Episode 4: Talking with guest Ernie Cooper about CITES, and polar bear trade.

In this Co-management Commons podcast, I am talking with guest Ernie Cooper, a distinguished wildlife trade expert with a rich and varied career in the field. Ernie's journey in international wildlife conservation spans over 30 years, and his expertise is second to none. He's held roles ranging from a Canadian Federal Game Officer to being the Director of the TRAFFIC and Wildlife Trade Program of WWF-Canada, not to mention serving as the National Representative of the TRAFFIC Network. Before that, he made history as Environment Canada's first wildlife inspector. With an unwavering commitment to preserving our planet's precious biodiversity, Ernie has focused on critical issues like international trade, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and the enforcement of Canada's wildlife trade legislation (WAPPRIITA). Ernie's influence extends beyond his roles in government and NGOs; he's also an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University's School of Criminology and an active member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, specializing in Sustainable Use and Livelihoods (SULi) and the Spiders and Scorpions Specialist Group. To illustrate Ernie's broad knowledge, this podcast will actually share some of the latest polar bear trade data from Canada. This data and discussion are critical to successful polar bear co-management in Canada.  You can visit Ernie's consulting website at: http://www.ecooper.ca For the most recent report on polar bear trade referred to in the podcast you may access it here: Polar Bear Range States - Review and Analysis of Canadian Trade in Polar Bears from 2012–2021 (polarbearagreement.org) Time Codes 02:20: CITES Stands for . . .  03:05: 183 countries have agreed . . .  03:30: What CITES does . . .  10:30: Two student questions . . .  14:30: Ernie's introduction to polar bear trade politics 15:10: Expectations  20:56: Updated polar bear trade report 46:50: Conclusions 48:47: Questions