Wildlife trade can bring significant benefits to communities and governments, but over-exploitation undermines its long-term viability and the livelihoods of people who depend on it. Countries work together through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as well as other regional and national initiatives to manage the international trade at sustainable levels.

However, to achieve this, national authorities need access to accurate and scientifically rigorous information on the conservation status, management and trade levels of wildlife species. They also need capacity to undertake their own analyses of trade data. This information can be difficult to access, and national capacity to carry out assessments is often insufficient. 

We work closely with governments to provide them with assessments and analyses that support their management of species in trade. We aim to ensure that national authorities have access to the best available information and the capacity to access, interpret and use relevant data. We provide this support in several ways:

• We review species to assess their conservation status, management methods and levels of trade. As part of the CITES Review of Significant Trade – a key process to ensure the biological sustainability of the legal wildlife trade – we undertake species assessments and identify animal and plant species that may be at risk (see 'related resources' below).
• We analyse CITES trade data to identify species where further assessments may be required to ensure that trade does not negatively impact wildlife populations.
• We conduct regional analyses of wildlife trade, highlighting patterns and trends in which species are traded, which parts or derivatives are traded, and their financial value. We review EU wildlife trade annually, and have produced in-depth analyses for the Amazon region and Southern Africa (see 'related resources' below).
• We provide advice to the European Commission’s Scientific Review Group on the implementation of the EU Wildlife Trade regulations and on the sustainability of wildlife imports to the European Union.
• We help build capacity among national wildlife authorities to ensure that staff who manage the wildlife trade can access relevant information and undertake appropriate analyses. This includes how to make the most of the CITES Trade Database, how to identify and analyse trade trends, and how to apply data to develop more robust sustainability assessments.

We work directly with agencies of national governments that are Parties to CITES. The European Union, the CITES Secretariat and the United States Department of the Interior support our work financially. We also receive valuable expert advice and information from partners worldwide.