The aff most likely doesnt directly resolve
those issues meaning the loss of biodiversity will continue to happen post plan. At
the impact level, the aff doesnt have any specific thresholds that are like if we lose
these specific species we will all go extinct, rather it relies on saying that losing
species is generally bad. Pester the aff on what specific species we are losing and
how those cause the impacts.
Social Unrest: This advantage relies on a few internal links and if you can exploit
them, you are in a good place to mitigate the impact. The aff relies on poaching and
trading endangered species as a major source of funding for militias in Africa. If you
can win that they will still find other funding, the risk of the advantage is decreased.
The impact to the advantage is Africa War. You can probably beat this argument by
using historical examples to disprove wars in Africa spreading beyond Africa.
Terrorism: This advantage relies on very similar internal links. If terrorists will get
funding elsewhere and carry out successful attacks outside of Africa, then it doesnt
matter if they solve terror in Africa because terror is still a problem. Read the impact
defense and maybe throw some analytics in the 1NC about why you doubt the aff
can solve and that should be sufficient.
Updates/ Ideas:

Check to see if some status quo policies have improved the problem
Update the Terror Defense to say the United States is beating all the groups
Update the Social Unrest impact defense saying those organizations (African
Militas) are weak
Evidence that says that species arent going extinct

Pressure CP:
This counterplan is also a good option. I would rewrite the counterplan text
depending on which net benefit you choose. This camp did put out a pressure CP
file, so I would look there for more cards. This would work well with an appeasement
DA or anything that talks about how being nice to China is bad.
AFRICOM CP:
This counterplan probably solves the aff; I wouldve made it the plan text had it
been topical. It avoids all engagement with China which is good because the link to
whatever net benefit you pick will probably be based on the China part of the aff.
This is the recommendation of the 1AC authors, so make that a framing question.
The affs best answer will be the permutation because the two really arent mutually
exclusive, so you really need to have a link to the net benefit to beat the
permutation.
Read the above notes and you should have all the tools you need to succeed on the
negative. This file isnt exhaustive, but it should have enough to answer the 1AC on
case, supplement with your favorite impact defense, off case, offense, and then
you are golden.
Best of luck,
Louis Shulman Coronado High School

Biodiversity

Non UQCITES
CITES has literally commended China for their enforcement of
CITES guidelinesNo problem in SQUO
CITES.org 2012 (CITES.org, 5-9-2012, "CITES Secretariat praises China for major
nationwide wildlife law enforcement operations," No Publication,
https://cites.org/eng/news/pr/2012/20120509_certificate_cn.php) Coronado LS
The Secretary-General of the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( CITES), Mr John E. Scanlon,
has today awarded a Certificate of Commendation to the National Inter-Agency
CITES Enforcement Collaboration Group (NICECG) of China in recognition of two
nationwide wildlife law enforcement operations carried out earlier this year. Over 100,000
Geneva/Guangzhou, 9 May 2012

enforcement officers were mobilised in this effective offensive against wildlife crime. During the Forest Police Operation, organized
by the State Forestry Administration, more than 700 cases of illegal wildlife trade were uncovered;

7,155 illegal wildlife

stalls and shops as well as 628 illegal online wildlife shops were shut down; 520
websites believed to offer for sale illegal wildlife were closely monitored;
enforcement action was taken against 1,031 wildlife dealers involved in illegal
activities; 13 wildlife-related criminal networks were dismantled and approximately
130,000 wild animals; 2,000 wildlife products and 147 wild animal skins were
confiscated. During the Customs Authorities Operation, organized by the General Administration of Customs, 13 suspects
were arrested; 1,366.3 kg of ivory, 337,400 kg of red sandal wood; and approximately 30,000 kg of yew timber and 876 horns of

These two major operations were carried out under the auspices
of NICECG, which was established in December 2011 in order to facilitate the
collection and exchange of intelligence, enhance capacity building, and coordinate
joint enforcement activities. NICECG comprises the State Forestry Administration, the Ministry of Public Security, the
saiga antelope were seized.

General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Administration of Industry and Commerce. The CITES

The CITES
Secretary-General, Mr John E Scanlon, presented the Certficate of Commendation to the Chair of NICECG and
Management Authority of China, hosted by the State Forestry Administration, is the coordinating body of NICECG.

Vice Minister of the State Forestry Administration, Ms Yin Hong, at the opening ceremony of a meeting hosted by China on the
Development of CITES E-Permitting Systems, which is being held in Guangzhou and attended by participants from 14 CITES member
States. Mr Scanlon declared: The

sheer scale, extent of coordination, and level of success of

these intelligence-driven operations exemplify the coordinated enforcement effort
that is required at the national and sub-national levels to combat wildlife crime
successfully. We commend the Chinese Government for this excellent initiative,
which echoes the coordinated enforcement approach that we are promoting through
the International Consortium on Combatting Wildlife Crime (ICCWC ). At the acceptance of the
Certificate of Commendation, Ms Yin Hong, stated: The Government of China attaches great importance to the protection of the
ecological system, and has always given high priority to the protection of biological diversity and wildlife law enforcement .

China

is committed to work with the international community to enhance the

implementation and enforcement of CITES. Although China has been conducting nationwide wildlife
enforcement actions for many years, the new operations coordinated by NICECG, have clearly given new impetus to CITES
implementation. NICECG is also serving as a model at the provincial level, with five CITES enforcement inter-agency groups being
set up. Dr Meng Xianlin, Executive Director-General of the CITES Management Authority of China, said: We see the Certificate of
Commendation from the CITES Secretary-General as a very positive recognition of the law enforcement efforts made by China in the
implementation of CITES, one for which we are extremely grateful. This is an invaluable encouragement to all the wildlife law
enforcement officers across China. NICECG will spare no efforts to bring its power into full play in order to gather concerted efforts of

CITES
implementation has also recently been brought to the fore at the highest political
level. In the joint statement issued after the fourth round of the U.S.-China Strategic
and Economic Dialogue held from 3 to 4 May in Beijing, article 47 states that: We
all relevant authorities in combating illegal activities in wildlife and to curb illegal wildlife trade effectively.

decide to jointly support the wildlife law enforcement efforts and to combat the
smuggling of endangered and protected species. China and the United States will
attend the Special Investigation Group Meeting held from 20 to 21 June 2012 in
Nanning, China, led by ASEAN-WEN. At the meeting, wildlife investigators and
forensic experts will identify and recommend improved enforcement and inspection
efforts. Note to editors: For more information, please contact Juan Carlos Vasquez
+41 22 917 8156 or juan.vasquez@cites.org.

Alt CausesBiodiversity
The affs approach to stopping biodiversity loss is flawed, a
preventative approach is keythe aff is responsive
Haluzan 2011 (Ned Haluzan, 3-16-2011, "Possible solutions to halt biodiversity
loss," No Publication, http://ecological-problems.blogspot.com/2011/03/possiblesolutions-to-halt-biodiversity.html) Coronado LS
The loss of biodiversity on our planet is happening faster than even before, some scientists even claim that even the last mass
extinction which happened some 65 millions years ago wasn't characterized with such rapid decline in number of species.
Biodiversity loss must be stopped or otherwise our future generations will find it extremely hard to survive. Here are some possible

First of all there is a habitat loss issue. Human

population is constantly growing, needing new areas to live in which reduces the
animal habitats. Many animals are going extinct because their habitats are
constantly shrinking (for instance Bengal tiger). World needs to establish more
protected areas free of humans because this is the only way to stop further decline
of many animal species. 2. Stop climate change from running out of control. Many
plants and animals are finding it very hard to cope with the changes in climate, and
many of them will forever perish from the face of our planet unless we stop climate
change from becoming worse. In order to tackle climate change world needs
international climate deal that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions on global
level. 3. Stop deforestation. Tropical rainforests are the areas of the richest
biodiversity in our planet, providing living environment for millions of different
species. Rainforests also play important role in sinking carbon dioxide (CO2) from
the atmosphere which is extremely helpful in fight against climate change. 4 .
Reduce environmental pollution. Many plants and animals are finding it extremely
hard to survive in polluted environment. Pollution is not only happening in land but
also in our oceans having very negative impact on marine biodiversity. Animals and
plants can't thrive in polluted environment. 5. Protect native ecosystems from
invasive species. Invasive species more often than not do serious damage to native
ecosystems, and reduce the success rate of conservation efforts . 6. Biodiversity also
needs to be more studied in order to give us the necessary knowledge needed to
protect animal and plant species from going extinct.
solutions on how to halt biodiversity loss. 1.

Alt causes to loss of biodiversityno way the aff can solve

Eniscuola No Date(Eniscuola, No Date, "Causes of the loss of biodiversity,"
Eniscuola, http://www.eniscuola.net/en/argomento/biodiversity1/loss-ofbiodiversity/causes-of-the-loss-of-biodiversity/) Coronado LS
biodiversity The main cause of the loss of biodiversity can be
attributed to the influence of human beings on the worlds ecosystem , In fact human
beings have deeply altered the environment, and have modified the territory,
exploiting the species directly, for example by fishing and hunting, changing the
biogeochemical cycles and transferring species from one area to another of the
Planet. The threats to biodiversity can be summarized in the following main points:
1. Alteration and loss of the habitats: the transformation of the natural areas
determines not only the loss of the vegetable species, but also a decrease in the
animal species associated to them. Refer to Alteration and loss of the habitats. 2.
Loss of biodiversity Causes of the loss of

Introduction of exotic species and genetically modified organisms ; species

originating from a particular area, introduced into new natural environments can
lead to different forms of imbalance in the ecological equilibrium. Refer to,
Introduction of exotic species and genetically modified organisms. 3. Pollution:
human activity influences the natural environment producing negative, direct or
indirect, effects that alter the flow of energy, the chemical and physical constitution
of the environment and abundance of the species; 4. Climate change: for example,
heating of the Earths surface affects biodiversity because it endangers all the
species that adapted to the cold due to the latitude ( the Polar species) or the
altitude (mountain species). 5. Overexploitation of resources: when the activities connected with capturing and
harvesting (hunting, fishing, farming) a renewable natural resource in a particular area is excessively intense, the resource itself may become exhausted, as for example, is the case of

One of
the greatest threats for the survival of the species are the changes, loss and
fragmentation of their habitat. Human beings, in fact, have deeply modified the
territory, as a result of a large growth in the population, industrial development, the
expansion of transportation networks, and agriculture and fishing on an industrial
scale. An example of the consequences of the changes in the habitats can be seen In the Mediterranean Sea. Posidonia oceanica is an endemic marine plant in the Mediterranean
sardines, herrings, cod, tuna and many other species that man captures without leaving enough time for the organisms to reproduce. Changes in and loss of habitats

that forms submerged sea grass meadows on the sandy bottom, which are a fundamental component of the equilibrium and of the richness of the sea coast environment. This plant has
a great environmental value, in fact, one square metre of sea grass meadow can produce 10 to 15 litres of oxygen per day. Furthermore the meadows give shelter to a great variability of
biological species, both vegetable and animal, (400 vegetable species and approximately 1000 animal species), in fact many animals find food and shelter there. Another important
function carried out by Posidonia is to protect the sea coast, where it guarantees stability, acting as a protection from sea currents and the waves. It has been calculated that a
regression of only one metre of the sea grass meadows can lead to a loss of about 15-18 metres of sandy coastline. Among the principal causes of danger for the Posidonia sea grass
meadows is the fishing activity with bottom trawling nets that tear away the plants leaving the subsoil uncovered; and subsequent recolonization of these plants becomes difficult. If the
meadows disappear, the principal effects will be: a loss of biodiversity, a change in the trophic network, a decrease in productivity with consequent damage to fishing itself, a change in
the metabolizing process of trophic chains, an increase in coastal erosion, and the consequent decrease in the quality of the environment. During the last century, changes in the
territory consisted mainly of an increase in the surface area taken by agriculture and livestock farming, an increase in the urban areas, the development of road networks and the related
infrastructures, Home / Life / Biodiversity the construction of hydroelectric plants and hydraulic plants, exploitation of underground deposits and fishing with more powerful boats and
more efficient nets. Due to these changes, the natural environments are changed, destroyed and subdivided, which cause the loss, and division into small parts, of the habitats. The
importance of the loss of the habitats is surely intuitive, while the concept of fragmentation is more difficult to understand. Fragmentation of the habitat is a division of the territory into
various smaller areas that can remain, in some way connected to each other or may be totally isolated. The consequence of this leads to the subdivision of populations distributed in that
particular area which are, therefore, less consistent than the original population. For this reason populations become more vulnerable to external stress, to climatic changes, to anthropic
disturbance, epidemics and genetic deterioration due to cross- breeding among the population that is related. For example, it is calculated that every year approximately one million
specimens of amphibians in the region of Lombardy, are affected by car traffic. In particular, the species that are most affected by this problem are the green frogs (Rana kl. esculenta)
and the common toads (Bufo bufo). When these animals move toward the reproduction areas, they are forced to cross a number of asphalted roads that are often found around the
waterways in Lombardy. Therefore the adult breeder specimens face mass extermination due to their slow and clumsy movement at dusk or during the night hours, before they have laid
their eggs. It has been shown that the impact of roads can cause the extinction of these populations of amphibians. Introduction of exotic species and genetically modified organisms
(GMO) Often a very important factor is neglected, which is the introduction of allochthonous species, i.e. species whose origin is in other geographic areas and that therefore have not
adapted, through the long natural selection processes, to the new environment in which they are introduced. It has been calculated that approximately 20% of the cases of extinction of
birds and mammals is due to the direct action of animals introduced by man. The reason for this extinction can be attributed to various causes: to competition for limited resources, to
predation by the new species, to the diffusion of new diseases and to the damages that the species that have been introduced can cause to the natural vegetation, to the cultivations
and to zootechnics. An example of the problem in Europe is seen in the introduction of the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) imported from North America, that is replacing the red
European squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris). Also the red eared slider (Trachemis scripta elegans) was imported into Italy from the United States as a pet animal, but when people started to free

).
Another problem that causes the loss of biodiversity is to be attributed to the
introduction in the environment of genetically modified organisms (GMO) that are
also known as transgenic organisms. A GMO is an organism, in whose chromosomes a foreign gene, taken from an organism of a different
them in the ponds (because they became too big) this triggered a competitive mechanism between the American slider and the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis

species, is inserted with genetic engineering techniques. In this way it is possible to create a new organism with particular desired characteristics: for example some organisms of the
vegetable kingdom may become more resistant to herbicides or harmful insects; some livestock animals become more productive or more resistant to infections. With regard to the
potential harmfulness of the GMO there is a violent debate between those who believe that the advantages for medicine and for society are greater than the possible effects on the
environment, and those who state that too little is known to be able to use them, and that the environment will feel the effect of the genetic pollution of the natural species with
numerous consequences: the involuntary transmission of resistance to herbicides in infesting plants, the evolution of more resistant parasites, the increased use of herbicides, the
disappearance of species of insects and as a consequence the loss of biodiversity. Examples of GMO are to be found in two particular plants: maize and soya. In maize, resistance to
harmful insects is obtained by introducing the Bt gene of the Bacillus thuringiensis bacterium. This bacterium, that lives in the soil, produces a protein that becomes toxic only in the
insects intestine, and causes its death. The protein is not toxic for humans nor for other animals, in fact, before the invention of these sophisticated techniques in genetic engineering, it
was used as a natural insecticide, particularly in Canada to protect the forests from insect attacks. This technology, for the maize plants, leads to a decrease in the harmful insects and
contamination by bacteria, virus and fungi, that can produce mycotoxins that are carcinogenic. The above technique is applied to soya in order to make it more resistant to Home / Life /
Biodiversity herbicides; in particular to glyphosate and glyphosinate, that are biodegradable herbicides that are harmless for man and animals, but can kill all the plants. In this way it is
possible to eradicate all the infesting plants without the need for further treatments with products that are extremely harmful for man and the environment.

I/L TurnSpeciation
Internal Link TurnHuman activity actually is creating new
species, offsets bioD loss
Puiu 6-30-2016 (Tibi Puiu, 6-30-2016, "Humanity is driving thousands of
species extinct, but there's a flip side," ZME Science,
http://www.zmescience.com/science/extinct-and-news-species-man/) Coronado LS
Were all used to the depressing headlines of yet another species having gone extinct (or is just about to) due to human
interference. Logging, pollution, hunting, urban expansion these and much more take their toll on wildlife and only a select few

humans can act as a prime driver for speciation . One example

includes a new species of mosquito that dwells in the undergrounds of London and
cant breed with mosquitos that fly at the surface. Its an entirely new species,
shaped by an ecosystem that we created. The London Underground mosquito is
not alone, as other examples are plentiful. Writing in a new report titled How
humans drive speciation as well as extinction, two researchers discuss the
mechanisms that drive the formation of human-mediated speciation. The London
can adapt. Sometimes, though,

Underground Mosquito, found in underground systems worldwide. Presumed to have evolved from standard house mosquito. (Credit:
Wikimedia Commons) The London Underground Mosquito, found in underground systems worldwide. Presumed to have evolved from
standard house mosquito. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons) There are around five to eight million eukaryotic species living on this
planet, and 1.02.2% of these species become extinct every decade or so. At this rate, many scientists warn, the world is headed for

but the authors of

the new study say humans also drive the formation of new species. They argue that
there are various ways that mediate this process, like human induced physical
barriers or selective pressures applied to specific members of a species . The prospect of
a sixth mass extinction the only one that wont be caused by nature. Humans are the obvious culprit,

artificially gaining novel species through human activities is unlikely to elicit the feeling that it can offset losses of natural species.
Indeed, many people might find the prospect of an artificially biodiverse world just as daunting as an artificially impoverished one
study author Joseph Bull from the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate at the University of Copenhagen, said in a

the most obvious way humans create new species is through

domestication. Since the advent of agriculture 8,000 years ago countless species of
plants, be them crops or flowers, have been selected and interbred until they look
and behave nothing like the original wild species. Wild boars became pigs, wolves
became dogs, and at least six of the worlds 40 most important agricultural crops
are considered entirely new explains Joseph Bull.
statement. Of course,

Impact DefenseTech Solves

Human activity creates new speciestechnology prevents an
impact from species loss and advancements will allow deextinction
Puiu 6-30-2016 (Tibi Puiu, 6-30-2016, "Humanity is driving thousands of
species extinct, but there's a flip side," ZME Science,
http://www.zmescience.com/science/extinct-and-news-species-man/) Coronado LS
While domestication is deliberate,

most new species which the researchers have identified as

being speciated by human activity are the result of unnatural selection. Hunting, for
instance, can lead to the adaptation of new traits in animals , which eventually leads
to new species. Relocating species, either deliberately or by accident, can also lead
to the hybridization of species. In the last three centuries in Europe, at least, due to

more new plant species have appeared

than those who went extinct. Then, of course, we have the most disruptive human-driven
the relocation of species

speciation mechanism: the creation of entirely novel ecosystems. Humans have built cities, farms and underground railways like the

Finally, the researchers note that technology might drive

more speciation than ever before. Examples include genetically modified organisms,
which although are not new species may have the capacity to generate selfsustaining populations or hybridize with wild species. Technology may soon also
allow re-creation of extinct species (de-extinction ), despite deep practical and moral arguments against
one the new mosquito species calls home.

doing so. In this context, number of species becomes a deeply unsatisfactory measure of conservation trends, because it does not
reflect many important aspects of biodiversity. Achieving a neutral net outcome for species numbers cannot be considered

However, considering
speciation alongside extinction may well prove important in developing a better
understanding of our impact upon global biodiversity . We call for a discussion about what we, as a
acceptable if weighing wild fauna against relatively homogenous domesticated species.

society, actually want to conserve about nature, says Associate Professor Martine Maron from the University of Queensland.

Transnational CrimeSocial Unrest

Alt CauseInternet
E-commerce and social media are terminal alt causes to the aff
Gold 2015 (Daniel Carpenter-Gold, 11-23-2015, "[ELRS] Is CITES Endangered?,"
Harvard Environmental Law Review, http://harvardelr.com/2015/11/23/elrs-is-citesendangered/) Coronado LS
The growth of e-commerce in the global marketplace has made facilitation of illegal
transactions increasingly efficient for would-be consumers while protecting their
anonymity, and has thus made effective prosecution increasingly difficult. The
International Fund for Animal Welfare found in a recent study that the number of online
advertisements for CITES Appendix I-listed species in China alone had increased by 279
percent in the past six years, jumping from 544 advertisements identified in 2008 to 2,106 in 2014.[6]
Furthermore, the widespread use of social media seems to have facilitated new
means of contact between buyers and sellers.[7]

Alt CauseHorn of Africa

The horn of Africa is a terminal alt cause to the aff both in
terms of source and demand of illegal tradethe aff evidence
is in the context of poaching in central and southern africa
IFAW 06-14-2016 (IFAW - International Fund for Animal Welfare, 6-14-2016,
"UWA, Conservation Partners Strengthen Law Enforcement Response to Wildlife
Crime," http://www.ifaw.org/australia/news/uwa-conservation-partners-strengthenlaw-enforcement-response-wildlife-crime) Coronado LS
The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) today began a three-day

Magistrates, prosecutors and members of

Ugandas police and customs authority are attending the training, the theme of
which is Strengthening Wildlife Law Enforcement through Judicial Interventions .
The conservation of wildlife and all other natural resources in Uganda requires
concerted efforts from all relevant stakeholders. The prosecution of wildlife crime
involves several stakeholders for success to be achieved and all the stakeholders
play a fundamental role and without the cooperation of any of the stakeholders, a
case cannot be successfully prosecuted. The police have to investigate a crime, the office of the Director of Public
Wildlife Judicial and Prosecutorial Assistance Training in Kampala.

