Interpol announces special team to combat illegal ivory trafficking

International police organisation Interpol announced on Tuesday it would establish a team to target ivory trafficking and more generally, environmental crime, in Africa. The new team, based in Nairobi, will help further the organisation's Project Wisdom, which combats elephant and rhinoceros poaching and the illegal trade of ivory.

"The global fight against illegal trafficking has just been given a significant boost," said Australian High Commissioner Geoff Tooth as the initiative was unveiled at the Australian High Commission in Kenya.

David Higgins, head of Interpol's Environmental Security Unit said that the team will help eastern African countries in their fight against "significant transnational animal trafficking cases."

There is a large market for ivory in Asia, where it is often used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of ailments ranging from fevers to nosebleeds.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, the African elephant population has dropped from 3 to 5 million to approximately 400,000 over the last century.

In Kenya, the elephant population dropped by 85 per cent between 1973 and 1989.

Kenya is part of the "gang of 19" countries identified by CITES, the international regulatory body for trade in wildlife, as not doing enough to curb trafficking. Other countries include Tanzania, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, China, and Egypt.

On October 4, hundreds of Kenyans marched to demand that the government take action against rhino and elephant poaching. Similar protests, dubbed the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos, took place all over the world.
indian.ruvr.ru
10/10/14
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• Environment: Experts meet to discuss how to better fight wildlife trafficking in the EU and globally 

• More than 40 countries sign declaration on fighting with illegal trade in wildlife

New UN-backed report finds ‘alarmingly high’ levels of elephant poaching across Africa

 UN, 13 June 2014 – The level of elephant poaching across Africa remains alarmingly high, according to a new United Nations-backed report release today, which also found an increase in the number of large seizures of ivory.

“Africa’s elephants continue to face an immediate threat to their survival from high-levels of poaching for their ivory and with over 20,000 elephants illegally killed last year, the situation remains dire,” said John E. Scanlon, Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The report by the Convention’s Secretariat says that although the sharp upward trend in illegal elephant killing observed since the mid-2000s is levelling off, poaching levels continue to far exceed the natural elephant population growth rates, resulting in a further decline in elephant populations across Africa.

Three key factors cited for the higher poaching levels are poverty, weak governance and the demand for illegal ivory in consuming nations, according to a news release issued by CITES.

The report identifies monitored sites where poaching is increasing (33 per cent of monitored sites), including Dzanga Sangha (Central African Republic), as well as those sites where a decline in poaching has been observed (46 per cent), such as Zakouma National Park (Chad). Some populations of elephants continue to face an immediate threat of local extinction.

The report also shows a clear increase in the number of large seizures of ivory (shipments over 500 kilogrammes) made in 2013, before the ivory left the African continent.

For the first time, the number of such seizures made in Africa exceeded those made in Asia, according to CITES. Just three African countries – Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – accounted for 80 per cent of those seizures.

Large-scale ivory seizures are indicative, said CITES, of transnational organized crime being involved in the illicit ivory trade.

The report, which contains the latest figures from the CITES Monitoring Illegal Killing in Elephants (MIKE) programme and the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS), will be discussed at the 65th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee next month in Geneva.
[un.org]
13/6/14
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Togolese Efforts to Combat Wildlife Trafficking. -Press Statement Jen Psaki (Department Spokesperson).

Secretary Kerry called Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe today to commend his government on the major strides being made to combat international wildlife trafficking, including the recent arrest of three major illegal wildlife traffickers in Togo.

Togo has sent a strong message to the world about its commitment to protecting Africa’s elephant populations. In the last month, Togolese authorities have made multiple seizures of illegal ivory, totaling more than four tons. Individually and collectively, these are the largest seizures of illegal ivory in West Africa’s history.
In a separate incident in August 2013, the Government of Togo arrested notorious wildlife trafficker Emile N’Bouke. Togo’s efforts contribute to the worldwide struggle against illegal wildlife trafficking and the U.S. continues to partner with Togo in combating this transnational threat.

Wildlife trafficking is a multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise that has expanded from a conservation concern to a security threat. The increasing involvement of organized crime in poaching and wildlife trafficking promotes corruption, strengthens illicit trade routes, destabilizes economies and communities that depend on wildlife for their livelihoods, and contributes to the spread of disease.

In July 2013, President Obama signed Executive Order 13648 to marshal the efforts of the U.S. Government to meet this challenge at home and to assist foreign governments combating wildlife trafficking and related transnational organized crime.

In November 2013, the State Department also announced its first reward offer of up to $1 million under the President’s Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime for information on a prominent wildlife trafficking network in Southeast Asia.
 http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/02/221426.htm
6/2/14
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