Most of these are collected naturally, but in the case of the common birdwing butterflies, the PNG government requires that they be bred. Every legally exported lot of PNG insects is accompanied by a PNG export permit (each insect is not given a separate permit). If the lot involves birdwing butterflies, they must also have a CITES stamp (which looks a lot like a postage stamp; again, the stamp is issued for the lot, not for each birdwing individual). Any dealer that buys direct from the Insect Farming & Trading Agency gets these; it's up to the buyer to get a photocopy of the permits, or otherwise certify that such permits are on file, if forest conservation is of concern.

Since birdwings have been on the CITES list since 1977, it is doubtful that any papered specimens bought from dealers (except perhaps for very rare species) were collected before listing (thus, exempting then from the CITES stamp requirement).

Some conservation organizations are developing markets for nontimber forest products (e.g., nuts, fruits) so their revenue can be used as an incentive to protect tropical forest. Also, "ecotourism" is widely touted as another way to convince people to protect their tropical forests. Why not promote these more "palatable" initiatives, instead of teaching indigenous people how to kill animals?

First off, there is some deception concerning the "fruit and nuts" incentive. "Tropical juice blends" whose "forest products" include banana, papaya, and similar juices probably do nothing to protect virgin forest --those fruits come from gardens cleared from tropical forests! Second, some tropical forest areas have few edible fruits and nuts to exploit. PNG's forests are an example (probably why Papua New Guineans turned from hunting and gathering, to agriculture, over 4,000 years ago); these island forests historically had few large animals that could have dispersed large fruits.

And ecotourism? It's overrated. Objective analyses by respected conservationists indicate that it won't be able to save most tropical forests: "only a small minority of protected areas attract significant numbers of visitors.... In particular, the potential for many tropical moist forest sites to attract large numbers of tourists is limited."

The fact is, the world's dwindling tropical forests will be saved only through a creative array of strategies. Different forest peoples have different options. They traditionally lived off their forest by killing animals. So long as they do it sustainably, the results of those harvests can be channeled to protect forest. Alternatively, outsiders from other nations can impose their cultural peccadilloes concerning wildlife use on these people -- a form of modern-day colonialism.