Prosecutions (DPP) sanctions and prosecutes, the judiciary determines the case and hands a verdict and passes appropriate sentence which is

. These are all independent institutions that must play a role for the
successful prosecution of wildlife crime cases . UWA values the contribution of all these institutions among others and
administered by the prisons

appeals to them to support the efforts of conservation for the benefit of the present and future generations of this country and the global community,"

Among other objectives of

the training, attendees will gain a clearer perspective about wildlife crime in
Uganda, and identify and overcome weaknesses in investigative and prosecutorial
processes aimed at combating wildlife crime. Wildlife law enforcement officers
including the investigators, prosecutors and those in the judiciary are important
actors in ensuring that Africas wildlife resource species and habitats is secured in the first place; then we can
said Chemonges M. Sabilla, Deputy Director, Legal and Corporate Affairs at Uganda Wildlife Authority.

apply these resources to the sustainable development agenda of our countries, said Dr. Philip Muruthi, Vice President of Species Conservation at African

To combat wildlife trafficking there is an urgent need for strengthening of

collaborative agencies including law enforcement and judiciary not only in Uganda
but regionally. There is also a need to enhance intelligence gathering and sharing of
information amongst officers to enhance the chances of arrest of perpetrators of
wildlife crime and guarantee their prosecution and appropriate punishment . This capacity
Wildlife Foundation

building workshop is an integral step in forming linkages or networks that allow for structured and sustained coordination and collaboration, said James

CITES
as playing a primary role in the illegal wildlife trade, whether as source, transit or
demand countries for illegal wildlife products. Uganda serves as a major transit hub
in the wildlife supply chain, with ivory and other wildlife products seized by
authorities moving toward ports in Kenya and Tanzania. T he CITES Standing Committee insisted that
Isiche, Regional Director IFAW East Africa. Uganda and neighbours - Kenya and Tanzaniawere named in 2013 along with five other countries by

Uganda and the other gang of eight countries must develop clear targets for reducing trade in ivory and other wildlife products or face trade sanctions.
Since then, Uganda has started to take key steps in order to curb poaching and trafficking of wildlife. The training is part of a larger program called the
Horn of Africa Wildlife Crime Prevention Program, which is funded by the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and implemented in
partnership with the IUCN NL (National Committee of The Netherlands) and the Horn of Africa Regional Environment Centre and Network. This two-year

the Horn of Africa, which is emerging as a major

region and hotspot for wildlife crime worldwide, both as a source and a transit route
for illicit trafficking of wildlife products. Additional support was provided by AWF. About Uganda Wildlife Authority Uganda
programme aims to prevent and combat wildlife crime in

Wildlife Authority (UWA) was established in August 1996 by the Uganda Wildlife Statute, which merged the Uganda National parks and the Game
department. It is governed by a Board of trustees appointed by the Minister responsible for wildlife. UWAs mission is to conserve, economically develop
and sustainably manage the wildlife and protected areas of Uganda in partnership with the neighboring communities and other stakeholders for the
benefit of the people of Uganda and the global community. UWA is mandated to ensure sustainable management of wildlife resources and supervise
wildlife activities in Uganda both within and outside the protected areas and it manages10 national parks and 12 wildlife reserves. It is at the vanguard of

prosecuting all wildlife crimes in the country. www.ugandawildlife.org About African Wildlife Foundation The African Wildlife Foundation is the primary
advocate for the protection of wildlife and wild lands as an essential part of a modern and prosperous Africa. Founded in 1961 to focus on Africas unique
conservation needs, we articulate a uniquely African vision, bridge science and public policy and demonstrate the benefits of conservation to ensure the
survival of the continents wildlife and wild lands. To learn more, please visit www.awf.org. About IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) Founded in
1969, IFAW rescues and protects animals around the world. With projects in more than 40 countries, IFAW rescues individual animals, works to prevent
cruelty to animals, and advocates for the protection of wildlife and habitats. For more information, visit www.ifaw.org. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

I/LFlawed Studies
The evidence to support the link between poaching and crime
is wrongtheir specific studies have been disproven
McConnell 2014(Tristan McConnell on Nov 14, 2014, Global Post, The claim that
illegal ivory is funding a major terror group in Africa may not be true,
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/141113/white-gold-jihad-alshabaab-ivory-trade-story-sounds-true) Coronado LS
NAIROBI, Kenya Hollywood director Kathryn Bigelow has made a 3-minute animated short called "Last Days," telling the story of ivory poaching and the
threat it poses to elephants. The film begins in the markets of Beijing and New York, then rewinds to Africa, where elephants are being hunted and killed at
an astonishing rate. It is mostly a 2-D animation but also features footage from last years Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi because, according to Bigelows
film, Al Shabaab, the Somalia-based Al Qaeda group responsible for the attack, earns money from poaching elephants. Terrorists killing elephants to fund
their atrocities is a powerful, troubling story that deftly taps two hot-button issues linking them in one awful, unified narrative. No wonder it grabs
attention. But is it true? At first glance the weight of evidence for poaching funding terrorism appears overwhelming. Former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton talks about it on behalf of the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative; so does her former British counterpart William Hague and an array
of US legislators. Kenyas president Uhuru Kenyatta linked ivory and the Westgate attack in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. The former head of the Kenya
Wildlife Service and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime have highlighted Shabaabs role in elephant poaching, while many of the worlds leading elephant
protection advocates and charities eagerly repeat the allegations. Unsurprisingly, the worlds press has plastered the Shabaab-ivory story across their
pages and websites, and the story gained new momentum in the wake of the 2013 Westgate attack. Al Shabaab mounted Septembers attack on
Nairobis Westgate shopping mall in which more than 70 people died. By some estimates, just ten tusks would have been enough to finance that
operation, said Britains Daily Mail. The UKs Independent reported on the issue as part of its campaign to protect elephants. The New Yorker has made
passing reference to the link as if it were accepted fact. Slate and New Scientist have both posted on the subject. The Financial Times has expanded the

The trouble is that all of the

above reference the same study published online by a US-registered nonprofit
called the Elephant Action League (EAL) in early 2013. "Africas White Gold of Jihad: al-Shabaab and Conflict
allegations to include rhino poaching. We here at GlobalPost have also reported on the issue.

Ivory" outlines findings from what the EAL describes as an 18-month undercover investigation and asserts that Shabaab earns up to 40 percent of its
income from poaching and trading illegal ivory. According to a source within the militant group, between one to three tons of ivory, fetching a price of
roughly US$200 per kilo, pass through the ports in southern Somalia every month. A quick calculation puts Shabaabs monthly income from ivory at

The citing of a single, unnamed source and the

scale of the claim has led some to question the veracity of the investigation on
which media reports, advocacy, fund-raising and increasingly policy is based. Nir Kalron,
chief executive of Tel Aviv-based Maisha Consulting, conducted the investigation back in 2010. He said the version published by
EAL is a journalistic summary and insisted that his sources cited in the report were reliable and cross-referenced. He added that
between US$200,000 and US$600,000, the report states.

he has video and photographic evidence to back the thesis that Shabaab is involved in the ivory trade, if not the figures. You could argue that that had
we put a more deep disclaimer on that specific piece of evidence, of one to three tons a month saying an unconfirmed source claimed, then we wouldnt
be in this debate, said Kalron, but the bottom line is confirmed 150 percent and we stand 200 percent behind our sources and our work. The numbers
arent really important, the facts are important, and the facts are that there is ivory being trafficked through Somalia, there is ivory in Somalia, he said. A
bull Elephant forrages in the evening light on August 7, 2014 at the Ol Jogi rhino sanctuary, in the Laikipia county, approximately 300 kilometres north of
the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. AFP/Getty Images In the days after the Westgate attack Kalron and the EALs executive director Andrea Crosta, together with
author Laurel Neme, wrote op-pds in the LA Times and NatGeo. Similar arguments were published in the opinion pages of The New York Times, Washington

Yet there is a great degree of skepticism among others who have

investigated the link, and come up with nothing. Its total nonsense, said Christian
Nelleman, one of the authors of "The Environmental Crime Crisis" published this
year by global anti-crime agency Interpol and the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP). Nellemans research failed to find any evidence to back claims that
Shabaab was shipping an amount of ivory equivalent to 3,600 elephants per year
or nearly all ivory from killed elephants from west, central and eastern Africa.
The report concluded that EALs findings were highly unreliable. The EALs Crosta bristled at the
Post and elsewhere.

criticism. He said that Interpol and UNEP always criticized our research and yet they were the only two organizations that never bothered to get in touch
with us to ask [for] more info. The current elephant crisis happened under UNEP and Interpol's watch, so my suggestion [to them] is to be more humble

The leading authority

on the illegal wildlife trade is monitoring network TRAFFIC. The organizations
elephant and rhino program coordinator Tom Milliken said of the report: TRAFFIC
has never been able to verify the claim that 40 percent of al-Shabaabs revenues is
related to ivory trade. Operationally, Al Shabaab lies well beyond most extant large elephant populations so it is difficult to see how
they could possibly sustain ivory trade on the scale that EAL claim, said Milliken. Occasional, opportunistic trafficking in
small volumes of ivory is a possibility, but not sustained large-scale involvement in
and collaborative, he said. But it is not just Interpol and UNEP who have raised questions about the investigation.

the trade, he said. Milliken runs the Elephant Trade Information System for CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species), which has been gathering information on ivory seizures since 1989. In that database, Somalia is noticeably absent from any hint of trade, he
said. Somalia has only been implicated in 10 seizures totaling a tiny 39 kgs in 25 years, most recently in 2003, before Shabaab formed. Nelleman agreed
that the possibility some people linked to Shabaab (or, just some Somalis) may have some involvement in the illegal ivory trade could not be ruled out,

For Shabaab there are less risky, highly lucrative and

much closer sources of income, including charcoal, taxation and extortion. The
whole issue of terrorists getting income from poaching is vastly exaggerated , said
Nelleman. Somali men carry weapons during a demonstration organized by the islamist Al-Shabaab group which is fighting the Somali
government in Suqa Holaha neighborhood of Mogadishu, on July 5, 2010. AFP/Getty Images The UN Monitoring Group for
Somalia and Eritrea, investigators tasked with uncovering Shabaabs sources of
finance, has never found evidence of ivory trading in any of its reports. Matt Bryden, director of
but argued that it was a peripheral activity at best.

Nairobi-based Sahan Research, ran the UN Monitoring Group for four years until 2012. We saw nothing and we heard nothing about ivory, and thats
strange because we were looking at the exact same smuggling routes, he said. Bryden said a more likely scenario might be one in which Somali
poachers, who have operated in Kenya for years, smuggle their contraband through Shabaab territory paying taxes along the way. He said this would
represent a barely significant source of funding for the terrorist group. Despite the paucity of evidence, Shabaab is routinely lumped in with the Lords
Resistance Army (LRA) and Sudans janjaweed militias, both of which have a well-documented involvement in poaching. Recently, Nigeria-based terror
group Boko Haram has also been slipped into the terrorism-ivory discussion, though without apparent evidence. There is no doubt Africas poaching crisis
needs addressing. Those responsible are sophisticated, well-resourced, well-equipped and well-armed criminal gangs that pose a very real threat to
security in the often-poor countries where elephants are still found. Shifting attention toward the alleged involvement of terrorists has seemed to distract
from the real and likely much bigger poaching threats posed by criminal gangs and, to a lesser extent, armed militias. Yet environmental activists have
eagerly repeated the terrorism allegations. After all, its a good story: it grabs attention and therefore funds. At a panel discussion after Bigelows film was
shown at the New York Film Festival in September, the "Point Break" and "Zero Dark Thirty" director was joined by, among others, the chief executive of
WildAid, an animal charity that will help distribute the film. Its not about the facts, said Peter Knights, its about the emotion.

Impact DefenseAfrica War

War in Africa wont escalate
ALEXANDER 1995 (Bevin, Professor and Director of the Inter-University Institution for
Terrorism Studies, The Future of Warfare)

The United States also will be reluctant to enter into conflicts in Africa , unless a major
outside power tries to gain control of a region, as was the case with Soviet incursions during the Cold War, or unless
one power attempts to corral the supply of vital minerals such as cobalt, chromium, or manganese. Without such

African conflicts constitute little international danger because the continent

does not possess enough inherent military or economic power to threaten the world.
That is why the United States has ignored , militarily at least, the civil wars or ethnic
conflicts in Rwanda, Liberia, Chad, Mozambique, Sudan, and elsewhere. It intervened in Somalia primarily to
incursions,

halt starvation.

No SolvencyTrade Small
Their ev is overhypedthe wildlife trade is significantly smaller
than they frame it
Spottiswoode 14 (Owen Spottiswoode, 2-12-2014, "Is the illegal trade in wildlife the fourth largest in
the world?," Full Fact, https://fullfact.org/crime/illegal-trade-wildlife-fourth-largest-world/) Coronado LS
"The illegal wildlife trade is now the fourth most lucrative transnational crime after drugs, arms and human trafficking. It is estimated to be worth between
10 and 20 billion dollars each year." Prince William, 12 February 2014 Prince William's role in promoting this week's symposium on international wildlife
trafficking proved more controversial than expected when he was reported to have attended a hunting trip in Spain beforehand. However he attracted
more favourable media attention with his keynote address, with several, including the Daily Express, picking up his claim that criminal wildlife trading was
the fourth most valuable illegal trade in the world.

The claim has been used by a number of different

wildlife charities - including the WWF, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and United for Wildlife (which is organising the
London symposium) - although unfortunately, none provide a source for the statistic . We've contacted
each group to ask for more details and will update when we receive a response. Without seeing the research behind the
claim, it's difficult to know what is being included in the 'illegal wildlife trade', and
this could be crucial. The Anti-Corruption Resource Centre has said that: "Combined with
fisheries and timber, illegal trade in wildlife crimes comprises the fourth largest global illegal trade after drugs, counterfeit goods, and human trafficking."
The source for this version of the claim is a 2011 report by Global Financial Integrity, which estimated that illegal trade in wildlife was worth between $7.8
billion and $10 billion annually (the report's findings were also used by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime when it values the various illicit global markets).
On its own, this placed it fifth in terms of value of the various illicit trades considered by the report, although taken together with illegal timber trading
(worth $7 billion per year) and fishing (worth between $4.2-9.5 billion), it places fourth. [caption id="attachment_29351" align="alignnone"
width="601"]Illegal trades by value Illegal trades by value[/caption] While the total value of the illicit trade in wildlife and its position in the list of the most

the specifics are a little less clear.

Prince William places the illicit trade in arms above the trading of wildlife in terms of value, however the Global Financial
Integrity report only looks at small arms and light weapons, whose value is
relatively small. Instead, the report considers the trade in counterfeit goods to be considerably more valuable than the trade in wildlife,
estimated to be worth $250 million. This actually reveals another potential limitation with Prince William's claim:
although criminal wildlife trading ranks fairly highly in a list of valuable illegal markets, it
still accounts for a relatively small share of the total value . Even if we bundle wildlife
trading with fishing and timber trading and take the upper estimate of each's value,
it still accounts for less than 5% of the total worth of illicit international trade. This is
lucrative illegal markets given here seems to roughly tally with Prince William's claim,

because the two largest illegal markets - drugs and counterfeit goods - account for nearly 90% of the total alone, according to these estimates. While we
haven't yet seen the research behind the claim being used by Prince William and various wildlife charities, the published evidence that is available
suggests that he is at least in the right ballpark. This isn't surprising: the Global Financial Integrity report uses estimates done by many of the charities
themselves to inform its own conclusion that the illicit trade in wildlife is worth $7.8 billion to 10 billion. However whether this tells us much about the
scale of the global criminal trade in wildlife is more contentious. Looked at in terms of their value alone, the illegal wildlife trade is dwarfed by the trade in
drugs and counterfeit goods.

Transnational CrimeTerrorism

Alt CausesAl Shaabab

Alt Causes to Al Shabaab successthe US hasnt even engaged
in a full military confrontation
Khalif and Barnes 2016 (Abdul Khalif Cedric Barnes, 2-11-2016, "Somalia:
Why is Al-Shabaab Still A Potent Threat?," No Publication,
http://blog.crisisgroup.org/africa/somalia/2016/02/11/somalia-why-is-al-shabaabstill-a-potent-threat/) Coronado LS
the missions vulnerabilities ultimately stem
from the lack of a political settlement in Somalia. AMISOM is again being forced to up the military
ante, in response to Al-Shabaabs tactical switch to guerrilla-style attacks . Its rural
insurgency has exposed AMISOMs territorial overstretch after a previous expanded
mandate allowed the large-scale Operation Eagle and Operation Indian Ocean,
which both began in 2014. These offensives resulted in the liberation of much of south central Somalia,
which in certain areas has looked more like occupation by outsiders. In addition to the longstanding
problem of Somalias neighbours as troop contributing countries, the interim federal
administrations and the Somali National Army that followed in AMISOMs wake are
still largely clan-based, and locally identified as such. The two recent AMISOM reversals took
Whatever the failings and remedies to be identified,

place in Gedo and Lower Shabelle, both of which were subsumed into the new Interim Juba Administration and
Interim South West State of Somalia, respectively, and are still disputed by or between local populations. A

combination of factors accounts for the success of Al-Shabaabs El-Adde attack:

blunders and conspiracy can be applied in equal measure. But most importantly, AlShabaab has not been defeated politically and socially in the south-western region
of Gedo. To simplify a many-layered context, local communities, belonging
predominantly to the Marehan-Darod clan, are caught between an Interim Juba
Administration which they did not fight for and which is led by a rival clan based in distant Kismayo; Kenyan
and Ethiopian AMISOM contingents who have different priorities and local clients; and a federal government that
cant project beyond its mostly Hawiye-clan heartland s.

The El-Adde communities have little

reason to intercept Al-Shabaab sympathisers and fighters, let alone confront them
militarily.

I/LPoaching and Terrorism

No link between poaching and terrorismterrorists get funded
from other sourcesno impact to smaller national actors like
Janjaweed and LRA-Mcconnell 2015 (Tristan Mcconnell, Tristan McConnell is a freelance journalist
based in Nairobi, Kenya., 10-29-2015, "The Ivory-Funded Terrorism Myth,"
International New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/opinion/theivory-funded-terrorism-myth.html) -Coronado LS
NAIROBI, Kenya Late last year, the Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow produced a powerful short called Last Days, about
the dangers and depredations of ivory-funded terrorism. Viewers and Ms. Bigelows celebrity friends were encouraged to
share #LastDays on social media, which many duly did. Their efforts gave yet another boost to the widely accepted belief that
terrorists across Africa are killing elephants and selling the ivory to finance their attacks. But like her full-length feature film Zero
Dark Thirty, Ms. Bigelow is offering a beguiling story divorced from reality. She is not alone in accepting the ivory-terrorism
connection. It has been widely reported that Al Qaedas East Africa branch, the Shabab, uses ivory sales to fund deadly attacks like
the one on Nairobis Westgate mall in 2013. Some also claim that Boko Haram, Islamic States West Africa affiliate, is in part
underwritten by ivory. Hillary Clinton and other politicians have made repeated assertions that ivory funds terrorism. There is
growing evidence that the terrorist groups stalking Africa, including the Shabab with its horrific attack on the mall in Nairobi, fund
their terrorist activities to a great extent from ivory trafficking, Ms. Clinton said in 2013 at a meeting of her Clinton Global Initiative,

is a message with broad popular appeal: Save the

elephants and stop terrorists at the same time. Yet theres no credible evidence that
international terrorist groups like Al Qaeda or the Islamic State are involved . And
though it is true that murderous regional militias like the Lords Resistance Army
and Sudans Janjaweed deal in illegal ivory, unlike the Shabab, Boko Haram or the
Islamic State, they do not have an expansionist ideology with international
aspirations. Why does that matter? Perhaps differentiating between global terrorists and
regional militias is making a distinction without a difference. After all, terrorists are
bad and poaching is bad so why fuss over the details? It matters because global terrorism
and the international ivory trade are distinct problems, requiring different
strategies; conflating the two risks undermining the fight against both . Halting the
illegal ivory trade demands much more than stopping the poachers with guns (they,
after all, are a symptom not a cause); it requires targeting entrenched transnational
criminal gangs and the corruption they thrive upon as well as suppressing global consumer demand,
especially in Asia. Claiming terrorist involvement in the ivory business shields the real
criminal drivers of the trade, while also obscuring, and therefore helping to leave
intact, the true sources of terror financing. The real killers of African elephants are criminal enterprises with
where $80 million was promised to fight poaching. It

the ability to establish and maintain supply chains stretching from the forests of Africa to the markets of Asia, greasing palms and
paying off corrupt officials every step of the way. If you want to stop poaching you need to aim at the right target corruption,
criminals and the buyers of illegal ivory and use the right law enforcement weapons. Mobile phone records can be used to map
and expose criminal networks, paper trails reveal the shipping and freight companies that move ivory, while financial investigations
expose the people behind the trade and the corrupt officials they pay off. In short, whats needed is good detective work, not
sophisticated military-grade equipment rerouted from the war on terror. The influx of war-fighting matriel is already having a
worrying impact on conservation in Africa, where an arms race is underway as national wildlife agencies fall over one another to tool
up to fight the supposed terrorists behind the trade, while foreign governments eagerly provide them with the means to do it.
Surveillance drones, night-vision goggles and radios may be helpful in thwarting poachers, but do nothing to address the cause of
the illegal ivory trade and will not, alone, end it. Terrorist organizations, meanwhile, benefit from their portrayal as the beneficiaries

The Shabab, for example, funds itself

through local taxation on businesses and extortion at roadblocks in the areas it
controls, donations from sympathizers abroad and involvement in the large-scale
smuggling of charcoal and sugar . The primary source for the ivory-terrorism narrative is a report published online
of ivory money because it misdirects efforts to target their financing.

in 2011 by the California-based nonprofit, Elephant Action League, entitled Africas White Gold of Jihad: Al-Shabaab and Conflict
Ivory, in which a single unnamed source within the militant group claims the Shabab earns up to 40 percent of its money from
ivory, equivalent to a monthly income of between $200,000 and $600,000. The story metastasized after the Westgate assault,
when a string of commentators including Kenyas president and the people behind the Elephant Action League report linked the

that link is total nonsense,

according to Christian Nellemann, author of a joint United Nations Environment
Program and Interpol report on global environmental crime. Matt Bryden, a former
coordinator of the United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea told me,
We saw nothing and we heard nothing about ivory during the four years he was in
charge. His successors concurred. In September, the Royal United Services Institute, a respected London-based
killing of at least 67 people by four Shabab gunmen to the ivory trade. But

think tank, published a deeply researched paper entitled An Illusion of Complicity: Terrorism and the Illegal Ivory Trade in East
Africa picking apart the ivory-terrorism story. The illusion of a terrorism-ivory trade nexus distracts policy makers and lawenforcement agencies, the authors, Tom Maguire and Cathy Haenlein, warned. They said that the ivory-terrorism narrative relies on
conflating Somali poachers with the Shabab, and African militias with international terrorists, and misdirects attention that should be

Terrorism and the illegal

ivory trade are both serious concerns, but they are not the same. Entangling the
two grabs attention but it misleads the public and distracts policy makers and law
enforcement officials from their real quarry. It undermines efforts to fight both
terrorism and poaching effectively and is dangerous, for both elephants whose
criminal predators remain hidden in the shadows and the people who fall victim
to terrorist groups whose real sources of financing remain intact. Tristan McConnell is a
paid to highly networked organized crime groups, brokers and corrupt government officials.

freelance journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya.

