South East Asia is a global diversity hotspot, but with over 600 million people living in the region, the pressures on species survival are immense. The two main drivers of biodiversity loss in the Asian tropics are trade motivated hunting and habitat loss.

Threats that have led to various iconic species reaching endangered status stem from a continually growing human population in Asia, resulting in habitat loss and an increase in human-wildlife conflict. Large development projects, agricultural plantations and spreading human settlements encroach on forest and fragment areas that were once contiguous wildlife sanctuaries.

Wildlife crime is one of the main threats to the world’s flora and fauna. The incidences of poaching seem to be increasing globally, with the entanglement of international organised criminal networks in illegal wildlife trade fuelling the criminal activity.

Illegal wildlife trade is rampant throughout Asia, with poachers targeting species that are traded as commodities. Poachers target the Asian elephant for ivory but more commonly for the live elephant trade that fuels the tourism industry or for use in the timber industry and poachers also hunt tigers for their skin and bones.

The vulnerable position of thousands of species, despite living in protected areas across Asia, highlights the important role of rangers in species protection. The part that rangers play by reporting and arresting illegal hunters, removing snares and traps and raising awareness about the necessity to protect Asia’s precious forests, is one that is integral to species protection in Asia.