Developing Typologies of Emerging Harms of Wildlife Crime

Wildlife crime is widely recognized as one of the largest transnational criminal activities, with far-reaching consequences for species biodiversity, broader ecosystems, and human societies. Prior research has shed light on the primary harms emanating from this crime, such as species decline, biodiversity loss, and economic impacts; however, a more nuanced understanding of harms associated with this crime remains limited. Through the synthesis of 206 peer-reviewed academic articles and policy documents published between 2000 and 2022, focusing on the world's 10 most biodiverse countries and South Africa, this research developed a nuanced set of typologies of wildlife crime harms that include ecological/biodiversity, economic/livelihood, governance/regulatory, security/organized crime, public health/biosecurity, social/cultural, and animal welfare/ethical. Wildlife crime harms rarely occur in isolation; rather, they frequently co-occur and reinforce one another. This study also found that these different harm types varied across taxonomic groups, affecting some species groups more than others. Our approach of devising more nuanced typologies of harms provides a framework for a more advanced interdisciplinary understanding of wildlife crime as a multidimensional system of harm production and provides a foundation for more comprehensive policy development and harm-reduction strategies.