The link between the wildlife trade and terrorism is hyped

there is no impact
Thelemaque and Noel 2015 (Ilioney Thelemaque and Fred Noel, Wildlife
Trafficking African Continent and Its Nexus to Transnational Organized Crime and
Terrorist Funding, April 2015, Capstone Project Master of Arts in Global Governance
In Collaboration with: Florida International University https://maga.fiu.edu/academictracks/capstone-project/2015-capstone-working-papers/capstone-finalpaper_fred_illioney-editedddt.pdf) Coronado LS
Despite the growing evidence about the possible link that seems to exist between
wildlife trafficking and terrorist funding, some scholars are reluctant to make such
claims. While the EAL claims that 40 percent of Al-Shabaab funds came from wildlife trafficking, Nellemans research
and TRAFFIC fails to find any evidence to back claims that Al-Shabaab was shipping
an amount of ivory equivalent to 3,600 elephants per year or nearly all ivory from
killed elephants from west, central and eastern Africa(McConnell, 2014). Concerning the
involvement of Al-Shabaab in wildlife trafficking, Tom Milliken is cited stating that TRAFFIC, which is the leading authority in monitoring networks in the illegal wildlife
trade, has never been able to verify the claim that 40 percent of Al-Shabaabs
revenues is related to ivory trade. He also states that, Occasional, opportunistic trafficking in
small volumes of ivory is a possibility, but not sustained large-scale involvement in
the trade. Moreover, Milliken who runs the Elephant Trade Information System for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES), which has been gathering information on ivory seizures since 1989, points out that, Somalia is noticeably absent from any
hint of trade. He continues to express that Somalia has only been implicated in 10 seizures, which totaled a small amount of 39 kilograms in 25 years. These events
most recently occurred in 2003, before the formation of Al-Shabaab. Furthermore, Nelleman is cited pointing out that the involvement of Al-Shabaab in the illegal ivory trade is true, but

, investigators whose
duty was to uncover Al-Shabaabs sources of finance have never found evidence of
ivory trading. Facing criticism, Crosta, the Elephant African Leagues executive chief, is quoted as saying that Interpol and UNEP never accepted the findings of his
argued that this was a peripheral activity, at best. According to the United Nations (UN) Monitoring Group for Somalia and Eritrea

research, and they always criticized him (McConnell, 2014). Vanda Felbab-Brown, an expert on international and internal conflicts and nontraditional security threats, is cited by Ted Poe

Terrorism is
not proliferating because of poaching. It has its own driving forces, and poaching is
not fueling terrorism. Consequently, it is not correct to say that poaching in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa has something to do with terrorism. Poe
(2014), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade, and a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as affirming:

(2014) continues to cite Vanda Felbab-Brown saying that the Elephant Action League (EAL)s evidence upon which everyone relies to claim the link between wildlife trafficking and
terrorism is not compelling. He also cites Mary Rice, the Executive Director of Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), by stating that EAL was not working for them. Brown goes on to

say that a Lion Aid News request to the Elephant Action League for verification of their investigation and the reliability of their informants has remained unanswered. Furthermore, she

Al-Shabaab announced that it was

responsible for the attacks, and as a result, a link was formed between elephants
poached in Kenya and funds required for the attack.
holds that nobody noticed the 2011 EAL report until the attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi.

No ImpactAl Qaida
No threat from Al Qaeda anti terror efforts succeed
Pike 2015 (John Pike, 12/17/2015, "Al-Qaida / Al-Qaeda (The Base)," Global
Security, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/al-qaida.htm) Coronado
LS
A small group of al Qaeda members, many of whom have intermarried with local
clans and forged ties with Afghan and Pakistani insurgents, remains active in the
remote valleys of northeastern Afghanistan. However, as a result of sustained U.S.
and Afghan counterterrorism operations , this group of al Qaeda members does not
currently pose an imminent threat to the U.S. and Western nations . Further, so long
as adequate pressure is maintained via U.S. and Afghan counterterrorism
operations, the group is unlikely to regenerate the capability to become a
substantial threat in the 20152018 timeframe.

No ImpactAl Shabaab
1-US military capacity is key to stop Al Shabaab and current
military presence strong, who cares if they can or cant sell
elephants
2-African Countries can handle Al ShabaabEthiopia proves
Wolf 2015 (Marthe Van Der Wolf, 5-17-2015, "Ethiopia Successful in Preventing
Al-Shabab's Attacks ," VOA, http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia-avoids-alshabab-attacks/2969120.html) Coronado LS
ADDIS ABABA Over the past five years, Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti and the self-declared republic of Somaliland have

Ethiopia, which invaded Somalia in 2006 to

fight Al-Shabab, has since evaded a large-scale attack. According to Tewolde
Mulugeta of Ethiopias Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country's secret to preventing
attacks is public involvement. We know what lack of peace means, so the importance is well
understood by our people," he said. "They dont want anybody to distract that. Whenever they
are going to come across any anti-peace element, any anti-peace force, terrorist
force, they are going to expose them, they are going to fight them head on. While it
all been attacked by Somalia-based Al-Shabab militants.

isn't clear how many prospective attacks Ethiopian security forces have prevented, one bomb did exploded inside a
central Addis Ababa house in 2013. Police believe the attackers were preparing it for a large football match taking
place that day.

3. Somali and Ethiopian forces solves Al Shabaab now already

dismantled the groups strongest base
Warka, 2015
(Somali troops overran key Al shabaab bases near Diinsoor Official. October 31,
2015. <http://www.mareeg.com/somali-troops-overran-key-al-shabaab-bases-neardiinsoor-official/> Accessed: 11/1/15 RJS)
Somali forces, with the support of Ethiopian troops overran two Al shabaab bases,
which situate near Diinsoor town, according to a senior Govt official. Confirming the
incident, Diinsoor district commissioner Ibrahim Mohamed told Radio Shabelle by
phone that the coalition forces swept into Gubadley and Misirre villages, after
forcing Al shabaab to move away. The military operations against Al shabaab
militants will continue until the entire region is completely secured. Somali troops
destroyed two Al shabaab camps in Misirre and Gubadley areas near Diinsoor town,
said Mohamed. Diinsoor town has been the biggest Al shabaab stronghold in Baay
region before it fell to Somali and AMISOM forces in mid July, 2015 following an
offensive.

4. Al Shabaab low threat - recruiting efforts failing

AllAfrica.com, 2015
(East Africa: Over 700 Al-Shabaab Recruits Have Abandoned Al-Shabaab and
Returned to Kenya. October 22, 2015.
<http://allafrica.com/stories/201510221106.html> Accessed: 11/1/15 RJS)

At least 700 Kenyans are reported to have abandoned Al-Shabaab and quietly
returned home to Kenya. A report prepared by the International Organization for
Migration, the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims and the Kenyan Interior Ministry
says the majority defected from Al-Shabaab when it became clear that the deals to
entice them to join the movement turned out not to be as lucrative as promised.
Others took advantage of the government's amnesty offer announced by Interior
Cabinet Secretary, Joseph Nkaissery, in April. Some of the returnees said they had
been forcibly recruited and a majority indicated they had received some form of
military training. A number, including many of the younger people, had suffered
injuries. 185 returnees were interviewed for the report. Prior to joining Al-Shabaab,
58 per cent of the returnees were gainfully employed. Most of these were selfemployed, the report said. Thirty-three per cent were unemployed before joining AlShabaab suggesting the absence of regular income to support themselves and their
families may have been a factor in their decision to join the terrorist organization.

No ImpactBoko Haram
Boko Haram doesnt pose an international threatno credible
attacks for over 5 yearsno confirmed link to Al Qaida
BPC 2014 (Bipartisan Policy Center, 5-15-2014, "An Assessment of the Nigerian
Terrorist Group Boko Haram," Bipartisan Policy Center,
http://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/nigerian-terrorist-group-boko-haram/) Coronado LS
Since its creation in 2002, Boko Haram has only attacked international
interests once, when it bombed the United Nations office in Abuja, Nigeria, in August 2011. The group has
consistently shown little inclination or capacity for attacking Western targets and is
Threat Assessment

principally interested in putting Nigeria under its version of Sharia law. The organization is predominantly focused on withdrawing
from a society it sees as corrupt and beyond hope, and has constructed a state within a state with its own cabinet and religious

Like a number of other militant groups, Boko Haram offers welfare handouts,
food, and shelter to its followers, and uses the money it steals to pay the widows of
slain members. Activities Since 2010 On Christmas Eve 2010, at least six bombs were detonated near crowded churches
police.

and markets, killing dozens of people. Seventeen days later, on New Years Eve, ten more people died when a bomb exploded in a
popular open-air market. In the summer of 2011, the group detonated its first car bomb outside the national police headquarters in
June and attacked the United Nations headquarters in Abuja in August, killing and wounding dozens. In January 2012, Boko Haram
launched coordinated attacks on the police headquarters and the offices of the Nigeria Immigration Service and the State Security
Service in Kano, killing more than 200. The groups last major attack came in March of that year ,
when its followers burned down 12 public schools in Maiduguri and forced 10,000 students out of school. (Boko Haram, a derisive
name given to the group by locals, means Western education is forbidden.) Since the 2012 attacks, Boko Haram has focused on a
broad array of targets, including Christians, Nigerian security and police forces, the media, schools, and politicians, though the
attacks are confined to northern Nigeria. Al-Qaeda Affiliations According to Guardian correspondent and al-Qaeda expert Jason
Burke, who was briefed on a letter that was recovered in the 2011 raid on Osama bin Ladens compound in Abbottabad and that was
not included in the 17 letters seized at the compound that were later publicly released, bin Laden had taken an interest in expanding
al-Qaedas operations to West Africa as far back as 2003 and was in direct contact with leaders of Boko Haram. In July 2010,

Boko Harams leader, released a statement expressing solidarity with alQaeda and threatening the United States, but it does not appear al-Qaeda ever
formalized the partnership. The groups main connection to al-Qaeda seems to be
the funding it receives from AQIM.
Abubakar Shekau,

No ImpactISIS
The threat of ISIS is greatly exaggeratedEurope and America
have the necessary resources
Byman and Shapiro 2015 (Daniel L [research director @ Center for Middle
East Policy, Brookings] and Jeremy [Fellow @ Brookings]; Be Afraid. Be A Little
Afraid: The Threat of Terrorism from Western Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq;
January; www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2015/01/western-foreign-fighters-insyria-and-iraq-byman-shapiro?rssid=LatestFromBrookings; kdf)
threat can easily be
exaggerated. Previous cases and information emerging from Syria suggest several
mitigating effects that may reducebut hardly eliminatethe potential terrorist
threat from foreign fighters who have gone to Syria . Those mitigating factors include: Many
die, blowing themselves up in suicide attacks or perishing quickly in firefights with
opposing forces. Many never return home, but continue fighting in the conflict
zone or at the next battle for jihad. Many of the foreign fighters quickly become
disillusioned, and a number even return to their home country without engaging in
further violence. Others are arrested or disrupted by intelligence service s. Indeed,
Despite these fears and the real danger that motivates them, the Syrian and Iraqi foreign fighter

becoming a foreign fighterparticularly with todays heavy use of social mediamakes a terrorist far more likely to come to the

but American and European

security services have tools that they can successfully deploy to mitigate the threa t.
These tools will have to be adapted to the new context in Syria and Iraq, but they
will remain useful and effective. Key Policy Recommendations The model below shows how the various mitigating
attention of security services. The danger posed by returning foreign fighters is real,

factors and effective policies can (though not necessarily will) lessen the danger presented by foreign fighters. Complex Model of
Foreign Fighter Radicalization Complex Model of Foreign Fighter Radicalization Decide First is the decision stage. It makes sense to
reduce the numbers of those going to the conflict zone in the first place by interfering in the decision to go. After all, those who do
not go cannot be radicalized by foreign fighting. Western countries should push a counter-narrative that stresses the brutality of the
conflict and the internecine violence among jihadists. However, in general, governments are poor at developing counter-narratives
and lack community credibility. It is usually better to elevate existing voices of community leaders who already embrace the
counter-narrative than to try to handle this directly through government channels. Also vital is developing peaceful alternatives for
helping the people affected by the conflicts in the Middle East. Some fighterscertainly not all but a significant portionwere
originally motivated by a genuine desire to defend the Syrian people against the brutality of the Assad regime. Encouraging
charitable activities, identifying legitimate channels for assistance, and otherwise highlighting what concerned individuals can do to

Local programs for

providing assistance can also improve domestic intelligence gathering capabilities
in two ways, according to Western security service officials . First, simply being out and about in the
help alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people may siphon off some of the supply of foreign fighters.

community gives government officials more access to information about potential radicals. Families become comfortable with
intelligence services, as do community leaders. Second, such programs allow intelligence officials to gain access to individuals who
can potentially be recruited to inform on other would-be jihadists. Desired Results: Talked out of joining the foreign militias by
family or community intervention. Choose peaceful alternative to fighting. Travel The second stage in the foreign fighter
radicalization process is the travel to Syria. Disrupting the transit route via Turkey is one of the most promising ways of reducing the
threat of foreign fighters to Europe and the United States. Doing so will primarily require better cooperation between Western
governments and Turkish authorities, who have not always seen stopping the flow of fighters as their highest priority. But as Turkish

Western security services should

establish channels with Turkish intelligence and police to warn them of the presence
of specific individuals headed to Syria through Turkey and to encourage Turkey to turn them away from
authorities are now becoming more worried about the jihadist threat to Turkey,

the Turkish border or stop them at the Syrian border and deport them. Though there are other ways into Syria, all are far harder and
more costly for Western fighters. Security cooperation among European services and between European and American services is
also essential. Intelligence collected from the communications of foreign fighters, shared open source monitoring, and other
information from one service can prove vital for discovering transnational networks. Cooperation within Europe is indispensable for
stopping travel as jihadists from one European country often try to travel to Turkey and then on to Syria via another European
country in an effort to avoid detection. Desired Results: Arrested en route. Stopped at border and deported. Train and Fight In the
third stage of the process, the foreign fighters receive training and fight in Syria or Iraq, mostly out of the reach of European or
American influence. But even here, there are subtle ways of influencing the terrorist indoctrination process. Western security
agencies should do everything they can to sow doubt in the minds of extremist leaders in Iraq and Syria about the true loyalties of
Western Muslim volunteers. Highlighting information gained from recruits and even disinformation about the degree of infiltration by

security services can heighten fears. If jihadist organizations come to view foreigners as potential spies or as corrupting influences,
they might assign them to non-combat roles, test their allegiances by offering them the one-way ticket of suicide bombings, or even
avoid recruiting them altogether. Desired Results: Die in the combat zone. Stay abroad and fight. Become disillusioned with the
struggle. Return Upon the foreign fighters return, the fourth stage, it is critical to turn them away from violence and jihad. Western
services report that they usually know when individuals return and that many return with doubts. As a first step, security services
must triage returnees, identifying which ones deserve the most attention: our interviews indicate triaging is done inconsistently (and
in some cases not at all) among the Western security services. Inevitably, some dangerous individuals will be missed, and some
individuals identified as not particularly dangerous might later become a threat, but a first look is vital for prioritization. Efforts to
promote a counter-narrative are valuable, particularly if they involve parents, preachers and community leaders. Community
programs deserve considerable attention. The goal should be to move potential terrorists towards non-violence; since many are in
that category already, hounding them with the threat of arrest or otherwise creating a sense of alienation can backfire. In the past,
family and community members have at times been successful in steering returned fighters toward a different path, even getting
them to inform on their former comrades. Indeed, sending returnees to jail for relatively minor crimes such as going abroad to fight
with a foreign terrorist organization against a distant enemy may simply put them in prison for a few years and expose them to the
radicalizing elements present in many European prisons, where many minor players become exposed to hardened jihadists and
integrate into broader networks. Desired Results: Arrested and jailed. De-radicalized and reintegrated. No desire to attack at
home. Plot To disrupt foreign fighters in the fifth and final stage of plotting terrorist attacks, security services must remain focused
on the returnee problem and have sufficient resources to monitor the problem as it emerges in their countries. The good news is
that going to Syria and Iraq and returning home usually does bring one to the attention the security services. But maintaining
vigilance as the numbers increase will be difficult purely for reasons of resources. Marc Hecker, a French expert on terrorism,
commented that France could handle the dozens who returned from Iraq but would be over-whelmed by the hundreds who may
come back from Syria. Keeping track of that many suspects, is exceptionally resource intensive, particularly if it involves full-time
surveillance. For intelligence services, often the problem is not in accessing or gathering the data, but in processing, analyzing, and

the same time, their own effectiveness can work against

them: by reducing the problem considerably, they decrease the danger, thereby
creating the impression that they need fewer resources. One way to mitigate this
effect is for security services to spread the burden of responsibility around by
training and sharing information with local police and other law-enforcement and
community organizations. Security cooperation among European services and
between European and American services is absolutely necessary. Intelligence from
the communications of foreign fighters, shared open-source monitoring, and other
information obtained by one service can prove crucial for discovering transnational
networks. As noted earlier, cooperation within Europe is critical for stopping travel,
as jihadists from one European country often try to travel to Turkey and then on to
Syria via another European country in order to avoid detection. Desired Results:
Attack foiled by law enforcement. Attack fails due to lack of training or wrong
skills. Conclusion The United States and Europe already have effective measures in
place to greatly reduce the threat of terrorism from jihadist returnees and to limit the scale of any
following up on it in a timely manner. At

attacks that might occur. Those measures can and should be improvedand, more importantly, adequately resourced. But the
standard of success cannot be perfection. If it is, then Western governments are doomed to fail, and, worse, doomed to an
overreaction which will waste resources and cause dangerous policy mistakes.

No ImpactNo Nuke Terror

Experts conclude no risk of nuclear terrorismturn
constructing it as a threat is actually a victory for the
terrorists
Hilliar and Dumont 2016 (Andrew Hilliar, Julia DUMONT, April 1st 2016 "Is
nuclear terrorism a real threat?," France 24, http://www.france24.com/en/20160401nuclear-terrorism-islamic-state-paris-brussels-attacks) Coronado LS
An international summit on nuclear security in Washington enters its second day Friday. Top of the agenda is how to
stop terrorist organisations such as the Islamic State group from getting their hands on nuclear material. But

how

real is the threat?

In the aftermath of the November 13 terror attacks in Paris, and with the eyes of the world
still focused on the bloodshed in the French capital, soldiers in Belgium were sent to guard that countrys nuclear
power plants. Four months later, Belgium found itself in the crosshairs as terrorists killed 32 people in the March 22
suicide bombings in Brussels. Moments after the attacks, the countrys two large-scale nuclear power plants at

On both occasions, the

attackers had targeted the general population, so why the step up in nuclear
security? The answer lies in a mysterious video found in an apartment in Belgium during a police raid as part of
Tihange and Doel were completely closed off and virtually all employees sent home.

the investigation into the Paris attacks and the Franco-Belgian IS group terror network behind them. The video
featured around a dozen hours of surveillance footage of the director of research and development for Belgiums
nuclear programme. The covertly filmed footage was found in the home of a suspect linked to the Paris attacks
immediately setting off alarm bells there was now evidence to suggest that IS group terrorists were targeting
Europes nuclear installations. Dirty bomb The terrorists intended to take the physicists family hostage to force
him to steal radioactive material from his laboratory, claimed a report in Frances LExpress news magazine, citing

Their intention would have been to make a so-called dirty bomb, where
radioactive material is added to conventional explosives to radioactively
contaminate an area, L'Express speculated. In a sign of how seriously the possibility of such an
police sources.

attack is being taken by the worlds security agencies, leaders from more than 50 countries are currently meeting in
Washington for a two-day nuclear security summit with the focus on how to prevent terrorists from obtaining
vulnerable atomic materials. "We've seen over the years that different

terrorist organisations have

ambitions related to acquiring nuclear materials," said the US Deputy National Security Advisor
Ben Rhodes earlier this week. "We've seen that in their public statements, we've seen that in
some cases in their monitoring of nuclear facilities ," he added. Yukiya Amano, director general of
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has warned that it is "not impossible" that extremists could manage
to make a "primitive" nuclear device if they stole enough material. But a dirty bomb is the far more likely threat, he
said in an interview with AFP shortly after the Brussels attacks. Dirty bombs will be enough to [drive] any big city in
the world into panic," he said. "And the psychological, economic and political implications would be enormous."

