Policy paper

London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade (October 2018): Declaration Annex (English only)

Updated 28 January 2019

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government

The Americas

Delegations from the Americas met on 10 October in London to commit to future engagement on Illegal Wildlife Trade, including poaching, in the Americas and assess the potential for further coordinated action in the region. Participating countries recognised that Illegal Wildlife Trade is a major issue in the Americas, should be treated as a serious and organised crime that affects the economy, security, indigenous communities and ecosystems in the region, and decided to work collaboratively to tackle the trafficking of flora and fauna, including poaching, on a regional and international scale. To affirm this intention, all delegations recognised the need for regional collaboration on this issue. Delegations welcomed the announcement from Peru that it will hold a regional conference on IWT in Lima in 2019, building on the work undertaken at London 2018.

Republic of Angola

Angola commits to:

• work with regional and sub-regional institutions and countries to combat illegal wildlife trade, including through the implementation of the African Union Strategy on Combatting Illegal Exploitation and Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora in Africa
• continue engagement with the African Association of Prosecutors in implementing the Cuando-Cubango Declaration
• continue to strengthen collaboration and partnerships at national level and to share the successful model with other countries
• reinforce capacity building of game rangers through the regional school, Escola de Fiscais Ambientais, for the KAZA region
• further engagement with the Game Ranger Association of Africa, to strengthen technical methodology on combating illegal wildlife trade

Kingdom of Bahrain

Bahrain has been committed since 2012 to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and has a long history of combatting illegal wildlife trade.

Bahrain is in the final stage of adopting its National Legislation on the Regulation and Control of the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna. This legislation meets international standards and imposes strict penalties.

Bahrain, in its 2017 declaration of the Arabian Gulf’s largest Marine Protected Area comprising of Hair Shtaya, Hair Buthalama and Hair Bouamama, will effectively protect locally endangered species of marine mammals, turtles, sharks and coral reefs, monitored by coast guards from the Ministry of Interior.

Bahrain is and will continue to strengthen bilateral relations with countries as well as international organisations in combatting illegal trade of wildlife through a series of diplomatic agreements.

Bahrain will continue to undertake its comprehensive national capacity building programme with our Customs Authority, Ministry of Commerce, Agricultural and Fisheries Directorate, local NGOs and Academic Institutions.

Belgium

Belgium will continue its efforts to tackle illegal wildlife trafficking by:

• prioritizing the fight against illegal ivory trade, including on the internet
• continuing the voluntary surrender of unwanted and illegal ivory
• contributing to ETIS (Elephant Trade Information System) under CITES to monitor illegal trade in elephant products to provide a basis for assessing decision-making for elephant conservation in a transparent and credible manner

In this context, Belgium would like to highlight the important role of local and rural communities by contributing to the African Elephant Fund and its Steering Committee for the upcoming years, Virunga National Park and to the African Carnivore Initiative.

Republic of Botswana

Botswana commits to:

• working with other SADC countries to develop a SADC-TWIX
• strengthening penalties for poaching of elephants, rhinos, pangolins and possession of ivory, rhino horn and live pangolin and parts and derivatives
• developing and implementing a National Elephant Action Plan
• strengthening wildlife forensic capability
• developing an ivory and rhino horn stockpile system

Royal Government of Cambodia

The Royal Government of Cambodia reiterates its commitment to further implementing a number of key principles and measures as follows:

• continue to improve existing legislation by amending and creating additional legal regulations as required on which policies can be formulated to protect, manage, preserve and conserve wildlife, aiming at responding to practical and evolving situation of natural resource management in the world

• further enforce the law and regulations by imposing stricter penalties or punishment on illegal wildlife trade activities. Cambodian competent authorities have actively cooperated to successfully prosecute perpetrators of wildlife trafficking offenses over the last 7 years. Strict enforcement has contributed to a remarkable decrease in the rate of wildlife trafficking and is moving Cambodia towards its objective to eradicate all offences

