From source to destination: Strengthening policy responses to the songbird trade in the Guiana Shield

%T From source to destination: Strengthening policy responses to the songbird trade in the Guiana Shield 
%A Gómez, J. 
%D 2026 
%I CIFOR-ICRAF 
%C Bogor, Indonesia and Nairobi, Kenya 
%U https://www.cifor-icraf.org/knowledge/publication/9458/ 
%R https://doi.org/10.17528/cifor-icraf/009458 
%X Key messages

The Guiana Shield is a hotspot for songbird endemism and diversity, but also a source for the international songbird trade. Guyana and Suriname drive demand through longstanding cultural traditions and trade networks that link rural trappers to diaspora communities in the U.S. and Europe.
Songbirds are significantly underrepresented in the CITES Appendices, creating gaps in international trade regulation.
While both Guyana and Suriname have domestic legislation regulating songbird trade, enforcement remains weak.
Regulatory gaps in transit and in destination countries for non-CITES-listed species result in weak sanctions that undermine conservation policies in source countries.
Strengthening destination-country legal frameworks that criminalize trade in wildlife taken in violation of foreign laws can reinforce shared international responsibility.
Addressing the illegal songbird trade in the Neotropics requires coordinated regional action that recognizes its cultural and socioeconomic importance for local livelihoods, with active involvement by rural and Indigenous communities.
 
%K biodiversity conservation 
%K endemic species 
%K indigenous peoples 
%K law enforcement 
%K protected areas 
%K regulations 
%K rural communities 
%K songbirds 
%K species diversity 
%K trade 
%K tropical forests 
%K wildlife