Fear of nuclear threat

already a victory for terrorism Benjamin Hautecouverture, senior fellow at Frances
Foundation for Strategic Research and nuclear weapons expert, believes a nuclear
weapon in the hands of terrorists is an unlikely scenario . They have not been able
to and probably never will be able to get their hands on a nuclear weapon , he told
WHATS GETTING THE MOST ATTENTION IS THE CONCERN ABOUT A DIRTY BOMB

FRANCE 24. But, the theft of nuclear material for the construction of a dirty bomb is a real threat, he says. It is
plausible that certain [terrorist] organisations could attack transports of nuclear material or civilian installations and

It is important not to overhype the danger, however, as

the fear created by the threat is already a small victory for terrorists, says
Hautecouverture. The challenge for terrorist groups then becomes getting hold of a sufficient amount of
try to steal radioactive material.

nuclear material for an effective bomb, while countries with nuclear facilities need to protect the material at the
source, says Hautecouverture. This is not currently being done to a high enough standard, according to the expert,
who claims atomic material can currently be easily found. There is a black market where such material is
available coming from central and eastern Europe, he said. The challenge for the world leaders meeting in
Washington will be to find a way to secure the various stockpiles of nuclear material held around the world under
various levels of security. Russian President Vladimir Putins refusal to attend the talks is a major hurdle, however.

According to the International Panel on Fissile Materials, an independent group of arms-control experts, the global
stockpile of highly enriched uranium stood at around 1370 tonnes at the end of 2014, and most was in Russia.

Non UQWinning War On Terror

We are winning war on terror nowthreats are overhyped and
help the terroristsa drastic policy change now is
irresponsible
Mitchell 2015 (Lincoln Mitchell, Lincoln MItchell is national political
correspondent at the Observer. Follow him on Twitter @LincolnMitchell., 12-16-2015,
"Maybe We Are Actually Winning the War on Terror," Observer,
http://observer.com/2015/12/maybe-we-are-actually-winning-the-war-on-terror/)
Coronado LS
It seems like every we look up there is another incident of domestic terrorism, and specifically, to use the language that President Obama has been
perplexingly wary of using, radical Islamist terrorism. From the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2013, to the more recent shooting in San Bernardino, the

. However, it really only just seems that way. While a

few attacks, such as Boston and San Bernardino, have taken many lives, most have
only killed a relatively small number of people. Obviously, one American dying at the hands of Islamist terrorists is
too many; and all of the lives that have been cut short by that murderous and fanatical
ideology represent a great loss and a tragedy. However, since September 11, 2001
fewer than 50 Americans have been killed by Jihadist terrorists on American soil.
Given a population of more than 300 million people, that is a relatively small
number and one dwarfed by the number of people who have died by gun violence,
car accidents, suicide, and countless forms of diseases during that same period . There
lone wolf attack feels like the new American reality

are diseases most Americans have never head of that have killed many more people in the U.S. than Islamic terrorists have since September 11th.

American lives, should rather spend more of

their time figuring out how Americans can improve car safety, better medical
treatment, take safer baths and yes, get shot by people who they may or may not
know less frequently. Dramatically changing our policies on terrorism would be an
illogical reaction to the reality of the threat that we face. This is not to suggest that the U.S. give up on
Politicians, policy makers or pundits, who are concerned about saving

fighting terrorism, because one of the reasons so few Americans have died at the hands of Islamic terrorists here in the U.S. is because of the vigilance of
security services. Nonetheless, it should be recognized that over the last 14 years two presidential administrations, one Democratic and one Republican,

through a myriad different methods, been able to keep this problem under
control. Continuing to effectively stop terrorism will require maintaining and refining
these policies, but not doing anything dramatically new or different. Unfortunately, while the
have,

Bush and Obama administrations have been able to keep the American people safe here in the U.S., neither has been able to thwart radical Islam. That is
an acute foreign policy challenge, one around which we should continue to have a vibrant and thoughtful debate, but it is not the same as the battle to

Terrorism, of course, is bigger than simply the number

of people it kills; it scares people and disrupts their everyday lives. In this way the
terrorists, no matter how few people they have actually killed here, have partially
succeeded. However, their success would not have been possible without a political
and media culture in the U.S. that exaggerates the threat. While this current wave of Jihadist terrorism is
keep Americans safe from domestic Islamist terror.

perhaps new, terrorism has been constant threat in many countries. The most glaring example of this is Israel, where terrorist attacks are much more
frequent than in the U.S., and where the people and leaders are much less cowed by that than we are here in the U.S. Even in Europe, terrorism, whether
from the IRA, Basque nationalists, fringe left wing groups, fringe right wing groups or others, has been around for years. This is part of American history as
well. White supremacists, Islamists, radicals like the Weatherman and others have committed many acts of terror, some much more devastating than San
Bernardino or Boston, over the years. An NYPD officer watches security camera footage during the Bloomberg era. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) An
NYPD officer watches security camera footage during the Bloomberg era. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) The problem with making war on terrorism,
rather than on a specific threat is that that it is hard to recognize, or even define, victory in that kind of war. In this respect, it is different than other
American wars, even those such as World War II where we were threatened by much more powerful adversaries. Nazi Germany could be defeated because
it was a state. Terrorism is a method. If, in the 1940s, we had made war on, say, propaganda, a tactic employed to devastating effect by the Nazis as well
as the USSR, Americas adversary during the years following World War II, that war would not be over as long as propaganda was deployed against the

. The concept of terrorism may never be

eliminated, but the battery of military, law enforcement and other approaches have
reduced violence by radical Islamists to a minor threat in the U.S. The relatively successful efforts
to prevent Jihadist terrorism in the U.S. should by no means be understood as a reason to ignore the threat entirely or to stop doing what we are doing ,
U.S. The analogy is not perfect, but the point should be clear

but it should be a reminder that dramatically changing our policies on terrorism

would be an illogical reaction to the reality of the threat that we face. The policy
makers charged with combating domestic terrorism should be thinking not about
ways to keep Muslims out of the country or to monitor the behaviors of all Muslim
Americans, rather they should be examining the extent, for example, to which
blanket surveillance of the American people is necessary. A smarter war on terror
should be able to achieve the same positive results of the last almost fifteen years
while limiting, not expanding, government of Americans . It will be many years before radical Islamic terror is
eliminated from the globe. Indeed, it may never happen, but that does not mean that Americans should forever live in fear or compromise our values and
laws to defeat an enemy that we have already largely defeated.

Solvency

Alt CauseVietnam
Vietnam is actually a larger market than China, its an alt cause
to the affChina is only a fraction of the global problem
Lawson and Vines 2014 (Katherine Lawson and Alex Vines, February 2014,
Global Impacts of the Illegal Wildlife Trade The Costs of Crime, Insecurity and
Institutional Erosion. Katherine Lawson is a Project Assistant in the Africa
Programme at Chatham House. Alex Vines is Director of Area Studies and
International Law and Head of the Africa Programme at Chatham House.
https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/public/Research/Africa/021
4Wildlife.pdf ) - Coronado LS
According to the Environmental Investigation Agency (2013), Vietnam is the largest
market for rhino horn from South Africa. Vietnam has reportedly not seized a single
illegally important rhino horn or prosecuted any traders since 2008.59 However,
Milliken (2012) notes that while there is extensive research into the supply side of
the rhino horn trade in South Africa, there is little empirical data for understanding
Vietnamese demand.60 In order to create effective policies to tackle the illegal
wildlife trade, it is necessary to investigate more fully the reasons for the demand
for wildlife products, including from the perspective of the consumers, which is
touched upon in Kangs TRAFFIC report. Recent seizures across East Asia indicate
that Asian governments are looking to take a public stand against the illegal wildlife
trade. The public crushing of 6.1 tonnes of ivory in China, mentioned above, could
signify a change in attitude. However, this accounted for a fraction of the 45 tonnes
of ivory confiscated between 2009 and 2013 alone.61 The legal trade of certain
types of ivory in China, including antique ivory, mammoth ivory and ivory obtained
during the one-off sales in 1999 and 2008,62 operates in parallel with restrictions
against the selling of all other categories. Unless China establishes one distinct rule
prohibiting the entire trade, the message carried by public displays of ivory
destruction will not trickle through to traders and consumers. Other efforts to tackle
the demand for elephant ivory and rhino horn have included recommendations from
CITES. At the sixty-second meeting of the CITES Standing Committee, held from 23
to 27 July 2012, China was called upon to submit a review of its internal trade data
and measures taken to comply with CITES Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP15),63
which sets out a range of measures to help regulate the trade in elephant
specimens.

Alt CausesSouth East Asia

South East Asia is an alt causeThailand, Laos, and Vietnam
Ron Corben 6-26-2016 (Ron Corben, 6-26-2016, UN Calls for Tougher Animal
Trafficking Enforcement, VOA, http://www.voanews.com/content/un-animaltrafficking/3392761.html, DOA: 7-15-2016) - Coronado LS
Tougher law enforcement and regional cooperation to combat wildlife and
timber trafficking is needed in South East Asia, says the U.N. Office on Drugs and
Crime. The call comes as Thailand steps up investigations on tiger farms, after a high
profile raid uncovered tiger parts and trophies at a Buddhist temple in western
Thailand. Thailand has long grappled with a reputation as a key transit and
destination point for trafficked wildlife from as far away as Africa to the poaching of
its own Indochinese tigers. In 2007 Thailand adopted the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species on
BANGKOK

Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, resolution calling for an end to the intense breeding of tigers for commercial use. A tiger is seen in a
cage as officials were moving live tigers from the controversial Tiger Temple, in Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok, Thailand,
June 3, 2016. A tiger is seen in a cage as officials were moving live tigers from the controversial Tiger Temple, in Kanchanaburi
province, west of Bangkok, Thailand, June 3, 2016. But Edwin Wiek, founder of Wildlife Friends Foundation, says the tiger populations
in farms and zoos have sharply increased from just 660 in 2007 to almost 1,500 tigers in 2016 in some 30 farms around Thailand.
Thailand,

just like Laos and Vietnam and China have basically not kept their
promise under the CITES agreement, says Wiek. Tiger parts in high demand Tiger bones and penises
are in high demand in markets in Southern China and Vietnam to be used in
traditional medicine. Bones are also made into pills and sold for up to $300 in the United States. Renewed attention on the
tiger farms and their potential dark side of trafficking to lucrative markets in China and Vietnam, followed raids on a famed "tiger
Buddhist temple" or Wat Pa Luang Maha Bua, in western Kanchanaburi province in late May. FILE - A sedated tiger is stretchered as
officials were moving tigers from Thailand's controversial Tiger Temple, a popular tourist destination which has come under fire in
recent years over the welfare of its big cats in Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok. FILE - A sedated tiger is stretchered as
officials were moving tigers from Thailand's controversial Tiger Temple, a popular tourist destination which has come under fire in
recent years over the welfare of its big cats in Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok. More than 140 tigers at been held at the
temple grounds and zoo, of which 15 tigers and cubs were daily brought before tourists for contact and photo opportunities and

The scandal surrounding the temple erupted as

Department of National Parks (DNP) officials were removing the tigers to new
temporary holding centers, uncovered 60 frozen and bottled cub carcasses and
pelts, a cache of other endangered species parts, together with tiger skins in the
abbots private residence. Tiger cub carcasses are seen in jars containing liquid at the controversial Tiger Temple, in
interaction with visitors. Disturbing discoveries

Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok, Thailand, June 3, 2016. Tiger cub carcasses are seen in jars containing liquid at the
controversial Tiger Temple, in Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok, Thailand, June 3, 2016. The first images coming out of
those dead cubs and the amount of them was absolutely shocking. Over 60 in total is a shocking amount, Wiek said. But when you
are inbreeding tigers, just breeding without responsibility, you are inbreeding generation after generation, you create an extremely
weak specimen and a lot of those animals will not make it, he said. Other live tigers were found at a house 50 kilometers away in a
fenced compound police alleged was used to hold the tigers before slaughtering them for their skins, meat and bones. It is very
clear that there has been at least a small group of people involved in illegal wildlife trafficking from the temple. That is pretty clear,
but it is not as bad as some people have said, where its like a whole syndicate or something. I dont believe that, Wiek said.

Also

found were hundreds of talismans made from tiger parts, hornbills, tiger cub
carcasses, skeletons, and stuffed bears. Tanya Erzinlioglu, a volunteer and worker of six years at the tiger
temple, said while she may have held suspicions, her main priority had been the welfare of the tigers under her care. But
Erzinlioglu's fears were realized when three tigers disappeared in December 2014. Until

the three tigers I never

really saw anything untoward. Obviously once the three tigers suddenly
disappeared then that suddenly changed everything because then there was
concrete proof in what might have been going on, but I had not seen it , she said. FILE - A
Thai wildlife official displays carcasses of dead tiger cubs found during a raid at the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand,
01 June 2016. FILE - A Thai wildlife official displays carcasses of dead tiger cubs found during a raid at the Tiger Temple in
Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand, 01 June 2016. The temple was a high profile tourist attraction, with estimated annual revenues at
of more than $3 million a year. Investigations are underway into the other zoos and tiger holding centers in Thailand. Wildlife
protection groups say Thailands policy of licensing zoos, clearing them to breed tigers has helped to stimulate trafficking instead of
curbing it.

Strong enforcement required Jeremy Douglas, Asia representative for the U.N. Office on Drugs

and Crime (UNODC) says to curb wildlife trafficking will require strong law enforcement. Analysts have often blamed lax law
enforcement or corruption for the trafficking to thrive. The

concern were most concentrated on is the

disruption of the supply chain towards the markets , Douglas told VOA. Thats really important that
theres a strong law enforcement and criminal justice response in place to identify this as a crime, investigate this as a crime,
investigate the networks involved through the supply chain and ultimately disrupt supply that goes into markets, he said.

Animal welfare groups have welcomed Thai Government moves to strengthen legal
protection for all wildlife, including tougher penalties including a minimum jail term
of four years for trafficking with greater direct involvement by non-government
groups to assist in the care of confiscated wildlife.

Alt CauseEurope
Timber in Europe is an alt cause
Hilde Stroot 6-24-2016 (Hilde Stroot, 6-24-2016, Loud alarm bells for growth in
environmental crime, who is listening?, Greenpeace Africa,
http://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/News/Blog/loud-alarm-bells-for-growth-inenvironmental-/blog/56870/, DOA: 7-15-2016) - Coronado LS
Europe: stronger enforcement should be the EUs answer Our call on China to
tighten up control of Chinese timber traders is no invitation for other countries to sit
back and rest on their laurels. In Europe, for example, the EUTRs effectiveness is
hindered by poor enforcement, leniency with sanctions and implementation delays
by EU Member States, and companies compliance with the law remains largely
insufficient. In Belgium, for example, the EUTR authorities are structurally under
resourced and have only carried out 18 checks in two years. Greenpeace and
partner NGOs have submitted to the Belgium authorities about 10 cases of
suspected violations of the EUTR, no sanctions have ever been applied. The
situation is of great concern. As we write these lines, Belgium remains a major
gateway for illegal timber to the EU market. The same conclusion also holds for
countries like Spain and France. However, efforts to eliminate illegal timber from the
EU market received a boost in March when, for the first time, Dutch authorities
sanctioned a company for breaching the EU Timber Regulation. The move came
after Greenpeace sent its investigative report on Cameroonian timber trader CCT to
the Dutch authorities. Yet much more remain to be done to keep illegal timber out of
the EU market. Many EU countries are still lagging behind in implementation and
enforcement of the EUTR. The recent UNEP-INTERPOL report on environmental
crime recommends stronger action, legislation and sanctions at the national and
international level. We hope this message will be heard by the European agriculture
ministers who are meeting in Brussels on 27-28 June to take stock of progress
achieved since the launch of the EU action plan on illegal logging in 2003. We have
great expectations that they will agree to intensify and improve the quality and
effectiveness of checks carried out on companies placing timber on the EU market,
and to take firm action against those that violate the EUs illegal timber law. All
potential entry points for illegal timber to the EU market must be closed.

Alt CausesEU
Despite efforts, the EU is a major importer of illegal wildlife
Nicole Orttung 7-6-2016 (Nicole Orttung, 7-6-2016, EU declines to completely
ban ivory trade. Will elephants pay the price?, Christian Science Monitor,
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2016/0706/EU-declines-to-completely-banivory-trade.-Will-elephants-pay-the-price, DOA: 7-15-2016) - Coronado LS
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta set fire to over $105 million worth of poached
elephant tusks on April 30, demanding an end to international ivory sales. France
headed the call that day, seizing on the symbolic moment to announce a complete
ban on ivory trade on French soil. The rest of Europe isnt planning to follow suit in shuttering its domestic ivory
markets, as the European Commission announced in a position paper released July 1. The European Commission
said it would be open to initiatives that restrict domestic ivory trade, however. For example, it
might close markets where there is evidence they had been used as a cover for illegal trade. Also in the policy paper, which

Convention on International Trade in International Species (CITES)

conference in Johannesburg this September, Europe opposed labeling the elephant
population of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe as a species
threatened with extinction, an Annex I CITES listing, which would effectively outlaw
international trade of ivory from all elephants across the continent. The elephant population
precedes the

in those countries is on the rise in recent years, so they're not eligible for the listing, according to the European Commission.
Recommended: How much do you know about the EU? Take our quiz. Andrew Seguya, the director of Ugandas Wildlife Authority,
says all African elephants should be considered a threatened migratory species. PHOTOS OF THE DAY Photos of the Day 07/12 An
elephant that wakes up in the morning in Angola as Appendix I could be in Namibia under Appendix II by the same afternoon, he

is warning of a mass extinction on

the continent within 25 years, unless all elephants are given an "Annex I" CITES
listing, The Guardian reported. The existing global embargo on ivory sales is coming under increased scrutiny since its due to
said. The African Elephant Coalition (AEC) a coalition of 29 African states

expire in 2017. The European Commission supports the extension of the current ivory ban, preserving the exception of those four

for a complete ban claim that there is no way to prevent

poached ivory from entering world markets when any legal ivory market exists.
African countries. But advocates

Elizabeth Bennett, vice president for species conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society, argues in an essay in Conservation

that corruption among officials charged with implementing wildlife-related

legislation is so widespread that poached ivory easily enters the market and once
it has entered its nearly impossible to distinguish from legally acquired ivory that
predates the CITES ban. Poorly paid officials and highly financed criminal networks make a bad combination, she
Biology

writes. Poachers and traffickers can rapidly pay their way out of trouble, so the financial incentives to break the law heavily
outweigh those of abiding by it, Bennett writes, and she predicts that the decades it would take to clean up the trade would be too
late for wild African animals at the current rates of loss. An elephant is killed for its tusks every 15 minutes, according to the wildlife

The EU, the worlds largest exporter of the legal ivory that predates the
CITES ban, has acknowledged that illegal ivory that has entered its market as well,
and it seized around 4,500 illegal ivory items between 2011 and 2014. There are
undoubtedly cases of fraudulent EU documents in circulation, and it is possible that
falsified or forged internal EU trade certificates are being used as a basis for reexport certificate applications, says a 2014 European Commission report. In addition to France, the
Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Sweden, and the UK have
stopped issuing ivory export certificates within their borders.
nonprofit Born Free.

