26 October 2012 | Bangui,
Central African Republic - The Central African
Republic’s decision this week to undergo
an independent audit of its ivory stocks
is a sign the country is serious about addressing
rampant elephant poaching and related illegal
wildlife crimes. WWF and TRAFFIC congratulate
the government of the Central African Republic
for this bold move and strongly urges the
country to completely destroy these stocks
once the audit is completed.
“On Tuesday 23 October, government officials
and WWF began auditing ivory stocks which
were seized in the Dzanga-Sangha Protected
Areas complex and stored near the town of
Bayanga in the south west of the country,
about 20 km from both Cameroon and the Republic
of Congo,” Jean-Baptiste Mamang-Kanga, the
director of fauna and protected areas of
the Central African Republic’s ministry
of water, forests, hunting and fishing told
WWF.
“Over the next three months a further seven
sites are to be examined and all audited
ivory stocks will be sent to a secured warehouse
in the country’s capital, Bangui,” he said.
“By auditing and centralizing these ivory
stocks, we will be able to ensure that they
will not find their way back into illegal
ivory markets, both here and abroad,” Mamang-Kanga
added.
Elephant poaching in the Central African
Republic has reached crisis levels. Last
year, the UN body that regulates international
wildlife trade found that 2011 was the worst
year on record for elephant poaching in
the African continent. It is estimated that
tens of thousands of elephants are killed
across Africa each year for their tusks,
a consequence the high demand for ivory
products in Asia.
“The Central African Republic is under siege
by these well-armed transnational criminal
gangs of poachers, seriously affecting the
security, economic and social prospects
of the country,” said Jean-Bernard Yarissem,
WWF Country Coordinator in the Central African
Republic.
“But the independent ivory audit is a signal
to the world the country will not be an
idle victim of this crisis and will take
appropriate measures to ensure the rule
of law is respected throughout its territory,”
he said.
“WWF encourages the government of the Central
African Republic to destroy its ivory stocks
once the audit is complete. This will tell
to poachers and those involved in illegal
wildlife trade in the strongest possible
terms that their impunity has ended and
that authorities will do their utmost to
arrest them and then jail them for their
crimes,” Yarissem added.
In June, following an independent audit
by WWF, TRAFFIC and the Gabonese government,
Gabon became the first country in the region
to destroy its ivory stock. It took over
24 hours to burn the 4,825 kg of ivory,
which corresponds to roughly 850 dead elephants.
WWF and TRAFFIC do not have estimates of
the quantity of ivory stocked by the authorities
of the Central African Republic.
“There are cases around the world of government
ivory stocks being stolen and then ending
up back in the black market, further feeding
illegal trade, associated criminal activities
and potentially stimulating demand,” said
Stéphane Ringuet, regional director
of Central Africa for TRAFFIC, the wildlife
trade monitoring network.
“The ivory audit will help the government
put in place a solid system to manage these
stocks and ensure they do not benefit criminal
networks,” he concluded.
Illegal wildlife trade – valued at between
$8 billion and $10 billion per year – ranks
as the fifth most lucrative illegal transnational
activity in the world.
In April 2012 the Central African Republic,
Gabon and the USA co-hosted an international
conference which recognized the serious
threat of poaching and illegal wildlife
trade on the economic, social and security
prospects of the region. At a follow-up
meeting in June, ministers of eight countries
endorsed a regional action plan to strengthen
law enforcement against illegal wildlife
trade in Central Africa, under the umbrella
of the Central Africa Forestry Commission
– COMIFAC.
WWF and its partner
TRAFFIC, the wildlife monitoring network,
are campaigning for greater protection of
threatened species such as rhinos, tigers
and elephants. In order to save endangered
animals, source, transit and demand countries
must all improve law enforcement, customs
controls and judicial systems. WWF and TRAFFIC
are also urging governments in consumer
countries to undertake demand reduction
efforts to curb the use of endangered species
products.
+ More
Illicit wildlife trafficking
recognized as a new form of transnational
organized crime
22 October 2012 | Vienna
- Governments gathering for a meeting of
the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime have recognized environmental
crime, such as illicit trafficking in wildlife,
as a new form of transnational organized
crime in need a greater response. The meeting
passed by consensus a resolution encouraging
governments to further strengthen their
domestic laws to prevent and combat these
crimes.
“The recognition that
illicit wildlife trafficking is a new form
of transnational organized crime should
be a wake-up call to governments worldwide,”
said Wendy Elliott, WWF Global Species Programme
Manager. “All forms of transnational organized
crime have major impacts on stability, security
and development. Urgent action is now desperately
needed to strengthen efforts to combat illicit
wildlife trafficking at all levels of the
trade chain.”
During the meeting,
the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) highlighted the sophisticated techniques
used by wildlife traffickers, and the links
between environmental crime and other crimes
associated with high levels of violence
and corruption.
UNODC encouraged countries
to take action against trafficking in endangered
species, and to consider making trafficking
of endangered species a serious crime. Under
the convention, serious crimes are defined
as those that are assigned prison sentences
of at least four years.
“Wildlife criminals
are raking in huge profits from this illegal
activity, at relatively low risk of arrest,
prosecution or imprisonment” said Stephanie
Pendry, Enforcement Programme Leader for
TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.
“They are escaping justice because wildlife
crime has not been regarded as a serious
crime. But these criminal networks are having
huge impacts, threatening not only wildlife,
but also damaging communities, local economies
and rule of law."
Several governments
spoke out at the Vienna meeting about the
severity of wildlife crimes and their negative
impacts on society. South Africa, which
is the epicentre of the current rhino poaching
crisis, noted progress with inter-ministerial
cooperation between its government branches.
“Rhino poaching has
escalated dramatically in parts of South
Africa, due to the ruthless assault on the
rhino population by criminal groups. We
are bringing together policy, defence, customs
and conservation officials to tackle this
serious organized crime,” said Pitso Montwedi,
South Africa’s Chief Director of Human Rights
and Humanitarian Affairs.
The United Nations Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime is
the main international treaty dedicated
to the fight against transnational organized
crimes, such as the drug trade and human
trafficking, and has been signed by 147
countries.
Governments will take
up the issue of wildlife trafficking again
in April at a meeting of the UN Commission
on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice,
which will focus on crimes impacting the
environment. With wildlife crime at record
levels, and several species populations
at imminent risk of local extinction due
to rampant poaching and trade, WWF and TRAFFIC
encourage governments to consider focusing
the April meeting even further by concentrating
on the urgent issues of forest and wildlife
crimes.