• engage all relevant national and international organisations, including government and private institutions, CSOs, national and international partners, to collectively participate, implement and gather support in the fight against wildlife trafficking in Cambodia, in the region, and across the world. Promote and enforce community-based protection, preservation and conservation since communities are closest and integral to protection of natural resources

• further engage in dissemination and awareness raising amongst the general public so that they understand the value and importance of natural resources and wildlife as essential components of the ecosystem and so that they can join the efforts to reduce the demand for wildlife including its daily consumption and trade

• continue to build alliances and cooperation with law enforcement agencies with whom we can share our experience and information on combatting and preventing all forms of transnational wildlife trafficking and strengthening law enforcement capacity

The Republic of Congo

We are committed to the sustainable management of forest ecosystems through good governance, timber traceability and certification, afforestation and the implementation of the voluntary partnership agreement under FLEGT.

We are strongly committed to the fight against illegal exploitation and illegal trade of fauna through:

• enhancing synergies and collaboration between national institutions including the judiciary, law enforcement, customs and policing and the forestry services
• the implementation of the African Union wildlife strategy and the Congo national strategy
• participation in the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI)

We are committed to international partnership in relation to the fight against illegal wildlife crime through the:

• mobilisation of financial and technological resources
• strengthening of capacity
• sharing of technology

Côte d’Ivoire

The fight against the illegal wildlife trade is a priority for Cote d’Ivoire and for several decades it has been engaged in combatting all forms of poaching and trade in endangered species through the following actions:

• all domestic ivory markets closed after a decree issued on 7 March 1997
• a census of ivory holders and a register of ivory from 1999 to 2008
• in 2018 a special mixed security force was created dedicated to combating crime related to the illegal wildlife trade
• border controls strengthened and an forestry inspection service put in place at Abidjan airport.

The following legislative and technical measures are also in the process of being put in place:

• 3 draft laws to combat trafficking (Sustainable management of fauna; Elephant protection; International trade of threatened wildlife species)
• the creation of protected sanctuaries
• programme monitoring the movement of elephants using satellite technology
• the creation of a national monitoring centre for the migration of threatened species
• sub-regional collaboration for the creation of cross-border wildlife conservation corridors with Ghana, Liberia, Burkina Faso and Mali
• the joint development of an ECOWAS Forestry plan

The above actions demonstrate the determination of Cote d’Ivoire to work with the international community to eradicate the scourge of illegal wildlife trafficking

The Czech Republic

The Czech Republic would like to affirm its commitment to fighting the illegal wildlife trade considering this type of criminality is a serious one. The Government of the Czech Republic adopted the National strategy against organised crime in April 2018 and is preparing a National Action Plan against wildlife trafficking for adoption in 2019. The main goals of the National Action Plan include measures to enhance effectivity in uncovering, investigation and sanctioning cases of illegal wildlife trade, raising public awareness and strengthening of international cooperation.

To address demand reduction for illegal wildlife products the Ministry of Environment launched a national public campaign against wildlife trafficking “Stolen Wildlife” in April 2018

European Parliament

The European Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety will continue to implement the EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking

Germany

Germany remains very committed to the ongoing fight against illegal wildlife trade and is funding projects with a total value of approximately €200 million.

The London IWT Conference is an opportunity to push for further much needed progress in implementing the objectives that were set in previous conferences and in recent Resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and CITES.

Germany intends to maintain its current level of engagement, including the high level of financial contributions.

Germany has been actively engaged in combating poaching and the illegal wildlife trade for a long time. Of special importance is the multiyear project “Partnership against poaching and the illegal wildlife trade in Africa and Asia” that aims at improving the fight against the illegal trade of ivory and rhinoceros horn, both in the countries of origin in Africa and consumer countries in Asia. The problem is being tackled along the whole illegal trade chain. Due to the cross-cutting nature of the matter, the Partnership involves all relevant ministries.

Additionally, Germany supports - mainly through its Development Cooperation - more than 50 bilateral projects aimed at reducing the illegal wildlife trade, e.g. by improving protected area management to prevent poaching, by developing alternative livelihoods, or by advising partner countries on legal systems and law enforcement. Germany is planning to expand projects on reducing demand in Asian countries in particular.