Broader Action Key

The plan doesnt solveBroader International Action Key
Interpol, Europe, South America, Africa
Xie 2015(Kevin Xie, Chair of the Features Board for the Harvard International
Review., 8-27-2015, "Crime Gone Wild: The Dangers of the International Illegal
Wildlife Trade," Harvard International Review, http://hir.harvard.edu/crime-gone-wildthe-dangers-of-the-international-illegal-wildlife-trade/) Coronado LS
So what can governments do to stem the flow of illegal animal products?
A proper solution must address multiple components that deal with law
enforcement and customs coordination in addition to policies that decrease both the
supply and demand for wildlife goods. Most international and national law
enforcement organizations have primarily focused on other types of transnational
crime, such as the drug trade. However, agencies must recognize that the wildlife
trade is a major contributor to regional crime and instability and a problem that
exacerbates many other crimes, including drug smuggling and money laundering.
More focus by international organizations such as the International Criminal Police
Organization (Interpol) would help bring attention to environmental crimes and
would enable more information sharing between national governments. At the same
time, law enforcement agencies at the national level should double down in their
efforts to prevent the illegal capture and sale of at-risk species within their borders.
Agreements such as the South Africa-Mozambique hot pursuit strategy are examples of innovative and cooperative solutions to law enforcement
issues. The United States has taken some steps to combat wildlife trafficking. President
Barack Obama has signed an executive order to create a broad based approach to
wildlife trafficking that will involve numerous US agencies. Furthermore, Obama
pledged US$10 million to support capacity building for law enforcement agencies in
Africa in order to allow them to better respond to wildlife trafficking . While this is an admirable
start, this funding is only a drop in the ocean. As an article from Time Magazine notes, this funding is equal to less than a
thousandth of the value of the illicit wildlife trade . The US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Agency for
Steps for the future

International Development (USAID), the Department of State, and Department of Homeland Security all have important roles to play to prevent trafficking

shipments from Africa to Asia, the

European Union has strengthened rules regarding the trade in wildlife . However,
individual member states should take a strong role in securing their borders from
illicit flows of wildlife products. Coordination through multilateral law enforcement
organizations such as Interpol and the European Police Office (Europol) will be
necessary in order to maintain consistent and effective screening and interdiction
policies. Various skin of wild animals royalty free stock picture Skins of various big cats that were confiscated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
both at home and abroad. In Europe, which is a major transit point for wildlife

While these pelts may fetch significant prices on the black market, the potential economic benefits of keeping these animals alive for tourism far exceed

While better law enforcement

and customs coordination may slow the trade in wildlife , it is crucial to develop
policies that will better deal with the ultimate causes of trafficking . As the war on drugs has
those short-term profits. Photo by Bill Fitzpatrick, US Fish and Wildlife Service. Public domain.

demonstrated, a pure focus on interdiction will not work; rather, targeted policies should be directed towards providing economic alternatives to the

rural citizens to
get involved with poaching or illegal harvesting because of perceived economic
benefits. Regional countries should increase their educational campaigns to stress
the economic and environmental dangers of the illegal wildlife trade. The United
Nations Environment Programme has collaborated with a number of other
wildlife trade and reducing the supply and demand for illegal animal products. In Latin America and Africa, it is common for

multilateral organizations, such as the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species, the UN Development Programme, and the UN Office on Drugs
and Crime (UNODC) to raise attention towards animal trafficking. This collaboration
could be expanded to include regional organizations and individual countries. At the
same time, states should endeavor to support economic development in these
regions that is both pro-poor and pro-environment. Setting aside conservation areas
for ecotourism and allowing nearby communities to share in the revenues is an
innovative model that has found success in Kenya and Uganda. As some early trials
have demonstrated, these policies create incentives to stop poaching, and give
much-needed revenue to some of the poorest parts of Africa . The scope of similar efforts should be
expanded, as they provide a strong economic alternative to wildlife trafficking while
enabling greater economic development. S imilar policies could work in Latin America. Various animal products on sale
in Myanmar, including tiger bones. Tiger products are in especially high demand in Asia, where the bones are widely believed to cure joint and musclerelated ailments. Photo by Dan Bennett, via flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Double BindInherency or Solvency

Major steps have been taken to improve enforcementeither
the aff isnt inherent or enforcement is empirically false in the
context of China
CITES 2013(CITES.org, August 2nd, 2013, "21 Branch offices of the Chinese CITES
Management Authority meet with the CITES Secretary-General," No Publication,
https://cites.org/eng/news/sundry/2013/20130802_china_cites.php) - Coronado LS
The CITES Secretary-General has for the first time met with the 21 Branch offices of
the Chinese Management Authority at a National CITES Retreat and Training session
held in Jilin Province, China, in July 2013. Participants to the China National CITES Retreat and Training The Retreat was addressed by
the Vice Administrator of the State Forestry Administration, together with senior representatives of the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the Retreat the Chinese Management Authority reviewed CITES

implementation in China over the past two years, addressed the steps being taken
across multiple agencies to implement the outcomes of CITES CoP16, and provided
various training to the staff of the CITES branch office s. During the course of his presentation, Mr. John E. Scanlon
highlighted: the focus on enforcement at CoP16, in particular regarding the African
elephant and illegal trade in ivory; the implementation of new timber listings,
including the successes of the ITTO/CITES programme ; preparations for the entry into force of new listings of sharks and
manta rays, including the meetings held with Brazil, the European Commission and FAO; as well as additional financing to help implement CITES, including through the GEF. Mr. Scanlon

China is a vast country,

with a huge population, multiple international borders and high volumes of
international trade, which presents unique implementation challenges . China has
taken significant measures to meet these challenges and it is, along with other
Parties to CITES, further enhancing its efforts to implement the outcomes of CoP16
also addressed illegal trade in agarwood-producing species, great apes, pangolins, Tibetan antelope, tigers and rhino horn.

said John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General. China has the worlds largest CITES Management Authority and it established the National Interagency CITES Enforcement Collaborative

Over the past three years, China has hosted

international CITES meetings on saiga antelope (2010), controlled deliveries (2011),
Asian snake trade (2011) and e-permitting systems (2012). Furthermore, it led the
first cross-continent enforcement effort known as Operation Cobra (2013). China
has also organized a CITES enforcement training course for countries from Africa
(2012), a technical consultation meeting between China and ASEAN (2012) and an
enforcement training seminar for Mongolian customs and policy (2012). A staff member of the
Group in 2011 to better support coordinated enforcement efforts.

General Administration of Customs will be seconded to the Lusaka Agreement Task Force in 2013 to assist with the enforcement of CITES in Africa. With regard to the provision of
capacity building training materials, CITES presentations and three training courses available through the CITES Virtual College will be translated into Chinese before this September.

China advised the CITES Secretariat in June, 2013 that, while it opposed the
inclusion of the 5 new shark species in the CITES Appendices at CoP16 and
continues to have concerns regarding implementation, in the spirit of international
cooperation under CITES, with full respect for the decisions adopted at CoP16, China
will apply the CITES rules to the listed species. Hence it did not enter any reservations. Mr Scanlon also met with the Vice
Administrator of the General Administration of Customs, the Vice Minister of the State Forest Administration, and senior officials from the Ministry Foreign Affairs in Beijing as a part of his
mission.

Double BindEither the aff isnt inherent based on status quo

policies that mirror the affirmative, or if the aff is inherent the
aff doesnt solve because any present barriers to solvency
exist under the provisions the aff recreates
Weihua and Jinran 2016 (Chen Weihua In Washington and Zheng Jinran In
Beijing, 3-4-2016, "China, US team up on wildlife protection," No Publication,

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2016-03/04/content_23734321.htm) - Coronado
LS
A new US government report praises the bilateral cooperation between China and
the US in combating wildlife trafficking. The 2015 annual progress assessment of US
national strategy was released on Thursday by the Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking,
set up by US President Barack Obama and including 17 federal departments and
agencies, to mark the 2016 World Wildlife Day on Thursday. It lists as a major
achievement the agreement between Obama and President Xi Jinping in Washington
last September to enact nearly complete bans on ivory imports and exports and to
take significant and timely steps to halt the domestic commercial trade of ivory. The
32-page report features a big photo of Obama and Xi shaking hands in the White
House to highlight global and bilateral cooperation on the issue. China, the US and
the European Union are major markets for illicit wildlife trade. The report cites
efforts by US government departments in China in the past year. For example, the
State Department published in Chinese newspapers and websites an op-ed
commending the bilateral commitments and calling for their quick implementation.
Bilateral engagement has been conducted on multiple levels , such as a daylong
session on wildlife trafficking as part of the China-US Strategic and Economic
Dialogue (S&ED) in Washington in June 2015. According to the report, the
discussions at the meeting led to a bilateral agreement to stem the illegal trade in
totoaba and sea turtles, to work jointly on enforcement, and to explore
opportunities to use new and emerging technologies to inform and improve wildlife
protection and law enforcement. Last September, the US Fish and Wildlife Service
organized trilateral meetings of China, US and Mexico on the illegal trade in totoaba
to address the trafficking problem of the endangered fish species. US Ambassador
to China Max Baucus filmed an anti-ivory public announcement for the Chinese
media and conducted an anti-wildlife trafficking print media campaign of billboards
across China using his image. The report also praised the commitment reaffirmed
by China and the US on trilateral cooperation in Arica. On Wednesday evening, the
US State Department marked World Wildlife Day with a projection of images of
endangered species on its C Street faade. In China, the State Forestry
Administration said in a statement on Thursday that it will revise laws and
regulations for the protection of wild animals. The revised draft of the Law on the
Protection of Wildlife will build a mandatory protection system for their habitats, set
a threshold for wildlife products to be traded, and put a stricter rein on trafficking
and other illegal business involving wildlife, according to the statement. Protection
projects on wildlife will be listed in work agendas for the next five years as the 13th
Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) has stipulated protection targets, for example,
conducting programs on precious species such as the panda and Siberian tiger. The
revised draft was presented to the Standing Committee of the National People's
Congress for discussion on Dec 21. The Vienna-based United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime said on Thursday that billions of dollars in profit are made from the
wildlife and forest crimes, destroying biodiversity and hindering sustainable growth.
In 2015, 1,175 rhinos were poached in South Africa, while Central Africa has now
lost 64 per cent of its elephants in less than a decade, it said.

Tens of squo policies combating the affeither the aff isnt

inherent, or nothing the aff can do will work based on the
inadequacy of every policy listed in this ev
Thelemaque and Noel 2015 (Ilioney Thelemaque and Fred Noel, Wildlife
Trafficking African Continent and Its Nexus to Transnational Organized Crime and
Terrorist Funding, April 2015, Capstone Project Master of Arts in Global Governance
In Collaboration with: Florida International University https://maga.fiu.edu/academictracks/capstone-project/2015-capstone-working-papers/capstone-finalpaper_fred_illioney-editedddt.pdf) Coronado LS
measures have been taken in order to deal with the illegal trafficking of wildlife
around the world in general and on the African continent in particular. It is known
that various entities, such as governmental and non-governmental organizations,
states, and advocacy groups are all involved in this fight . For example, the International Fund for Animal Welfare has
Several

trained law enforcement officers, provided them with financial assistance and entered into partnership with Interpol in order to suppress and dismantle criminal syndicates involved in
the trafficking of high-value wildlife species and products. In 2012, the International Fund for Animal Welfare teamed up with the U.S. Department of State as well as other governmental

In 2014,
through Operation Cobra II, the International Fund for Animal Welfare extended its
activities to 28 countries, spanning China and some African countries, to combat
wildlife poaching and trafficking. Operation Cobra resulted in the seizure of
thousands of live animals and the arrest of several wildlife traffickers. Furthermore,
in 1995, it established a Beijing office to provide essential insights and effective
initiatives to Chinese society in order to reduce consumption and trade of wildlife
products, both online and offline. For example, it has participated in raising awareness and changing attitudes where some consumers of wildlife
and non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Ethiopia and Botswana to develop an enforcement network policy for the Horn of Africa and Southern Africa region.

products have been unaware of the cruelty and impacts of illegal wildlife trade (International Fund for Animal Welfare, 2013). The London Declaration constitutes yet another example of
an existing counter measure to wildlife trafficking. Specifically, in February 2014, 42 countries met in London and signed the Declaration on Illegal Wildlife Trade, where they made a
collective commitment to end this criminal activity, help communities suffering from its side effects and protect endangered species. The London Declaration has secured ambitious

. These commitments support the Convention on International

Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), until the survival of
elephants in the wild is no longer threatened by poaching. They also treat poaching
and trafficking as a serious organized crime in the same category as drugs, arms
and human trafficking and renounce the use of any products from species
threatened with extinction (UN Chronicle, 2014). The London Declaration has adopted some strategies to solidify national commitments. These strategies
political commitments from all 42 governments

include the donation of $2 million from Canada in emergency funding to fight against illegal trafficking of wildlife in East and Central Africa; the pledge of Germany to give 16.9 million
to support conservation efforts in Cameroon; the launch of the Elephant Protection Initiative in Botswana, Chad, Ethiopia, Gabon and Tanzania to secure new funding from private and
public sources to protect elephants. The declaration sets out a Commitment to Action to provide 10 million to help governments, non-governmental organizations and charities to
combat illegal wildlife crime (UN Chronicle, 2014). Specific United States actions also contribute to existing countermeasures. In fact, U.S. efforts to ban aspects of wildlife trafficking
originated with the Lacey Act of 1900 and have been improved through provisions in the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and other laws. Recently,
increased awareness of illegal trafficking of wildlife as a potential problem has been responsible for calls to increase the effectiveness of U.S. and international responses for dealing with

, President Barack Obama, on July 1, 2013, issued

Executive Order 13648 on Combating Wildlife Trafficking. This executive order
identified wildlife trafficking as an escalating international crisis which contributes
to the illegal economy, fuels instability, and undermines security. As a result, the
president outlined four core objectives in combating wildlife trafficking : (a) assist
foreign governments in anti-trafficking activities when requested; (b) encourage the
development and enforcement of effective wildlife trafficking laws, such as
prosecuting traffickers; (c) cooperate with the international community and partner
organizations; and (b) decrease demand for illegal trade of wildlife, both nationally
and internationally. The Executive Order also establishes a Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking, in which the Secretaries of State and Interior as well as
such illegal activity (Wyler & Sheik, 2013). Among those actions

the Attorney General are co- chaired. Coinciding with the Executive Orders release, the State Department promises $10 million in anti-poaching training and technical assistance. The

In 2012,
the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) announced a strategy to counter international wildlife trafficking . This
$10 million would be divided as follows: $3 million each to South Africa and Kenya and $4 million for other countries in SubSaharan Africa (Wyler & Sheik, 2013 ).

strategy is built on four pillars which are (1) the enhancement of diplomatic
outreach to build government support bilaterally and through multilateral
mechanisms such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( CITES), other
United Nations (UN) bodies, International Criminal Police Organization ( INTERPOL),
World Customs Organization (WCO), and the World Bank; (2) the targeting of public
diplomacy campaigns to raise international awareness and, eventually, diminish
demand for illicit wildlife products; (3) the continuation of international training,
technical assistance, and cooperation to improve wildlife law enforcement
capabilities; and (4) the expansion of partnerships to connect governments, civil
society, academia, and the private sector together in dealing with wildlife crime
issues (Wyler & Sheik, 2013). Despite the positive impacts these policies may have had to date, they have also been limited. We explore these limitations below and offer
additional policy recommendations.

No Solvency
The aff doesnt solveneed to address all links of the trade not
just the end consumers
Wcs 6-13-2016 (Wcs, 6-13-2016, International engagement is key to stopping
poaching crisis in Africa, No Publication, http://newsroom.wcs.org/NewsReleases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/9065/categoryId/212/Internationalengagement-is-key-to-stopping-poaching-crisis-in-Africa.aspx, DOA: 7-15-2016) Coronado LS
Today, leaders from international conservation organizations spoke at an event cohosted by the Governments of the United States and Germany, convened to honor
American-German cooperation to combat wildlife crime. The groups jointly called for
governments to step up and to coordinate their support to sub-Saharan countries in
Africa in the fight against poaching and wildlife trafficking. The experts from the
World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) and the
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) shared their organizations experiences and
proposed solutions to the ongoing poaching and trafficking crisis. Wildlife crime,
poaching and trafficking of products such as ivory, rhino horn and others is a severe
threat to iconic African species like elephant and rhino and the ecosystems they
inhabit. It also undermines the livelihoods and well-being of local communities,
national security and sustainable development. The negative impacts of wildlife
crime go far beyond biodiversity. The responsible criminal networks are also
involved in other forms of illegal trafficking, money-laundering and financing of civil
conflicts. The U.S. Ambassador to Germany John B. Emerson thanked the German
government and participating NGOs for their commitment to the cause of
combatting wildlife trafficking: Building on the network of American and German
government agencies and civil society actors including our partners in this event
today, Germany and the United States are the two leading nations in the fight
against wildlife trafficking. We welcome the leadership of the German and the US
government to address wildlife crime, said Eberhard Brandes, CEO of WWF
Germany. Coordinated financial and political support from governments is essential
for counteracting wildlife crime. Its a global problem that requires a global
approach along the entire chain from poaching, to trafficking, to trading, and last
but not least to reducing demand for illegal wildlife products . On the ground, even
in protected areas, the situation is often critical, said Christof Schenck, CEO of FZS.
Because of the growing markets for illegal wildlife products in Asia, poaching has
reached a new dimension with cornerstone species like elephants decimated in core
parts of their remaining habitat. FZS focuses on supporting the national authorities,
for instance with much needed equipment for rangers like digital radio systems and
training, but also basic items like uniforms and vehicles. Wildlife crime is a global
crisis, with significant engagement of organized criminal networks. Our on-theground experience in Africa and Asia on wildlife crime at all levels shows that we
must work together to solve this problem, working closely with range State
governments, enforcement and Customs officials, international organizations, and
local communities, said Susan Lieberman, WCS Vice President, International Policy.
It is key to focus on both on-the-ground protection of wildlife and wild places , as

well as interrupting criminal networks and stopping traffickers at all levels. German
and US leadership and support are key to this effort. The speakers thanked
Germany and the US for their financial and technical support to African
governments in their efforts to end wildlife crime, and for their leadership in
multiple intergovernmental fora on the issue, including the adoption of the United
Nations General Assembly Resolution on Illicit Wildlife Trafficking in September
2015. They pointed to the upcoming meeting of the Conference of the Parties to
CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora) in September/October 2016 in South Africa as a venue to stimulate further
action and take strong decisions. The event was made possible through support
from the Robert Bosch Foundation.

SQUO SolvesRecent Regulations

Recent regs on Chinese Ivory trade means squo solves
Staff Reporter Zhou Qijun, 3-23-2016, "China's Pledge Might Mean End Game for
Ivory Trade," No Publication, http://english.caixin.com/2016-03-23/100923766.html
- Coronado LS
(Beijing) Wildlife activists have long blamed China's appetite for ivory as a major force driving a black market for tusks wrenched from poached

the
government is turning up the heat on illegal traders and threatening to shutter
legitimate ivory-carving companies nationwide. In October, the State Forestry
Administration took the first step by imposing a one-year ban on imports of ivory
hunting trophies, then on march 22 it said the ban would last until the end of 2019 .
elephants and other African animals. Now, after deciding current restrictions on imported ivory haven't done enough to protect tusked animals,

Trophies with tusks had been previously allowed under national provisions for legitimate traders. Since the ban took effect, data from the shopping website

sales of all ivory goods in the country have fallen significantly

wwtx.com show that

, the wildlife trade
monitoring group TRAFFIC said on March 11. The government's next step could be permanent ban on almost all ivory imports, people at the forestry

The government is acting on a pledge for

"significant and timely steps" toward ending all ivory trading that was jointly
announced in September by President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama .
administration told Caixin. A ban might take effect this year.

The leaders made the announcement during Xi's state visit to Washington. Until now, Chinese authorities have insisted on a measured approach to
fighting the black market trade. After all, they argued, more than 160 licensed businesses buy, sell and process ivory across the country. Ivory is often
carved by crafts workers who make jewelry, religious statues and home decorations. It's also powdered for traditional medicines, and purchased in
unprocessed forms by investors and collectors. Responding to a Caixin email requesting comments on its recent clampdown, the forestry administration

China has taken strict measures to regulate the legitimate ivorycarving business while going to great lengths to fight illegal ivory trading and
businesses." The government handles these tasks through its Endangered Species Import and Export Management Office and a police agency. Yet
said that through the years "

China has been accused of not doing enough to battle a black market that encourages big-game poaching of animals with tusks. China's appetite is
frequently cited by non-Chinese media outlets as fuel for African poachers who, extract hundreds tons of ivory from the elephants they kill. The Geneva-

the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) said 14,606 elephant deaths were recorded in 2015 and half the animals
estimated to have been illegally killed. On March 21, Tanzania's state-run Daily News newspaper reported that two
Chinese men had been sentenced to 35 years each for smuggling 1.8 tons of ivory. It
based

was said to be among the stiffest sentences ever for a case of its kind in that country. Five months earlier, a Chinese woman dubbed the "ivory queen" was
charged with smuggling 706 elephant tusks worth US$ 2.5 million to China from Tanzania over 14 years.

SQUO SolvesEnforcement
Status Quo SolvesChinese law has penalties for endangered
species consumption
Zoe Li, Cnn, 5-5-2014, "China moves to protect endangered species," CNN,
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/30/world/asia/china-wildlife-law/ - Coronado LS
China's appetite for wild game is just the beginning of the war against illegal
poaching, say conservationists. Last week, the Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress (NPC) clarified the country's laws on the illegal wildlife trade.
Anyone who eats endangered species, or buys them for other purposes, is
punishable by up to 10 years in jail , state-run news agency Xinhua reported . Cheryl Lo, a
Curbing

spokesperson for the World Wide Fund for Nature who is based in Hong Kong, told CNN she is "very happy" that the announcement
comes with a long list of protected species. "The law has always been there, but the interpretation has cleared up the ambiguity.

Now it is clear that consumers have to bear responsibility. But we still have to watch if they will
actually enforce and execute on the legislation," she said.

SQUO SolvesFuture Plans

The aff isnt inherent, CITES is making drastic international
revisions this October
IFAW 06-27-2016 (IFAW - International Fund for Animal Welfare, 6-27-2016,
"Pangolin Seizure in Hong Kong Demonstrates Need for Stronger Protection for
Worlds Most Trafficked Mammals," http://www.ifaw.org/australia/news/pangolinseizure-hong-kong-demonstrates-need-stronger-protection-world%E2%80%99smost-trafficked-mammal) Coronado LS
Hong Kong Customs seized about 4,000 kilograms of pangolin scales from a
container at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound. As a
leader in a coalition of over 20 groups working to list all eight species under
Appendix I of CITES and as co-author on a technical petition to list the pangolins
under the U.S. Endangered Species Act , Jeff Flocken, North American Regional Director of the International Fund for
Animal Welfare (IFAW), issued the following statement: Market prices for pangolin scales have increased in
recent years, fueling unprecedented poaching and increasing intercontinental trade .
This week,

There is no question that pangolins are suffering deeply at the hands of traffickers both in Asia and in Africa. This most recent incident is another

tronger protections for pangolins are needed immediately. The U.S.

government is in a position to do something to help this species, as it evaluates and
makes a decision on the technical petition to list pangolins under the Endangered
Species Act, submitted last year by IFAW along with the Humane Society
International, Born Free and the Center for Biological Diversity. The rest of the world
will have their opportunity to help save this unique animal this October when there
will be a global vote on greater international protection from trade for all 8 pangolin
species at the CITES Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa If nothing is done to
protect these animals, we could be witnessing the extinction of one or more
pangolin species in our lifetimes. About IFAW Founded in 1969, IFAW rescues and protects animals around the world. With
example of why s

projects in more than 40 countries, IFAW rescues individual animals, works to prevent cruelty to animals, and advocates for the protection of wildlife and
habitats. For more information, visit www.ifaw.org. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Photos are available at www.ifawimages.com

Status quo solvesin September US and China negotiated

reductions on ivory trade, and established plans for future
cooperation
Bale 2015 (Rachael Bale, National Geographic, 9-25-2015, "U.S.-China Deal to
Ban Ivory Trade Is Good News for Elephants," National Geographic News,
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150925-ivory-elephants-us-chinaobama-xi-poaching/) Coronado LS
the United States and China will work together to enact nearly
complete bans on the import and export of ivory represents the most significant
step yet in efforts to shut down an industry that has fueled the illegal hunting of
elephants, putting some species at risk . The agreement between U.S. President Barack Obama and China
President Xi Jinping means that China, the worlds largest consumer of ivory, is
bolstering its promise last May to crack down on its domestic ivory tradea claim
that left many skeptical. Its an industry that has been driven largely by Chinas booming middle class, in which some people covet
The announcement Friday that

ivory as a status symbol. Wildlife conservation groups say that Asia, and China in particular, are the key cogs in an industry that they say has helped to
encourage the slaughter of some 30,000 African elephants a year. This is the first time that the presidents of the United States and China have made a
specific, shared commitment to protect wildlife, the Humane Society of the United States said in a statement. There is already a near-total ban in the
United States on commercial ivory, and new restrictions put in place last year tightened things further. Commercial imports of African elephant ivory, even

antiques, were banned, and the restrictions limited the number and types of hunting trophies that could be brought into the country. Individual states,
most recently California, have enacted or proposed bills to further restrict ivory sales. Thursdays agreement, announced by the White House, is especially

In
1989, the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora
and Fauna (CITES), the international body that sets wildlife trade policy, banned the
global ivory trade. And when an experiment allowed Japan to buy a 55 tons of ivory
legally in 1999, the resulting rise in smuggling caused China to deem the Japan
experiment a failure. But just a few years later, China began lobbying to be allowed
to do the sameto buy a limited amount of ivory to sell, in a tightly controlled
market, domestically. China lobbied hard, and in 2008, CITES granted its request. That
significant for China because the Chinese government itself controlsand for years essentially encouragedthe ivory trade in that country.

year, China legally bought 73 tons of ivory from Africa. About that time, it also built the worlds largest ivory-carving factory and began opening shops to
sell ivory. The Chinese government even added ivory carving to its official register of Intangible Cultural Heritage, in an attempt to further legitimize the

Chinas carving factories in 2012 and revealed how

Chinas actions were promoting the legal and illegal ivory trade. Instead of keeping
prices for ivory low, the government raised them, making ivory more profitable to
poachers. Meanwhile, Beijings plan to assign legally carved ivory products photo IDs backfiredthe photos are so small that an ID used to identify
industry. National Geographic went inside some of

a legal piece of ivory can easily be attached to an illegal one to legitimize it. The photos are so small that its hard to tell whether the piece in the photo is

Chinas internal ivory control systems have failed.

the same one being sold.

