Blockchain-Based Environmental Governance for Transparent Wildlife Conservation and Regulatory Compliance

Abstract

Wildlife conservation governance faces significant challenges related to fragmented information systems, fraudulent documentation, limited traceability, and inconsistent regulatory monitoring. This study proposes a blockchain-based environmental governance framework to improve transparency, accountability, wildlife traceability, and regulatory compliance. The framework integrates permissioned blockchain, smart contracts, digital identification, secure off-chain storage, and regulatory monitoring to establish auditable wildlife conservation records. A representative wildlife trade case study evaluates the proposed approach using wildlife records, digital permits, movement transactions, and regulatory inspections. Of 2,460 movement transactions, 2,418 were successfully verified, achieving a 98.29% blockchain verification rate. Among 1,175 regulatory inspections, 86 compliance violations were identified, including 34 invalid or expired permits. The findings demonstrate the potential of blockchain to strengthen permit authentication, transaction traceability, inter-agency information sharing, and compliance monitoring. The study also identifies legal and regulatory concerns involving data privacy, sensitive ecological information, evidentiary recognition, jurisdiction, liability, and smart-contract accountability. The proposed framework positions blockchain as a governance-supporting infrastructure rather than a replacement for environmental authorities. The study concludes that integrating blockchain with appropriate legal safeguards and institutional oversight can contribute to transparent, traceable, and accountable wildlife conservation governance.