Claudio Padua, Institute for Ecological Research

Dr. Claudio Padua is cofounder, with his wife Suzana, of the Institute for Ecological Research (IPE), which works on conservation projects throughout Brazil.

Today was exhilarating -- and exhausting, because no activity requires more intellectual and emotional energy than actively listening and responding fully and honestly in a debate among sincere and passionate people. Today we worked on the first official act of the Wildlife Trust Alliance: a joint expression of our common concern about the damaging effects of the wildlife trade.

It started quite simply: My colleague Jon Paul Rodriguez -- the president of Provita, the Wildlife Trust Alliance member in Venezuela, and an authority on wildlife trade between South and North America -- had written a draft declaration calling for a ban on such trade because it damages wildlife populations and encourages criminal behavior. A group of us -- including Mary Pearl of Wildlife Trust and Peter Daszak of Wildlife Trust's Consortium for Conservation Medicine -- felt that increasing evidence of the role of wildlife transport in disease emergence presented a new and compelling reason to stop all trade of pets and food. What justification can there be to indulge people who want to house wild animals when the cost might be the health of their family members, their pets, and local wildlife?

We circulated the draft declaration a week before the Alliance meeting and asked people to bring comments and evidence of the effect of wildlife trade in their own countries.

Well, if I thought approval of the document would be swift and painless, I was wrong! Every member of the Alliance is strong, independent, and opinionated. Those of us in favor of an outright ban were asked to consider the livelihoods of local communities dependent on some form of trade in wildlife. We were asked to think about the effect of an immediate ban on enforcement agencies around the world without sufficient resources or training. Feelings grew so heated that several members stated that they could not sign a document calling for an all-out ban.

At the same time, we all agreed that wildlife trade has and will continue to create severe disasters in public health. It was time to compromise so that we could begin to take steps to address this crisis as a team.

We agreed to state that, as a group of top local conservation scientists from around the world, the Wildlife Trust Alliance has found considerable evidence that wildlife trade can threaten human and animal health. We agreed to work toward seven key steps to halting the spread of disease through wildlife trade.

I cannot deny that I was disappointed that we did not agree to call for an outright ban, but sometimes the best strategy is to be pragmatic and achieve the most possible as a first step.

The ink from our signatures was barely dry when the time came for our press conference. About a dozen members of the press and a national television station came. Sukumar, our host, spoke first, describing our call to improve disease surveillance, promote adequate quarantine procedures, conduct research on the risk of disease transmission, and strengthen legislation, enforcement, and capacity for oversight of animal transport and trade. Then Mary Pearl and I discussed the creation of the Alliance. And Peter Daszak spoke about the diseases emerging from transported species.

We could not have made our announcements in a more receptive atmosphere. Indian journalists impressed us as knowledgeable and interested in environmental issues -- and curious about the fact that conservationists from as far away as Guatemala, Brazil, and Cuba would join forces with the Bangalore-based Asian Nature Conservation Foundation.

What a positive end to a difficult work day!

With high spirits and camaraderie restored, we prepared for our banquet. As a sign of respect and solidarity with our Indian hosts, all of us, large and small, fat and thin, wore Indian clothing we purchased for the occasion. We were entertained with a fascinating drama that incorporated Indian classical music and dance. One of the younger members of the ANCF, Nandita, danced the title role with grace and beauty, together with the young ladies of a local dance academy. The evening ended with toasts and good cheer.