While 79 percent of Chinese people
surveyed by National Geographic Society and GlobeScan said theyd support a total ban on ivory, the survey also found that 36 percent of those surveyed
in China wanted to buy ivory and could afford it, while another 20 percent wanted to buy it but couldnt afford it. (In the United States, 13 percent said
they wanted to buy ivory and could afford it, while 22 said they wanted it but couldnt afford it. The survey also found that a higher percentage of

The illegal ivory trade

has been linked to terrorist organizations and organized crime, and this high-level
commitment is a sign that wildlife trafficking has been elevated into the diplomatic
discourse among the worlds most important global political leaders , the Humane
Society statement said. According to the announcement, the United States and
China will restrict the import of ivory as hunting trophies, as well as work to restrict
the domestic ivory trade. They also said they will expand cooperation in training,
information-sharing, public education and law enforcement . The agreement should
have a profound effect on elephant poaching, said Peter Knights, the executive
director of WildAid, a nonprofit that fights wildlife trafficking. The fight will carry on,
but this is probably the largest single step that could have been taken. Knights added that
Americans who could afford it had no interest in buying ivory24 percent, compared with 12 percent in China.)

the announcement puts pressure on ivory-loving Hong Kong, where the legal commercial trade often provides cover for those seeking to launder illegal
ivory. This story was produced by National Geographics Special Investigations Unit, which focuses on wildlife crime and is made possible by a grant from
the BAND Foundation. Follow Rachael Bale on Twitter.

SQUO SolvesIvory
Squo solves ivory
Mills 06/21/2016 (Posted By J. A. Mills On June 21st, 2016 In China, Farming,
Geopolitics, U.S., "Presidents of China, U.S. hold fate of Noah and the ark in their
hands," No Publication, http://jamillsauthor.com/2016/06/presidents-of-china-u-shold-fate-of-noah-and-the-ark-in-their-hands/) Coronado LS
Something similar is happening with ivory. Britains Prince William raised concerns about Chinas ivory
consumption in a private meeting with President Xi Jinping. The U.S. acknowledged that it, too, has an
ivory trade problem. The U.S. burned six tons of ivory stockpiles in a gesture of good faith, after which China burned 6.1
tons. Then China and the U.S.the worlds number one and number two largest consumers of wildlifemade a joint pledge to stop

The U.S. announced a near-total

ban on ivory trade the week before this months China-U.S. Strategic and Economic
Dialogue, after which China announced it would set a timetable by the end of the
year for phasing out commercial trade in ivory. Through these bold, unprecedented
measures, Presidents Xi and Obama may save humanity from climatic catastrophe
and elephants from extinction. Will they go a step further and help the other wild speciessuch as tigers and
ivory trafficking at home and abroad, and to ban legal domestic ivory trade.

rhinosthat are being hunted down for their commercially valuable parts?

AT Add Ons

Disease

Note
Note: If you think this add on is a credible threat, consider
making this card longer (highlighting). Otherwise read it for
your comprehension, lots of warrants.

No ImpactDisease
Disease outbreak doesnt cause extinctionresilience,
historical examples, medical advances, immunity, genetic
variation this evidence assumes all of their warrants and is
more recent
Adalja 6-17-2016 (Amesh Adalja, Infectious-disease physician at the University
of Pittsburgh, 6-17-2016, "Why Hasn't Disease Wiped out the Human Race?,"
Atlantic, http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/06/infectious-diseasesextinction/487514/)
Youll tell us when youre worried, right? That was the question posed to me
countless times at the height of the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak. As an
infectious disease physician, I was interviewed on outlets such as CNN, NPR, and
Fox News about the dangers of the virus, and the answer I gave was always the
same: Ebola is a deadly, scary disease, but it is not that contagious. It will not find
the U.S. or other industrialized nations hospitable. In other words, no, I wasnt
worriedand not because I have a rosy outlook on infectious diseases. Im wellaware of the damage these diseases are causing around the world: HIV, malaria,
tuberculosis; the influenza pandemic that took the world by surprise in 2009; the
anti-vaccine movement bumping cases of measles to an all-time post-vaccine-era
high; antibiotic-resistant bacteria threatening to collapse the entire structure of
modern medicineall these, like Ebola, are continuously placing an enormous
number of lives at risk. But when people ask me if Im worried about infectious
diseases, theyre often not asking about the threat to human lives; theyre asking
about the threat to human life. With each outbreak of a headline-grabbing emerging
infectious disease comes a fear of extinction itself. The fear envisions a large
proportion of humans succumbing to infection, leaving no survivors or so few that
the species cant be sustained. Im not afraid of this apocalyptic scenario , but I do
understand the impulse. Worry about the end is a quintessentially human trait.
Thankfully, so is our resilience. For most of mankinds history, infectious diseases
were the existential threat to humanityand for good reason. They were quite
successful at killing people: The 6th centurys Plague of Justinian knocked out an
estimated 17 percent of the worlds population; the 14th century Black Death
decimated a third of Europe; the 1918 influenza pandemic killed 5 percent of the
world; malaria is estimated to have killed half of all humans who have ever lived.
Any yet, of course, humanity continued to flourish. Our species recent explosion in
lifespan is almost exclusively the result of the control of infectious diseases through
sanitation, vaccination, and antimicrobial therapies . Only in the modern era, in
which many infectious diseases have been tamed in the industrial world, do people
have the luxury of death from cancer, heart disease, or stroke in the 8th decade of
life. Childhoods are free from watching siblings and friends die from outbreaks of
typhoid, scarlet fever, smallpox, measles, and the like. So what would it take for a
disease to wipe out humanity now? In Michael Crichtons The Andromeda Strain, the
canonical book in the disease-outbreak genre, an alien microbe threatens the
human race with extinction, and humanitys best minds are marshaled to combat

the enemy organism. Fortunately, outside of fiction, theres no reason to expect

alien pathogens to wage war on the human race any time soon, and my analysis
suggests that any real-life domestic microbe reaching an extinction level of threat
probably is just as unlikely. When humans began to focus their minds on the
problems posed by infectious disease, human life ceased being nasty, brutish, and
short. Any apocalyptic pathogen would need to possess a very special combination
of two attributes. First, it would have to be so unfamiliar that no existing therapy or
vaccine could be applied to it. Second, it would need to have a high and
surreptitious transmissibility before symptoms occur. The first is essential because
any microbe from a known class of pathogens would, by definition, have family
members that could serve as models for containment and countermeasures. The
second would allow the hypothetical disease to spread without being detected by
even the most astute clinicians. The three infectious diseases most likely to be
considered extinction-level threats in the world todayinfluenza, HIV, and Ebola
dont meet these two requirements. Influenza, for instance, despite its wellestablished ability to kill on a large scale, its contagiousness, and its unrivaled
ability to shift and drift away from our vaccines, is still what I would call a known
unknown. While there are many mysteries about how new flu strains emerge, from
at least the time of Hippocrates, humans have been attuned to its risk. And in the
modern era, a full-fledged industry of influenza preparedness exists, with effective
vaccine strategies and antiviral therapies . HIV, which has killed 39 million people
over several decades, is similarly limited due to several factors. Most importantly,
HIVs dependency on blood and body fluid for transmission (similar to Ebola)
requires intimate human-to-human contact, which limits contagion. Highly potent
antiviral therapy allows most people to live normally with the disease, and a
substantial group of the population has genetic mutations that render them
impervious to infection in the first place. Lastly, simple prevention strategies such
as needle exchange for injection drug users and barrier contraceptiveswhen
availablecan curtail transmission risk. Ebola, for many of the same reasons as HIV
as well as several others, also falls short of the mark. This is especially due to the
fact that it spreads almost exclusively through people with easily recognizable
symptoms, plus the taming of its once unfathomable 90 percent mortality rate by
simple supportive care. Beyond those three, every other known disease falls short
of what seems required to wipe out humans which is, of course, why were still
here. And its not that diseases are ineffective. On the contrary, diseases failure to
knock us out is a testament to just how resilient humans are. Part of our
evolutionary heritage is our immune system , one of the most complex on the
planet, even without the benefit of vaccines or the helping hand of antimicrobial
drugs. This system, when viewed at a species level, can adapt to almost any enemy
imaginable. Coupled to genetic variations amongst humanswhich open up the
possibility for a range of advantages, from imperviousness to infection to a
tendency for mild symptomsthis adaptability ensures that almost any infectious
disease onslaught will leave a large proportion of the population alive to rebuild, in
contrast to the fictional Hollywood versions. While the immune systems role can
never be understated, an even more powerful protector is the faculty of
consciousness. Humans are not the most prolific, quickly evolving, or strongest
organisms on the planet, but as Aristotle identified, humans are the rational animals

and it is this fundamental distinguishing characteristic that allows humans to form

abstractions, think in principles, and plan long-range. These capacities, in turn,
allow humans to modify, alter, and improve themselves and their environments.
Consciousness equips us, at an individual and a species level, to make nature safe
for the species through such technological marvels as antibiotics, antivirals,
vaccines, and sanitation. When humans began to focus their minds on the problems
posed by infectious disease, human life ceased being nasty, brutish, and short. In
many ways, human consciousness became infectious diseases worthiest adversary.
None of this is meant to allay all fears of infectious diseases. To totally adopt a
Panglossian viewpoint would be foolishand dangerous. Humans do face countless
threats from infectious diseases: witness Zika. And if not handled appropriately,
severe calamity could, and will, ensue. The West African Ebola outbreak, for
instance, festered for months before major efforts to bring it under control were
initiated. When it comes to infectious diseases, Im worried about the failure of
institutions to understand the full impact of outbreaks. Im worried about countries
that dont have the infrastructure or resources to combat these outbreaks when
they come. But as long as we can keep adapting, Im not worried about the future of
the human race.

Drug Trafficking
Aff doesnt solve drug traffickingCentral Asia proves
Khajbakhteev 2016 (Radmir. Khajbakhteev, 05-13-2016, "Countering
transnational organized crime, illicit drug trafficking and preventing terrorism," No
Publication, https://www.unodc.org/centralasia/en/drug-trafficking-and-bordercontrol.html) Coronado LS
Through the Sub-programme 1 "Countering transnational organized crime, illicit drug trafficking and preventing terrorism" of the
UNODC Programme for Central Asia (2015-2019), the Regional Office for Central Asia (ROCA) provides technical assistance in the
field of law enforcement, which includes establishment of new structures, enhancing capacity and developing cooperation.

Central Asian law enforcement agencies through

providing platforms for collective response to counter illicit drugs, diversion of
precursor chemicals, transnational and organized crim e. Setting a collective
response to such threats, accentuates coordination of activities and strengthening
the linkages at country/sub-regional/global levels . Considering the volume of work required in Central
Furthermore, ROCA seeks to network the

Asia, the framework of Sub-programme 1 consists of project activities in countering narcotics, law enforcement training, container
control, border control, and border liaison, prevention of terrorism, combatting

money laundering, and

cybercrime, human trafficking and smuggling of migrants. The overall objective of
Sub-programme1 can be defined as assisting in implementation of national law
enforcement strategies, strengthening institutional capacity, developing technical
infrastructure and promoting international and regional cooperation in Central Asia.
Establishment and development of national structures countering narcotics in
Central Asia are supported through implementation of three project s including
KGZ/K50 "Strengthening the State Service on Drug Control of the Kyrgyz Republic ",
project H03 "Tajikistan Drug Control Agency (DCA) - Phase II", and project TKM/ X57 "Strengthening Customs
service and other law enforcement agencies' capacity in implementing border and
trade control, in particular, export/import control regime ". In particular, project KGZ/K50 aims to
support mobilization and coordination of anti-drug activities, effective control over the illicit drug situation, and the legal framework

framework of project H03 envisages improvement of

international cooperation by increasing joint operational activities, strengthening
national cooperation, development of forensic and chemical analysis capacities and
strengthening the existing drug detecting dogs' handlers' initiative. Project TKM/X57
aims to develop the national law enforcement capacity to counter illicit drug
trafficking, money laundering, trafficking in persons, smuggling of migrants, illicit
manufacturing and trafficking of firearms. Analytical capacity building, coordination
in regional operations and facilitation of information sharing in Central Asia are
supported through two projects including project RER/H22 "Establishment of a
Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre (CARICC)" and project
F23 "Strengthening drug law enforcement systems for criminal intelligence
collection, analysis and exchange". Project F23 aims to assist drug law enforcement institutions of the Central
Asian countries, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia by delivering intelligence systems, providing technical
and operational law enforcement training for intelligence analysts through
developing mechanisms for sharing of information and establishment of databases.
Project RER/H22 specifically supports CARICC and aims to develop regional
coordination, information sharing and cooperation among the law enforcement
agencies of the member states including police, customs, national security services,
drug control agencies and border guards . Activities in the area of container control, border control and
to counter illicit drug trafficking. The

border management are implemented by the Global Container Control Programme (GLO/G80), project XAC/K22 "Countering The
Trafficking Of Afghan Opiates Via The Northern Route By Enhancing The Capacity Of Key Border Crossings Points (BCPs) And Through
The Establishment Of Border Liaison Offices (BLOs)" and project E24 "Strengthening Control along Tajik-Afghan Border". The
Container Control Programme assists the Governments to create sustainable enforcement structures in selected sea and dry ports in
order to minimize the risk of shipping containers being exploited for illicit drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and other
forms of black market activity. The objective of XAC/K22 project is composed of two pillars including enhancing the capacity of
selected border crossing points and establishment of border liaison offices in Central Asia. Project E24 aims at strengthening the
border control capacity along the Tajik and Afghan border through procurement of equipment and infrastructure where necessary.

2-Alt causes to drug trafficking South American Cartels,

American Gangs
3-Our offense outweighs, Drug trafficking is low time crime
handled by cops, will never escalate to an extinction impact

Poverty

Alt Causes
Alt causes to povertyeven if they access some political
instability, its only a fraction of the problem on a global scale
William 2013 (DLice Williams, 6-1-2013, "Top 5 Causes of Poverty," Borgen
Project, http://borgenproject.org/what-causes-global-poverty/) Coronado LS
As governments, aid workers and activists search for solutions to the urgent
problem of widespread poverty and seek to combat its many negative effects, there
is a need to identify the causes of poverty in order to create sustainable change.
Understanding what causes global poverty is a crucial part of the process of
devising and implementing effective solutions. Most analysts would agree that there
is no single root cause of all poverty everywhere throughout human history.
However, even taking into account the individual histories and circumstances of
particular countries and regions, there are significant trends in the causes of global
poverty. 5 Causes of Poverty History. Many of the poorest nations in the world were
former colonies, slave-exporting areas and territories from which resources had
been systematically extracted for the benefit of colonizing countries. Although there
are notable exceptions (Australia, Canada and the U.S. being perhaps the most
prominent), for most of these former colonies, colonialism and its legacies have
helped create the conditions that prevent many people from accessing land, capital,
education and other resources that allow people to support themselves adequately.
In these nations, poverty is one legacy of a troubled history involving conquest. War
& political instability. Both of these factors have often been tied to histories of
colonialism, but whatever the causes of war and political upheaval, it is clear that
safety, stability and security are essential for subsistence and, beyond that,
economic prosperity and growth. Without these basics, natural resources cannot be
harnessed individually or collectively, and no amount of education, talent or
technological know-how will allow people to work and reap the benefits of the fruits
of their labor. Likewise, laws are needed to protect rights, property and investments,
and without legal protections, farmers, would-be entrepreneurs and business
owners cannot safely invest in a countrys economy . It is a telling sign that the
poorest countries in the world have all experienced civil war and serious political
upheaval at some point in the 20th century, and many of them have weak
governments that cannot or do not protect people against violence. National Debt.
Many poor countries carry significant debt loads due to loans from wealthier nations
and international financial institutions. Poorer nations pay an average of $2.30 in
debt service for every $1 received in grant aid. In addition, structural adjustment
policies by organizations like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
often require poorer nations to open their markets to outside business and
investors, thereby increasing competition with local businesses and, many argue,
undermining the potential development of local economies. In recent years, calls for
debt reduction and forgiveness have been increasing, as activists see this too as a
key means of reducing poverty. The United Nations has also made it a priority to
examine how economic structural adjustment policies can be designed to place less
pressure on vulnerable populations. Discrimination and social inequality. Poverty
and inequality are two different things, but inequality can feed widespread poverty

by barring groups with lower social status from accessing the tools and resources to
support themselves. According to the United Nations Social Policy and Development
Division, inequalities in income distribution and access to productive resources,
basic social services, opportunities, markets, and information have been on the rise
worldwide, often causing and exacerbating poverty. The U.N. and many aid groups
also point out that gender discrimination has been a significant factor in holding
many women and children around the world in poverty. Vulnerability to natural
disasters. In regions of the world that are already less wealthy, recurrent or
occasional catastrophic natural disasters can pose a significant obstacle to
eradicating poverty. The effects of flooding in Bangladesh, the drought in the Horn
of Africa and the 2005 earthquake in Haiti are all examples of the ways that
vulnerability to natural disasters can prove to be devastating to large portions of
affected countries. In each of these cases, already impoverished people became
refugees within their own countries, losing whatever little they had, being forced out
of their living spaces and becoming almost completely dependent on others for
survival. According to the World Bank, two years after cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar in
2008, the debt loads of local fishermen had doubled. The Solomon Islands
experienced an earthquake and tsunami in 2007 and the losses from that disaster
equaled 95 percent of the national budget. Without foreign aid assistance,
governments in these countries would have been unable to meet the needs of their
people. These are only five causes of poverty. They are both external and internal
causes; both man-made and natural. Just as there is no single cause of poverty,
there is no single solution. Nevertheless, understanding the ways that complex
forces like these interact to create and sustain the conditions of widespread global
poverty is an important first step in formulating comprehensive and effective
responses to combat poverty around the world. Dlice Williams

Poverty Inevitable
Solving poverty is impossible, and any unsuccessful attempts
end up leaving people worse off--Even if they solve one
instance of poverty, the cycle is inevitable
Myeong 2008 (Michael "Yunb" Myeong, 10-14-2008, "Why Poverty is Inevitable
Mike Myeong," YUNb's virtual thought storage space,
https://myeong.wordpress.com/2008/10/14/why-poverty-is-inevitable-mikemyeong/) Coronado LS
Solving Poverty A Lost Cause When people are confronted with the issue of poverty regarding their standpoint, the overwhelming
majority claim that we should more or less alleviate poverty. When people are asked if they do anything to alleviate the situation,
the overwhelming majority says no. In general people believe that we, as part of a functioning society, have a moral obligation to

Their actions however, state otherwise. How can anyone explain

this contradictory phenomenon? Human nature? Outright Laziness? Or perhaps,
what if we have no obligation to help the needy, then would the problem be
resolved? What if poverty is a natural part of the way our world works and that it
was proven that the more we get involved in alleviating it, the worse it becomes?
The worlds extreme anti-poverty attitude has no reason behind it. People assume that a
help exterminate poverty.

picture of an African baby dying represents what poverty is. Ill informed people hold anti-poverty beliefs simply because its apparent
effects seem negative. Powered by this general misconception, charity organizations, groups, and NGOs are surging around the
world. How Ironical this situation is where the more help groups are formed the worse poverty becomes. Adam Smith, one of the

says the more the Government tries to

intervene with social problems of the people, worse the situations are . In other words, the
most influential economists of England has a philosophy which

problems of the people are just a natural cause like a hurricane, or an earthquake. This philosophy applies to the situation being

Poverty stricken people in a village in Africa who live in tribes are not
aware of current events around the world. They dont have TVs,internet connection,
and newspapers to inform them. The majority of them are illiterate as well. These
people are oblivious to the world and are not aware that the rest of the world
categorized their living as poverty-stricken. Within their social perimeters, their
lifestyle is perfectly normal. A handful of philanthropists who think its their duty to
go and help these people by giving them money and shelter will contaminate the
poverty level with the modern social norms. One by one, these people will view
themselves in a negative way. Others who watch their neighbors get extraordinary
help will get jealous, begging for help as well . A once peaceful village is now
pillaged with jealously, true poverty, and a degraded life. Ignorance is bliss indeed in such case.
dealt with in this essay.

