The illegal wildlife trade is one of the biggest threats to the world’s biodiversity including the yaki. Multiple challenges remain in the consumption of endangered species in local markets, including social norms of animal consumption, lack of awareness of issues, unclear regulations, and insufficient law enforcement.

SY developed a holistic strategy to tackle these issues, which emerged as the result of a key multi-stakeholder meeting we facilitated in January 2020.

The purpose was to identify the main duties of parties and the most effective ways to mitigate illegal trade in traditional markets. All relevant North Sulawesi stakeholders attended, including The Central Police Department, Natural Resources Conservation Agency, the Center for Handling and Law Enforcement of Forestry and the Environment (GAKKUM), and the Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park. Other participation included representatives of government offices, religious and community groups, traditional market leaders, and conservation organizations. Through interactive sessions, recommendations were compiled into a long-term Framework for Action.