Project Title: Plant Poaching, Criminalisation, and Conservation in the Karoo

The rapid escalation of the plant poaching crisis since the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic has drawn attention the intersections of socio-economic issues in the Karoo, conservation, and South African wildlife crime legislation. This research seeks to understand the motivating factors behind plant poaching and how stakeholders perceive of and define crime and illegality in the context of the ‘illegal’ plant trade. Semi-structured interviews and participant observation are situated within wider literature surrounding wildlife crime. By scrutinizing ideas of criminality and illegality in plant poaching legislation, policymakers and authorities can make more effective decisions about addressing widespread environmental destruction whilst acknowledging the complexity of the crisis. The paper further examines whether dependency on succulent harvesting as a source of income remains high and whether trends in the trade have shifted in the last few years.