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Image of Conophytum tumidum from Wikimedia Commons
They might look unprepossessing – tiny little fleshy plants, many of which closely resemble stones, nestling between the rocks in some of the most arid parts of South Africa. But for some time now, the country’s residents have been reading media reports about those very indigenous plants, particularly the ones that grow in the Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces and Namibia, being stolen at an ever-increasing rate.
This disturbing theft contributes to the worldwide illegal wildlife trade (IWT) in fauna and flora, and it has been analysed in a new research report published by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime’s (GI-TOC) ECO-SOLVE programme. ECO-SOLVE, explains GI-TOC, was “designed to monitor the illicit online environmental trade, extract useful and digestible data that can inform law enforcement and private sector actions, while driving greater transparency and accountability in tackling illicit online markets”.
Released in January, the programme’s third and latest Global Trend Report shines a spotlight on two particularly worrisome trends – the illicit ivory trade in Thailand, and the illicit plant trade, specifically that happening in South Africa. The monitoring period was August to October 2024, and data comes from the organisation’s Global Monitoring System (GMS), which has hubs in Brazil, South Africa, and Thailand.
Corruption plays a significant enabling role in the illicit movement of these items around the world. Its effects can be seen in every stage of the chain, says anti-IWT organisation TRAFFIC. The organised criminal groups involved in IWT are particularly successful when officials are recruited for corrupt activities, TRAFFIC adds. “Those officials facilitate IWT by abusing their entrusted power, either due to pressure or to privately gain from the crime. Catching and prosecuting lower-level poachers or dealers, without targeting higher-level individuals, is therefore likely to have minimal impact against IWT.”
But thoroughly investigating corruption in a wildlife crime court case, says WWF, can potentially yield leads that will identify higher-level individuals for investigation, arrest, conviction, and appropriate sentencing, and inflict greater disruption on criminal activities.
Plundering natural resources
Thailand is currently a hotspot for the illicit ivory trade, with social media playing a massive enabling role. Over 807 elephant-related ads were detected in Thailand alone during the three-month monitoring period, says ECO-SOLVE. “The majority of these ads were for raw ivory, often disguised using emojis 🐘 or coded language to avoid detection.”
In South Africa, the situation is equally concerning, in this case relating to the trafficking of succulents and orchids. Buyers range from private collectors, says ECO-SOLVE, to large-scale resellers who purchase plants in bulk and distribute them to plant collectors and enthusiasts in the UK, Europe, Asia, and the US. “Unknowingly, many buyers in these regions are providing economic incentives for illegal harvesting, devastating ecosystems, and impacting local communities that rely on these plants,” says TRAFFIC.
“In South Africa, over 1.6-million succulents representing over 650 species were seized between 2019 and 2024″, the organisation adds. These are shipped around the world to collectors and the ornamental trade, putting fragile ecosystems like the Succulent Karoo, a renowned biodiversity hotspot, at risk.
The Succulent Karoo biome extends from the coastal areas of south-western Namibia and the Northern Cape, into the Western Cape interior. It lies alongside the ecoregion known as Nama Karoo, but does not correspond to the natural region known as the Karoo. Succulent Karoo is home to about one-third of the world’s approximately 10 000 succulent species, 40% of which grow only in this little corner of the world. It is immediately apparent why this region is a target for traffickers who cater to the demands of niche collectors.
Some examples of the rare and unique succulent indigenous flora targeted by illegal harvesters include Conophytum, Lithops, and Tylecodon. All are indigenous to Southern Africa and found in Succulent Karoo. Clivias, also indigenous to southern Africa but more widespread, are very popular, as are dudleyas, a genus of succulents found in North America and on Guadeloupe Island in the Pacific Ocean. Tree species such as rosewood are also highly trafficked.
Endangered species fetch high prices on the international black market, and wild plants are more sought-after than cultivated ones.
“While there is legal trade in many of these species,” says the report, “plants are frequently harvested illegally, driven by high demand for rare and threatened species, or those with aesthetic appeal or medicinal value.”
Social media complicit in wildlife crime
The report exposes social media’s part in enabling and perpetuating these crimes, highlighting the urgent need for more efficient online monitoring. Unfortunately, says the report, the platforms themselves lack the expertise or incentive to proactively identify and remove illegal listings, because this requires effort and professional expertise – in the case of plants, this is even more applicable.
ECO-SOLVE notes “a 265% increase in IWT advertisements between August and October 2024 compared to the previous quarter, driven largely by the inclusion of Thailand in the monitoring network.”
The GMS detected 1 741 advertisements of 34 target animal species, which include the African grey parrot, pangolin, leopard, cheetah, and elephant, across the three countries. “This represents an increase of approximately 265% (1 264) from the 477 advertisements detected in the previous reporting period (May to July 2024, Brazil and South Africa data only), as covered in the second Global Trend Report in October 2024,” notes ECO-SOLVE. The establishment of the Thailand hub and the inclusion of its data, albeit for only two months, is the reason for this alarming jump.
Elephants topped the list with 469 detections, revealing active markets in Thailand and South Africa. Tigers were second with 334 detections, 99% of which were in Thailand. The African grey parrot in third place with 260 detections, and the hyacinth macaw in ninth place with 37 detections, were the only species in the top 10 detected across all three countries. Pangolins were in 10th place, with 34 detections from Thailand.
Thailand accounted for 77% (1 349) of all ads tracked globally, says ECO-SOLVE, with 12% (201) originating in Brazil and 11% (291) from South Africa.
In all cases, digital platforms have facilitated the illicit activity. “The anonymity of online platforms and encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram allows traffickers to evade law enforcement. Sellers use private chats and complex networks to bypass regulations, highlighting the need for stronger AI-enabled monitoring tools,” says ECO-SOLVE. “This underscores the role of social media platforms like Facebook (91% of all ads globally, or 1 587) in perpetuating the trade.”
In the previous reporting period, Facebook showed a comparatively modest 374 advertisements – but in Brazil and South Africa, there was a significant decrease on this platform, from 78% (374) in May–July 2024 to 61% (238) in August–October 2024. In South Africa the platform most used during this reporting period was Public Ads (136), significantly more than Facebook (53).
Read part two of this mini-series, in which we take a high-level look at the methods used by plant traffickers, and the response to this growing crime.
