Killing the Trade: Strategies to End the Illegal Wildlife Trade and Make Conservation Pay

Please note: this event has passed

Speaker: Dr Richard Milburn MBE

About this event

The illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is estimated to be worth up to $20 billion per year and threatens the survival of thousands of species of flora and fauna. Poaching is dangerous and poorly paid, with those capturing wildlife often receiving only a few pence on the pound value of the overall trade. For the organised criminal groups who trade the goods bought from the poachers, on the other hand, it is a low-risk, high-reward enterprise.

Killing the Trade argues that, with a shift in strategy, this dire situation can be turned on its head. Built around the guiding principle – if it pays, it stays – the book proposes an innovative but practical action plan to help bring the multi-billion-pound trade to an end.

Killing the Trade will be available from 27 February via all good booksellers, including Amazon, Blackwell’s, Bookshop.org, Hive, NHBS.org, and Waterstones.

Please note: This event will be held live online via Microsoft Teams, and in-person at the —Defence Academy of the United Kingdom

In-person participation is limited to guests who have authorised access to the premises of the Defence Academy.

About the Speaker

Dr Richard Milburn MBE teaches Environmental Security at King’s College London. His research explores the connections between wildlife conservation, security, peacekeeping, and development.

He is the UK representative of the Pole Pole Foundation, a multi-award-winning Congolese conservation charity and Earthshot Prize finalist. In 2023, he was awarded an MBE for his work supporting the British Army’s efforts to counter the illegal wildlife trade.