This situation is the equivalent to that of us giving a caveman T.V, video games, permanent houses, and light bulbs. They will go
crazy and the balance of the world will be shifted. People who simply say things something like, oh we should donate in Africa and
help them create a small business so that they can become like us are ignorant. Like said, these people dont know how to
effectively create businesses not to mention the negative chain effect stated above.

If we were to alleviate
poverty in these areas, we would have to successfully provide ALL with such help
and luxuries. And this, by conventional means is impossible.\ A more practical approach to this
argument is to take into account the government system the majority of poverty stricken people exist in. Yes, the vast majority of

Alleviating poverty is not as simple as simply

shipping billions of dollars annually to these countries. What most people dont
realize is the state of the government. More or less internal turmoil and conflicts are present in these countries
where governments are constantly crashing with rebels and riots. Unfortunately there is no effective direct
way to hand the money to these people at their doorsteps. A vast sum of donated money goes to
the poverty line population inhabit in third-world countries.

the government. Now, is there a policy that somehow guarantees the proper delivery of the money? Absolutely not. The money is

The money
then instead of helping poverty, will actually worsen it by increasing conflict. In
prone to other spending andfundings such as weapons, better pay for higher officials, or to fund an arms program.

developed countries such as the US, poverty is still prevalent. However, we have a prominent system of welfare that takes care of it.
Even if it does not there is not much we can do. Everybody cannot be a lawyer, a doctor, a salary man. Every single person cannot
be middle class or above. Our society needs cleaners, garbage men, laborers; essentially who make up most of the poverty line in

There has to
be a balance of the variety of functions required to run the world as it is run today:
The only way to come over this barrier to completely change the system of our
world. Now, there are those who might try to invalidate the truth despite the undeniable properties of poverty stated above by
developed countries. Hence, sending a couple hundred dollars a year to a specific family wont do anything.

implementing moral qualities. Some might say that everyone regardless as a part of this society has the moral obligation to help
poverty. I agree on terms that poverty in itself is a negative thing, but I can confidently dismiss that claim of moral obligations. How
will we come up with a table listing how much we should pay? Perhaps a certain percentage of our income? Do the rich pay more? If

It is impossible to have a
moral obligation. Those who choose to help can help but with a grain of salt.
Actually let me take that back. A truckload of salt. If they believe in alleviating
poverty, they should not ship vast amounts to distant countries for it will most likely
worsen poverty. To those who really want to help? There is one way: Go to those
places yourself and help them with laborious tasks. This is the only legit and
problem-free way to help the poverty .
so, by how much? Are the poor exempt? If so what is the cut line? So on and so forth.

Park Rangers
1-the impact is 100 ish deaths, whatever neg offense definitely
outweighs
2-cross apply any and all case cards that disprove the link
between poaching and militias
3-alt causes to African instability and militia growth the aff
doesnt solve
4-the effects of the ban will take months to reach the levels of
Africa where poaching occurs means they dont solve
5-any risk china says no means they dont solve
6-Read any more case cards that say no link between terror
and stuff and poaching
7-aff mechanism is engagement with china, doesnt mandate
better security in African wildlife preserves

Off Case

AFRICOM CP
Text: The United States Africa Command should combat the
illegal wildlife trade by
-Enhancing US Governmental Interagency and Partner Nation Awareness
-Engaging Intelligence Community
-Counter Wildlife Trafficking as an Engagement Theme
-Improve Information Sharing;
-Lead US Governmental Interagency Cooperation

The Counterplan solves this is the recommendation of their

1AC authors
Thelemaque and Noel 2015 (Ilioney Thelemaque and Fred Noel, Wildlife Trafficking African
Continent and Its Nexus to Transnational Organized Crime and Terrorist Funding, April 2015, Capstone Project
Master of Arts in Global Governance In Collaboration with: Florida International University
https://maga.fiu.edu/academic-tracks/capstone-project/2015-capstone-working-papers/capstone-finalpaper_fred_illioney-editedddt.pdf) Coronado LS
Since existing countermeasure policies are limited and, based on our findings, there is clear evidence that wildlife trafficking is

we propose the following recommendations to

AFRICOM: 1. Enhance US Governmental Interagency and Partner Nation Awareness:
linked to transnational organized crime and terrorism,

AFRICOM could explore the feasibility of leading or participating in a Community of Interest (COI) focused on wildlife trafficking and
terrorist group nexus on the continent. There is sufficient open source evidence to suggest a potential nexus,

if not at least
a convergence, of wildlife trafficking being used by certain groups to fund terrorist
activities. Bringing the various stakeholders together in a COI, and leveraging faceto-face discussions on the topic in workshops, etc. could assist in raising awareness
and bring additional resources to focus on the problem set. 2. Engage Intelligence
Community (IC): Where deemed appropriate and feasible, engage the IC to focus
resources towards collecting intelligence on wildlife activities. Bringing additional collection resources on the
problem set may assist in further confirming or denying any specific links between these activities. Review or refine intelligence

most up to date data points, beginning with those terrorist

organizations that operate primarily in the Horn of Africa . 3. Countering Wildlife
Trafficking as an Engagement Theme: With Partner Nation militaries being used
more extensively in countering wildlife trafficking, explore the feasibility of
conducting bilateral engagement activities that focus on this theme. This
recommendation would make it difficult for traffickers and terrorist groups, such as
Al-Shabaab, to cross borders with wild animals and their derivatives. 4. Improve
Information Sharing: Explore the feasibility of implementing systems and protocols that enhance information sharing
requirements based on the

between AFRICOM and Partner Nation militaries, with a particular emphasis on enhancing information exchange on the subject

Improving of the information sharing could facilitate soldiers to patrol porous

borders, deter poachers, and detect government officials involved in wildlife
trafficking. 5. Lead US Governmental Interagency Cooperation: AFRICOM could
potentially take the lead in creating a small Joint Interagency Task Force focused on
combating terrorist organizations and transnational organized crime. This would
allow synergies to occur across the US government interagency to address security
issues of mutual interest.
matter.

2NC AFRICOM Not Evil

AFRICOM helps Africa, we make it so the countries can sustain
themselves, give humanitarian aid, and combat their biggest
crime issues
Huddleston 2010(Vicki Huddleston, 7-19-2010, "Africa, AFRICOM and the Path
to Stability," Elcano,
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?
WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/00042) Coronado LS
The principal security objectives of the United States are to assist African defence
and security establishments to counter terrorism and extremism, mitigate
humanitarian disasters and deter criminal activities. Allow me to elaborate:
Countering-terrorism: this is the Department of Defenses top security priority in
Africa and around the world. Securing the safely of its citizens and its interests is a
fundamental responsibility of the United States and indeed all governments. The
principal means of achieving this objective is by assisting African militaries to
improve their capacity to protect their citizens and confront terrorists and
extremists that prey on vulnerable populations and weaken the states ability to
govern. Mitigate humanitarian disasters: our objective in Africa is to contribute to
reducing human suffering, whether as a result of man-made conflict or natural
disasters. This is not only because we owe it to our fellow human beings in distress
but also because massive refuge flows destabilise African countries , create political
problems throughout the region and drain Africa of its invaluable human resources.
By reducing conflict in Africa we also help to contain the impact of refugee flows on
the region and into Europe and the United States. Degrading criminal activities:
piracy, smuggling and illicit trafficking all undermine African governments and
divert scarce resources. Piracy in the Horn of Africa slows the arrival of food aid and
makes trade more expensive. Criminal cartels and illicit financial flows divert
needed resources, corrupt institutions and harm civil society. Africa can neither build
its institutions nor fully benefit from its wealth as long as its human, mineral and
financial resources are diverted into to illegal uses. AFRICOM contributes to the
United States Governments efforts to achieve these objectives counter-terrorism,
mitigate humanitarian disasters and degrading criminal activities through the
following five essential undertakings: AFRICOM mentors, trains and equips African
militaries through military to military programmes, joint combined exchange
training and regional exercises, including FLINTLOCK, NATURAL FIRE and GOLDEN
EAGLE to name a few. In addition, AFRICOM works with the African Union and subregional security organisations and ministries of defence to improve their capacity
and attention to human rights and the rule of law . AFRICOM builds countries
military capabilities to carry out peacekeeping programmes. The African
Contingency Operations and Training Assistance training programme led by the
Department of State deploys AFRICOM troops to assist in mentoring and training.
ACOTA is a major success as over half of all Africas peacekeepers are from African
nations. AFRICOM provides direct assistance to African governments and regional
organisations. This assistance often takes the form of intelligence sharing, airlifts for

peacekeepers and equipment. In addition, humanitarian projects provide medical

and veterinarian assistance, emergency relief and technical and financial help for
small community-based projects. AFRICOM provides opportunities for cooperative
law enforcement activities with African coast guards and navies under the African
Partnership Station (APS) and provides non-lethal equipment and training. AFRICOM
is also prepared to use its forces to counter direct threats to US security interests or
the safety of citizens of the United States. The areas of greatest concern to the
United States and thus to the Department of Defense are regional conflicts. The
following is a quick overview of AFRICOMs security concerns.

2NC CP Solves
1-Their 2AC evidence literally says the primary reason for the
creation of AFRICOM was to promote African stability and
counter terrorism
2-Solves BIOD, the CP takes more specific and bigger measures
to stop killing and trade of endangered species, we better
resolve their internal link
3-CP Solves
Thelemaque and Noel 2015 (Ilioney Thelemaque and Fred Noel, Wildlife
Trafficking African Continent and Its Nexus to Transnational Organized Crime and
Terrorist Funding, April 2015, Capstone Project Master of Arts in Global Governance
April 2015 Ilioney Thelemaque and Fred Noel Capstone Project Master of Arts in
Global Governance In Collaboration with: Florida International University
https://maga.fiu.edu/academic-tracks/capstone-project/2015-capstone-workingpapers/capstone-final-paper_fred_illioney-editedddt.pdf) Coronado LS
To counter the illegal trade of wildlife, governments, International Organizations
(IOs) and NonGovernmental Organizations (NGOs) have adopted numerous
measures. Although these measures have had some success, they are limited at a
certain extent. As a result, we propose to United States Africa Command (AFRICOM)
these recommendations: 1. Enhance US Governmental Interagency and Partner
Nation Awareness; 2. Engage Intelligence Community (IC); 3. Counter Wildlife
Trafficking as an Engagement Theme; 4. Improve Information Sharing; 5. Lead US
Governmental Interagency Cooperation.

2NC Relations Resilient

Relations strong and resilient
AP 13 -- writers CHRISTOPHER BODEEN & JOE McDONALD (2013, "Lew Visit Marks
US-China Re-Engagement," http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/chinas-ximeets-us-treasury-secretary-beijing-18760384#.UU-q1rVvAvk)

The U.S. and China began to re-engage Tuesday on knotty issues ranging from
economic frictions to North Korea's nuclear program following a months-long hiatus during President Barack
Obama's re-election and China's installation of new leaders. Chinese President Xi Jinping met Tuesday with visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob
Lew in the first high-level exchange between the sides in six months and the start of a series of meetings that will test the potential for cooperation
between the world's first- and second-largest economies. Although the relationship is colored by mutual suspicion, the two sides now
discuss an ever-broadening agenda, from military cooperation to food safety, said Jin Canrong, an
associate dean of the School of International Relations at Beijing's Renmin University. And
their relatively swift resolution of a potentially crippling crisis last year over a dissident who sought U.S.
protection seemed to take the relationship to a more stable level , he said. "China-U.S.
relations are much more mature than they were before, but the atmosphere is still strained,"
said Jin, who frequently consults with leading Chinese diplomats. Tuesday's meeting between Xi and Lew came amid great misgivings in Beijing over
Washington's renewed focus on the Asia-Pacific region and Washington's concerns over China's reluctance to pressure its mercurial ally North Korea and

both men stressed the importance of the U.S.-China

relationship. "The president is firmly committed to building a relationship of
growing strength," Lew told Xi during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's ceremonial legislature in central
Beijing. Lew said Washington wants to work with Beijing to reduce trade and investment
barriers and to "protect the work of our innovators" a reference to complaints about rampant Chinese copying of foreign goods from Hollywood
movies to software and telecommunications technology. He said the U.S. government looks forward to China's growth as a market for foreign goods. Xi
told Lew he attached "great importance" to ties with the U.S. and looked forward to
more fruitful cooperation, but offered no specifics before reporters were ushered out of the meeting. The two sides
have "some differences" but said they have "enormous shared interests" and should "handle this
relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective ," Xi said. At a later 45-minute private meeting, Lew
Beijing's alleged state-sponsored computer hacking. However,

raised exchange rates, intellectual property, cybersecurity and North Korea, according to a U.S. official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.
The official gave no other details Lews also is scheduled to meet with new Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday. A security firm, Mandiant, said last
month it traced electronic break-ins at more than 140 companies to a military unit in Shanghai. The Chinese government rejected the report and said it

The secretary's visit marks the highest-level

interaction between the sides since former defense secretary Leon Penetta's brief trip to Beijing in
September. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also plans to visit Beijing next month. Xi has had more
exposure to the U.S. than previous Chinese leaders , having traveled there a half-dozen times and sent his
daughter to Harvard, and the two sides now discuss issues ranging from humanitarian relief to
shoring up the fragile global economic recovery . Relations last year weathered a
potential storm when China agreed to allow dissident Chen Guangcheng to depart
to the U.S. after he holed up in the American Embassy in Beijing. Yet, Xi is also seen as a strong nationalist willing to defend what he considers
also is a victim of hacking, much of it traced to the United States.

China's core interests whatever the cost to the country's overseas reputation. Beijing is locked in territorial feuds with Japan and several Southeast Asian
nations that threaten to draw in the U.S. and has refused to follow the West in efforts to end the bloodshed in Syria. Engagement with Washington is also
dogged by skepticism over America's new Asia-Pacific security focus that has fueled Chinese fears of encirclement, as well as the ages-old ideological
battles over human rights and democracy. Intent on seizing the title of Asia's dominant power, Beijing has bitterly criticized moves by the U.S. to reassert
its presence in the region through strengthened relations with friendly states, including a decision to base U.S. Marines in northern Australia. In an
interview on Australian television last week, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said it was still too early to read Xi despite having
spent hours with him in both the U.S. and in China. Campbell said Xi was "about the most guarded individual that I interacted with." "Part of our
relationship is based on trust and confidence and very deep economic and cultural engagement, and part of it has clear components of distrust and
uncertainty," Campbell said. Xi is taking a safe course for his first trip abroad, heading next week to a fellow critic of the West, Russia, on his first overseas
visit as president. That will be followed by meetings in South Africa with heads of other emerging economies. Xi isn't scheduled to meet with Obama until
a gathering of the G20 nations next September in St. Petersburg, Russia. Washington and Beijing have fundamental differences over human rights,
intellectual property rights, fair trade and the level of responsibility in trying to end the conflict in Syria and curb international nuclear proliferation. But
both sides will probably allow those fundamental differences to go unresolved for now, said

Yu Maochun, an expert on Chinese

politics at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. "Leaders of both countries have
labored diligently to maintain or manage a stable Sino-U.S. relationship that is based on some
shaky foundations, but we loathe to work on the fundamentals," Yu said.

2NC No Relations Trade Off

US and Chinese interests in Africa do not compete
MOSS 2012 (Todd, PhD, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Fellow, Center for Global
Development, On My Wish List for the Next Administration: A US Africa Policy Worthy of
Africa Oct 25, http://www.cgdev.org/blog/my-wish-list-next-administration-us-africa-policyworthy-africa)

whoever occupies the White House for the next four years will have to resist kneejerk efforts to counter Chinese influence in Africa. This is not a new Cold War. US
and Chinese interests only rarely conflict, and both countries stand to benefit from a
more prosperous and stable region. Where there is friction , such as over human rights in
Zimbabwe or oil deals in Sudan, Washington can manage these as we do other foreign policy
trade-offs, not through moralistic grandstanding. Ultimately, the United States cannot afford to ignore
Africa. But rather than viewing the continent as a problem to be solved, the next administration should do
something radical: treat Africa just like any other region of the world .
Lastly,

Pressure CP
Note: possibly rewrite the text to include a punishment for non-compliance

Text: The United States federal government should cooperate

with the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered
Species and Wild Flora and Fauna by pressuring China to agree
to an immediate ban on all endangered species trade.
Sanctions are the only way to solve, cooperation has failed to
repopulate endangered species
Mills 15 (Posted By J. A. Mills On February 18th, 2015 In China, Farming, News,
Tigers, U.S., "US poised to bring trade sanctions against China for rhino, tiger trade,"
No Publication, http://jamillsauthor.com/2015/02/us-poised-to-bring-trade-sanctionsagainst-china-for-rhino-tiger-trade/) - Coronado LS
The United States is one step from bringing trade sanctions against China for its
domestic trade in tiger bone and rhino horn. The fact is the US has been one step away since 1993, thanks to a legal
petition filed by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) with the Clinton administration. They did so under the Pelly
Amendment of the Fishermans Protection Act, which gives the US mandate to punish countries whose nationals undermine international protections for
endangered species. Not long after Chinas State Council banned domestic trade in tiger bone and rhino horn in 1993, President Clinton put the sanctions

the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) asked the

Obama administration to revisit them, providing lengthy documentation to show
that China continues to ignore international agreements aimed at stopping tiger
trade and allows legal trade in tiger products from tiger farms. The US Department
of Interior confirmed it is reviewing EIAs request . Heres the puzzling part. When WWF and NWF filed their petition
on hold, where they remain today. In July 2014,

back in the 1990s, the press releases went flying. Then-Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt publicly declared, The Pelly Amendment requires us to

wild tiger populations down by half and

armies unable to stop the slaughter of rhinos for their horns, the same players are
pretty much mum on the matter. At the same time, they and others have piled on in
support of President Obamas executive order to stop wildlife trafficking. Wildlife
trafficking is pushing some of the worlds most iconic species toward extinction
while driving a lucrative criminal industry and funding armed groups that fuel
instability in countries around the globe, said a White House blog on February 11. In the last year, the United States
address this destructive trade, and we have done so. Now, in 2015, with

invested more than $60 million in international programs to address this issue, including the provision of technical assistance and capacity-building
activities to strengthen law enforcement and criminal justice systems, and reduce demand for trafficked wildlife.

2NC Force Solves

Only force solves
The Economist 2013(I.S. | Bangkok, 3-16-2013, "On the way out," Economist,
http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2013/03/endangered-species-trade) Coronado LS
Two duelling lobbyist groups stalked the cavernous corridors of the convention centre in Bangkok. A pro-trade lobby, comprised of a handful of white South
African game-reserve owners (who have a large stock of rhino horns), crocodile farmers, hunters, economists and a smattering of other international

bans do not work. On the contrary, they say, they only drive the
price up and make smuggling even more lucrative . They argue that a properly monitored and legal ivory and
rhino-horn trade, with proceeds going to the seller, will ensure that the money is reinvested in the animals. Similarly, they claim the farming of
tigers in China will protect the wild tiger. An estimated 5,000 farmed animals are providing tiger bones for medication
consultants (some on Chinas payroll) are convinced that

that is said to cure rheumatism. Plans are afoot in south-west China to diversify into rhino farming. The opposing stance was vocalised loudest by a
consortium of ten wildlife-conservation groups. They say that even discussing legalising trade will stimulate poaching. They point out that two legal sales

as it became easier to launder illegally obtained ivory

and rhino horn. The consortium argues that the only way to save the elephant is to
force China to agree to an immediate, comprehensive, and indefinite ban and
severely punish its citizens engaged in illegal ivory trade.
of ivory in 1999 and 2007 led to new rounds of killings,

CITES has taken a hardline stance on non-compliant countries

playing nicely fails
Cruise 2016 (Adam Cruise, Adam Cruise is a senior contributor for the
Conservation Action Trust, which promotes reporting on conservation and
environmental issues. He attended the CITES meeting last week., 1-19-2016, "Trade
Sanctions for Three Countries Over Illegal Ivory," National Geographic News,
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/01/160119-cites-illegal-ivory-tradeelephants-poaching/) Coronado LS
The international community has taken new steps to stem the illegal ivory trade,
responsible for the killing of some 30,000 African elephants every year. Last week in
Geneva the busiest ever meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the body
that regulates the international trade in endangered species, concluded with
concrete outcomes for combating the ivory trade. Following a recommendation from
the European Union, the Standing Committee voted to suspend trade of CITES-listed
species with three countriesNigeria, Angola, and Laosfor failing to submit
reports on the progress of their national plans to combat the illegal ivory trade.
CITES lists thousands of at-risk animals and plants in one of three appendices,
depending on how rare or likely to be exploited they are. Each appendix comes with
specific rules governing the trade of the species named in it. In 2013, CITES
identified 19 countriesincluding Nigeria, Angola, and Laosthat were heavily
implicated in the illegal trade in ivory. CITES identified these countries based on the
countrys reported numbers of ivory seizures. National Ivory Action Plans outline the
measures these countries committed to take to stop ivory trafficking, including
legislation, enforcement, and public awareness programs, as well specific time
frames and milestones for implementation. (Despite being a known hub for
trafficking, Sudan isnt subject to an action plan because its government hasn't
reported a high number of seizures. Its widely believed government officials are

complicit in trafficking, and therefore seizures by law enforcement officials arent

very common). Picture of seized ivory tusks in Hong Kong ENLARGE Hong Kong
seized a shipment of ivory in 2013 from Nigeria, a country CITES has sanctioned for
failing to submit an adequate plan to combat ivory trafficking. PHOTOGRAPH BY
ALEX HOFFORD, EPA This is a strong signal from CITES that if a country does not
comply and then fails to explain its non-compliance adequately, CITES means
business, said a joint media statement issued by the Fondation Franz Weber, a
nature and wildlife protection NGO, and the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation,
which finances conservation projects in Africa and Asia. Mozambique and Tanzania
also got called out at the meeting over ivory poaching and trafficking. Both
countries have lost more than half their elephants since 2009. The Standing
Committee urged Mozambique to enforce its new wildlife law, which has languished
in parliamentary debates for the past 18 months, allowing trafficking kingpins to
continue to act with impunity and undermining presidential promises to combat
wildlife crime. Meanwhile, Tanzania must enact CITES legislation in its autonomous
territory of Zanzibar. Zanzibar has become a trafficking hub for ivory and other
wildlife products, at least in part because Tanzania hasnt extended its wildlife
protection laws to that territory, said Colman OCriodain, a World Wildlife Fund trade
analyst. Those laws enact international trade and protection rules set by CITES. "We
have long been calling for the territory to be covered by CITES rules just like the rest
of Tanzania, OCriodain said. With these developments, CITES is no longer just a
talk shop, said the statement from Fondation Franz Weber.

