Illegal Wildlife Trade as a Method of Financing Terrorism

The economic, societal, and environmental harm associated with the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is well-documented and uncontroversial. The same, however, is not true of the connection between IWT and terrorism, since early claims in point were supported by weak, unverifiable evidence. In recent times, however, several authoritative sources have referred to a limited use of IWT in the financing of terrorism. Despite these pronouncements, there remains a notable gap in the academic literature on the terrorism financing-IWT nexus. This chapter seeks to illustrate the potential of IWT to develop into a prolific terrorism financing method. The chapter concludes that to effectively address the terrorism financing-IWT nexus and terrorism in general, an integrated approach, involving multiple stakeholders, is essential.