Politics Links

Links
Protecting endangered species extremely controversial.
Extractive industry lobby strong, will hate the plan.
Bowe, 2016
(Rebecca. Advocacy Press Secretary for Earthjustices Lands, Oceans and Wildlife
program in San Francisco. CONGRESS JUST UNLEASHED ITS 100TH ATTACK ON
ENDANGERED SPECIES. April 15, 2016. <http://earthjustice.org/blog/2016april/congress-just-unleashed-its-100th-attack-on-endangered-species#> Accessed:
7/9/16 RJS)
Scientists believe it takes around two million years for a new species to come into
existence. Species extinction, on the other hand, can occur in the comparative blink
of an eye. Unfortunately, North Americas imperiled flora and fauna arent getting
the help they need from congressional leaders in Washington, D.C., putting more
and more species under threat. Since the start of the 114th U.S. Congress a mere
16 months ago, the Endangered Species Act has come under legislative attack a
total of 100 times, according to a tally released this week by Defenders of Wildlife.
Unless youre paying close attention, these 100 attacks against one of our nations
strongest environmental laws arent obvious. Proposals to delist or block the listings
of individual species, such as the gray wolf or the Northern long-eared bat, are often
stealthy, tucked away in extremely complicated must-pass bills like the federal
defense budget. And as weve pointed out in our Political Animals feature, D.C.
lawmakers have used at least seven different tactics to try to water down the
Endangered Species Act. These range from introducing bills that exclude entire
states or regions from following conservation requirements under the Endangered
Species Act to floating legislation that bogs down scientists in bureaucracy. Lesserprairie chicken political cartoon Species like the lesser-prairie chicken are
threatened when legislators hide riders unrelated bills that would deny them
protections. See more political cartoons in our feature on Political Animals. Antiwildlife legislators have made repeated bids to dismantle the law despite
widespread public support for wildlife protections. Recent polling found that 90
percent of U.S. voters across the political spectrum support the Endangered Species
Act. So if voters are happy with federal safeguards for rare and iconic species,
whats driving these attacks? With threats of extremist violence, a vacancy on the
Supreme Court and an ongoing presidential election to worry about, what lawmaker
has time to take legislative pot shots at the lesser-prairie chicken? Heres a hint
from Defenders of Wildlife: It is the polluters, extractive industries and
developers that have these members ears. These special economic
interests have wanted to weaken or eliminate the Endangered Species
Acts protections for decades, making it a scapegoat for all types of
economic maladies. Today there are too many members in Congress
willing to do their bidding. Under the Endangered Species Act, oil and gas
interests, commercial real estate developers, utilities, agricultural interests and
others must engage in consultations to ensure their operations wont harm
protected species. At the end of the day, the incentive to gut these protective

measures boils down to industrys desire to act as it wishes without any impediment
or regard for the impact it will have on Americas wildlife.

GOP hates legislation protecting endangered species.

Willcox, 2016
Louisa. Grizzly bear activist and founder of the Grizzly Times. Delisting Grizzly
Bears to Save the Endangered Species Act? JUNE 27, 2016.
<http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/06/27/delisting-grizzly-bears-to-save-theendangered-species-act/> Accessed: 7/9/16 RJS)
A Little History The story that grizzlies need to be delisted to save the ESA has a powerful ring to it, and long,
historical taproots. It first surfaced in the mid-1990s during the Clinton administration, when then Congressman
Newt Gingrich (R-GA) developed his Contract for America, which targeted the ESA as one of many progressive
laws Conservatives aimed to gut. The irony is that the ESA was signed into law in 1973 by President Richard Nixon,
a Republican. Against anti-ESA forces, voices for imperiled species and the Act rallied, including scientists, artists
and religious leaders, and their champions in Congress won the day that day and almost every day since .

Polls
taken then and since show enormously high support nationwide for saving
endangered species. Citizens believe that it is morally wrong to extirpate species
from the face of the earth, and that we have a duty to conserve biodiversity and the
ecosystems that species depend on. But to defend the ESA against increasingly
crazy conservatives, the Clinton administration invented this story, a kind of
bargain: if you keep the Act intact, in return we will delist species. Lots of them. In particular, we will target
delisting of grizzly bears that require lots of space that industry has its eyes on. In so doing, the administration
sought to appease the states of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana that aimed to wrest management control from the
federal government. Later FWS matched its zeal to delist grizzly bears with wolves both species that were wildly
popular nationally but represented major symbolic affronts to conservative politicians at the federal and state
levels, and were viewed as constraints to the continued exploitation of natural resources by industry. The story has
proven remarkably resilient, no matter who has occupied the White House since, Democrat or Republican. This is in
part due to the fact that FWS career employees and their survival tactics tend to last beyond the vicissitudes of
elections. And,

since the mid-1990s when the ESA first became target practice for
conservatives, attacking the ESA has become something of a congressional sport.
These assaults further stoked the narrative of the need to delist more species as a way to make attacks go away.
So what is the delisting scorecard, and what is the response in Congress? Have Delistings Improved Political Support
for the ESA? According to FWS data, 34 species have been deemed recovered and delisted under the ESA. This
includes the bald eagle and peregrine falcon, whose numbers had crashed due to the devastating impacts of DDT,
which softened the birds eggs. Once DDT was banned, the birds recovered rather quickly. What is critical, though,
is that these high-profile delistings, and delistings generally, did NOT buy any support for the ESA among
opponents, no matter how often these examples were touted by FWS and ESA supporters. Also included in this
number is a controversial decision by FWS in 2011 to strip protections from wolves in the Northern Rockies a
decision that subjected the population to an aggressive state-sponsored hunt, which in turn dramatically reduced
numbers and allowed popular and valuable research wolves to be gunned down on the border of Yellowstone
National Park a tragic policy that continues. It is important to note that the Northern Rockies wolf is the first
species to be delisted by Congress, and that a Democrat, Senator Jon Tester of Montana, led the charge. But the
point is that wolf delisting, billed prominently by FWS as a measure needed to save the ESA, did nothing to build
tolerance for the ESA. The Delisting Story on Steroids, and the Ashe-Mead Connection The pace of species delistings
has escalated during the Obama administration. A driving force is the mantra of FWS Director Dan Ashe: species
need to be delisted to save the ESA. To FWS, wolves and grizzly bears represent the brass rings of success. The
agencys primary audience are not moderates in Congress, or decisionmakers who might be swayed, but

rabid

Conservatives

who cannot. In the grizzly bear delisting context, the main target is Wyoming Governor Matt
Mead (R-WY). He is chairman of the Western Governors Association, and now chairs a WGA committee which just
unveiled a proposal that would gut the Act by vesting even more authority in the states (link) all under the guise
of improvements and increased efficiencies. Within weeks of FWS announcement of its proposal to delist
Yellowstone grizzly bears, Mead held a mock hearing on the ESA in Cody, the most anti-ESA, anti-carnivore town in
the Greater Yellowstone in November, 2015 (link). He featured grizzly bear management as a classic example of
why the ESA needed to be reformed and more authority given to states, county governments, and industry. This is
just one of many examples showing that FWS strategy of appeasing the states by delisting species does not work.

bent on dismantling the ESA are going to pursue their agenda anyway.
What matters is that their constituents are narrow, intolerant, and anti-carnivore. More on
Conservatives

this later. To further explain what devolution of authority for grizzly bear management in Wyoming means, 4
counties representing about 20% of occupied grizzly bear habitat in the GYE have passed laws prohibiting grizzly

bears in the counties, calling the grizzly an unacceptable species. Neither the state of Wyoming nor FWS have
done anything to object to or demand a change in these laws. Further, unlike Montana, in its recently approved
plan, Wyoming set off limits to bears biologically suitably habitat, including the Wyoming, Salt River and parts of the
Wind River Ranges, arguing they were socially unacceptable. Translate: a few sheepmen do not want bears. After
delisting, Wyoming has made it clear that it will use hunting and aggressive killing policies to reduce numbers and
perhaps eliminate grizzly bears at the behest of ranchers in some areas. Mead endorses these policies while NOT
supporting the ESA in anything like its present form. Repeating A Story Makes It True Meanwhile, FWS Director Dan
Ashe is eating everything Matt Mead is dishing out. Indeed today, they seem joined at the hip. In March they even
co-wrote an oped in the Jackson Hole News and Guide saying, basically: we should all sing Kumbaya and delist
grizzlies. (link). Huh? The relationship makes no sense. Ashe is not getting anything for his pains. I have suggested
previously that the relationship between FWS and the states is perhaps like zombie and sorcerer, with FWS obeying
its perceived master, rather than the broader public whose interest the agency is entrusted to uphold. (link). Maybe
FWS leaders have told themselves the story delist grizzly bears, everything will be ok with the ESA, conservative
politicians will come around, so often, for so long, they believe it, despite the lack of evidence supporting it. It is
worth noting that Chris Serhveen, the recently retired Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator, had occupied that position
since 1979 and was particularly fond of saying that grizzly bears needed to be delisted so save the ESA. Servheen
also bragged that he was single biggest reason for the bruins recovery. The facts dont bear that one out either.
The evidence shows that the prohibition against hunting and killing, citizen-driven law suits under the ESA to
protect habitat, and a series of good food years for grizzly bears during the late 1980s to early 2000s had more to
do with recovery than anything FWS did on its own (link). (By the way, Meads proposed ESA reforms would make
citizen-driven litigation more difficult). Another Unjustified Story: Delisting to Free Up Money for Other Imperiled
Species You sometimes hear that delisting grizzly bears will free up funds for other imperiled grizzly bears and
recovery efforts. One population that desperately needs help is in the Cabinet Yaak, in the remote wilderness of
northwest Montana. With 40-50 grizzly bears in an isolated population threatened by unsustainable poaching and
two proposed hard rock mines, the situation for these bears is dire. For long term recovery, bears also must be
reintroduced in the vast Selway Salmon ecosystem of Central Idaho. Putting money into these efforts would be a
really good idea. But even if bears were delisted, the money saved would likely not go to these bears. Why?
Because FWS has so abused its mandate (largely trying to satisfy opponents) that its work nowadays is largely
driven by Court orders from cases brought mostly by environmentalists. Funding saved on Yellowstone bears would
most likely go to the next court-ordered item on the list. Also, the enemies of the ESA the very people FWS is
trying to appease continue to try, with some success, to cripple the agency by cutting funding, making lawsuits
even more likely and continuing the vicious cycle. Its not so much what you dont know, its what you do know
that aint so Will Rogers had it right when it comes to FWS .

Bringing around the right wing anti-ESA

ideologues to support the ESA just aint gonna happen. They dont care about facts,
the number of delistings, let alone the fate of species. They want to dismantle government. In their version of the
nine circles of Hell, the ESA would be down at very bottom, in the flames with Satan.

Polls dont work with

ideologues either.

The NRA opposes regulations on IVORY trade and

congressional republicans back them
Michael Tomasky 8-6-2014 (Michael Tomasky, 8-6-2014, A World Without
Elephants? Blame China, Daily Beast,
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/06/a-world-without-elephants-blamechina.html, Accessed: 7-17-2016) - Coronado LS
Blame the African countries and the amoral people who go into the savannahs and
the forests and slaughter the animals. The governments of Africa are trying, or at
least some of them are. A report on NPR Tuesday morning featured a number of
African heads of state speaking at this weeks summit about their need for hightech help to fight the poachers. When the four presidents were asked what they
need from the United States, the answers revealed how militarily sophisticated the
poachers have become, reported NPRs Gregory Warner. Namibia asked for light
attack helicopters. Tanzania for night-vision goggles. Togo for infrared scanners to

use at its port. Blame also Japan, along with Thailand and Vietnam. Blame the
United States, too. There still is a trade for ivory here, although the Obama
administration to its credit did just consummate a ban on the commercial import of
African elephant ivory. The ban is opposed by well, guess who? The NRA. Because
theres ivory in some antique guns . The new regs say: Personal possession of
legally acquired items containing elephant ivory will remain legal. This hasnt
stopped the NRA from announcing that the ban will turn gun owners into criminals
overnight. Congressional members of the Republican Party, which may have to ditch
its mascot in 20 years and find an animal we didnt obliterate, are rushing to its aid .
Blame them all. But most of all blame China and the despicable hunger of its statusconscious middle class for baubles of worked ivory. And of course the government,
which promised as it lobbied to participate in the 2008 sale to create effective
enforcement systems for monitoring both tusks and worked ivory. It did neither,
according to Allan Thornton, the head of the Environmental Investigation Agency, a
Washington- and London-based nonprofit that conducts undercover investigations to
expose environmental crimes, including those against wildlife. They really just
didnt have the political commitment to enforce anything, Thornton says.

Trade off DAWarming

There is a trade off between protecting endangered species
and forwarding climate legislation.
Merchant 06-27-2016 (Brian Merchant, 06-27-2016, "Would You Trade the
Endangered Species Act for a Clean Energy Revolution?," Co.Exist,
http://www.fastcoexist.com/1677866/would-you-trade-the-endangered-species-actfor-a-clean-energy-revolution) Coronado LS
the legislative strategy that Democrats have used to advance
climate policy has been disastrous. Where other major economies around the world are either passing laws to reign in
carbon emissions (the EU) or dumping truckloads of cash into clean energy development (China), the US continues to have its
head in the sand. Obama tried offering expanded nuclear power and more offshore
drilling (the timing of each was horrendous) in exchange for some cooperation on
the climate front, but ended up with nothing to show for it. So where do we go from here? Is it time to get
more creative? Would you, for instance, be willing to compromise seminal environmental protections
like the Endangered Species Act if it would usher in a clean energy boom ? Dave Roberts and
We need to do something. Thus far,

Alexis Madrigal have an ongoing discussion about the history of green technology and clean power over at Grist (the whole thing is worth reading), and

it might be worth trading some of the

landmark '60s environmental legislation for stronger support for green technology.
The way the Endangered Species Act works right now is sometimes counterproductive . It rests on this odd structure of one
animal standing in for whole ecosystems, at a local level, preventing changes we
might need to prevent global-scale environmental change ... I know we both have our fears about, if
today, they hit on the aforementioned subject. From the dialogue: Alexis Madrigal: ...

we were to do this, whether the Democrats would give away the Endangered Species Act and not get anything in return. Dave Roberts: That would be in
keeping with their recent strategery. AM: Assuming you had someone who truly could cut a deal for, basically, nuclear-R&D-from-1950-to-1975-style
support from the government, that seems to me like it would be a worthy trade. Given what it looks like in Congress right now, if we want to make a big
move on green technology, something big has got to change. I don't think support for nuclear power and offshore drilling are going to get it done,
obviously. Now, I have next to no confidence that such a deal could even be brokered in good faith, but it's interesting indeed to consider. Because the

it's go time now we haven't put a dent in carbon emissions, and the
concentration of everyone's favorite greenhouse gas is already far above what
scientists say is safe. And it's climbing every year. So I'll pare a little bit of the wonky political
horse-trade talk away and get to the fundamental question lurking about here: Are we willing to put certain species
at risk in order to mobilize the large-scale clean energy boom that we're going to
need if we're going to get ourselves out of this mess ? Do we bowl over endangered
species in desert habitats in order to get solar panels laid out? Do we let
Republicans take advantage of rescinded environmental controls that are perhaps
secondary to the health of our planet's climate? Big questions all, and ones that require much too much thinking
truth is,

for a Friday but still. Interesting stuff.

Elections DA

Turns Case
Trump supports hunting endangered species
THS, 2015
(Treehouse humane society, A cageless, no-kill shelter that rescues stray, abused
and neglected cats. Presidential Candidates and Animal Welfare. September 19,
2015. <http://scratchingpost.treehouseanimals.org/presidential-candidates-andanimal-welfare/> Accessed: 7/9/16 RJS)
Donald Trump is currently the Republican front-runner, however he has never
served in public office so his stance on animal rights is not easy to compare to the
other candidates. It is very difficult to find any information on Trumps views on
animal rights. However, both of Donald Trumps sons are known trophy hunters and
recently defended the killing of beloved Cecil the lion. The brothers themselves
traveled to Zimbabwe to shoot, a variety of animals, including an elephant, a
crocodile, a kudu, a civet cat and water buck. After his sons went under fire for
their big game hunts.

Trumps border wall threatens 111 endangered species

(including keystone species Mexican Gray wolf)
Siler, 2016
(Wes. Trump's Wall Threatens 111 Endangered Species May 3, 2016.
<http://www.outsideonline.com/2075761/these-are-111-endangered-speciesthreatened-trumps-border-wall> Accessed: 7/9/16 RJS)
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act requires any construction project
permitted, funded, or licensed by any federal agency to be reviewed by the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service for endangered species present in the area. To the best of
our knowledge, Donald Trump has filed no such request for his proposed border
wall. So we did that for him.
I will build a great walland nobody builds walls better than me, believe meand
Ill build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern
border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words. Donald Trump
Assuming Trump's wall will run along the entire 1,989-mile long land border the U.S.
shares with Mexico and that the construction project will impact a total width of
1,000 feet (access roads, support structures, staging areas, etc), the USFWS
estimates that the project will potentially impact 111 endangered species, 108
species of migratory bird, four wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries, and an unknown
number of protected wetlands. You can find all of those species and areas listed in
the official report below. Before you dive in, we pull out some of the most significant
species that would be most impacted by this project. El Jefe himself, captured
prowling on the Arizona side of the border by a remote trail cam. Photo: USFWS
Jaguar (Panthera onca) The Trump wall would undoubtedly spell the end of jaguars
in the U.S. The very last jaguar thought to call the U.S. home is El Jefe, a 7-yearold male. Heavily studied by conservationists, he was captured on video earlier this
year. The Department of the Interior has designated 764,207 acres of Arizona and

New Mexico as Critical Habitat for jaguars. Under the Endangered Species Act, that
designation requires any federal agency to conduct their activities in such a way as
to conserve species, and also to ensure that any activity they fund, authorize, or
carry out will not jeopardize the survival of a threatened or endangered species.
This map shows the Critical Habitat set aside for the jaguar. Any wall roughly
tracking the border would have to pass through it. Detouring north, to avoid the
habitat, would invariably leave cities like Sierra Vista and Nogales exposed to the
southern border. Skipping that area could ruin the point of the wall entirely by
leaving a porous, difficult-to-monitor area. With only a single jaguar remaining in
the U.S., does the species have any chance of a future? The hope is that a female
from the Mexican populations will wander north and find El Jefe or that he may
wander south and find a potential mate. Any border wall would prevent that from
happening. The Mexican Gray Wolf remains the most endangered subspecies of
wolf in the world. Photo: Tony Hisgett Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) The Gray Wolf,
being a keystone predator, is an integral component of the ecosystems to which it
typically belongs, explains USFWS. Any border wall would invariably cut off
populations of wolves north and south of the border. Populations are down to just
100 or so immediately north of the border, and there are only a few dozen south of
it. That means a genetic bottleneck has already been created, and wolves need as
much intermixing as much as possible in order to survive. Wondering why wolves
matter? Watch this video. A manatee calf rides along with his mother. Photo:
Psyberartist West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) To be effective, any wall
would presumably need to extend at least partially into shallow water to prevent
people from simply wading or swimming around it. Shallow water is exactly where
manatees reside, and the border neatly aligns with their habitat along Texas coastal
waterways. Manatees are a rare sight as far west as Texas, but sightings of them
are reportedly on the rise, and the area where the Gulf of Mexico meets the border
is part of their official habitat. A green turtle hatches at Florida's Archie Carr
National Wildlife Refuge. Any border wall would cut through many such protected
areas. Photo: US Fish and Wildlife Service Sea Turtles (Green, Hawksbill, Kemps
Ridley, Leatherback, Loggerhead) All the above species of endangered and
threatened sea turtles call the Texas coast, where the U.S. meets Mexico, home.
Development directly on beaches and in the water would bring noise, pollution,
seabed disturbance, and light pollution. Artificial lights interfere with sea turtle
navigation, sometimes preventing females from nesting, and even preventing
hatchlings from finding the sea as they crawl out of their holes. The Bald Eagle's
range extends into northern Mexico. Any large construction project along the border
could disrupt their habitat. Photo: Karen Bullock Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus
leucocephalus) The national bird (and national animal) of the United States, the bald
eagles range extends into northern Mexico. The wall would neatly divide that
range. While such a proud example of freedom could obviously soar over the top of
any man-made wall, such a large construction project would nevertheless disrupt a
large portion of the birds habitat. The subject of significant conservation efforts
over the last century, bald eagles are no longer listed as endangered or threatened,
but remain a bird of conservation concern, and are additionally protected by the
Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Its also illegal to disturb the nest of any bald
eagle, so any nests along the proposed route of the border wall would invariably

pose an obstacle. Generated by the USFWS with our data, this provisional report
compares the habitats of endangered or threatened species with a wall extending
1,000 feet into the U.S. from the rough border between the U.S. and Mexico. As it
notes, its conclusions are for informational purposes only and should not be used for
official planning purposes. Sorry, Mr. Trump, you'll have to commission your own
report if you're really going to build this wall.