Furthermore, Germany has funded the study “General lessons from analysis of international funding to tackle illicit trafficking in wildlife” conducted by the World Bank Global Wildlife Program which has helped identify good practices and approaches to consider for future investments.

India

Indian enforcement agencies cooperate and work closely with INTERPOL and other international agencies such as CITES, UNODC, ASEAN-WEN etc. India has been an active member of SAWEN and recognised the statute of SAWEN to ensure better cooperation and information sharing in the fight against illegal wildlife crime and trade.

India is committed to the prevention of crime against wildlife. India understands and strongly supports the need for transnational cooperation and collaboration in putting an end to illegal supply and demand of wildlife and its products. A global approach is required to achieve this goal.

Indonesia

Indonesia takes enforcement of IWT seriously along with other forms of environment and forest crimes.

During the last three years Indonesia has conducted more than 210 operations and brought more than 360 cases of illegal wildlife trade to court.

Indonesia recognises that international cooperation is essential and needed to promote innovative ways of combatting IWT.

Japan

Serious Organized Crime

Japan and the UK will jointly organize a capacity-building seminar in Southeast Asia in 2018-19 tackling cross-border risks in relation to illegal wildlife trade, including ivory trafficking.

Japan will tighten border controls over wildlife products including ivory products through more effective cooperation with the Chinese customs authority.

Japan will also enhance effective cooperation with the CITES management authorities of neighbour countries to tighten border controls over wildlife products including ivory products.

Ivory

Japan is deeply committed to the cause of protecting elephants from atrocious acts of poaching by international criminal organizations among others, and will continue to support range states in the fight against poaching of elephants.

Japan will assist the government of Mozambique in establishing a new wildlife law enforcement wing to expand the existing wildlife law enforcement center in Niassa National Reserve by contributing USD 109,000 through the CITES Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme in 2018. The new wing will allow improved and more secure planning and management of patrol activities by the police force special unit in the Reserve, and thus enhance their capability in monitoring and preventing poaching of elephants in the area.

Japan will strictly implement its regulations on ivory transactions within its own borders, which are on par with those of other major countries, under the amended Law for the Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (LCES) which came into effect on June 1, 2018.

Japan will improve monitoring and tighten control over ivory transactions by requiring business operators that handle ivory products to explain to buyers including foreign visitors legal procedures needed to export those products, and conducting round patrols in all domestic markets, including flea markets and internet markets to give necessary instructions to tenants and organizers to ensure that they comply with the LCES.

Japan will review the status of the amended LCES, and as appropriate, consider how to further tighten its control over ivory transactions within its own borders.

Demand reduction/ behaviour change

Japan will continue to organize, as much as possible, awareness-raising activities on the necessity of protecting wild animals and plants to the general public by exhibiting panels on the regulations under CITES, LCES, and Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act in zoos and botanical gardens in Japan.

Kenya

Kenya will strengthen its resolve to eradicate illegal wildlife trade, to build coalitions and to find solutions to better protect its wildlife. To this end, Kenya has identified five critical areas that require support from wildlife conservation partners to enhance law enforcement capacity to deal with illegal wildlife trade. These areas include:

• enhancement of forensic laboratory capacity to support law enforcement leading to successful prosecutions
• improvement of stockpile management
• enhancement of law and law enforcement at ports of entry and exit
• human/wildlife conflict mitigation
• establishment and distribution of pangolin which is fast emerging as a highly traded species

The Government of Kenya will step up its enforcement efforts and make every effort to enhance intelligence and investigation networks to tackle organised crime by supporting internal law enforcement work and by collaborating with local communities to increase their investment in the protection of Kenya’s iconic species.

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR)

Lao PDR will effectively implement Prime Minister Order No. 05, issued in May 2018, concerning the domestic ban in elephant ivory and other prohibited wildlife, by stopping the hunting, import, transit, export, and trade of wild animals listed in Lao PDR’s Prohibited List and CITES Appendix I, including their parts and products. This means Lao PDR is committing to a total ivory ban to close existing loopholes regarding antiquities, pre CITES and African elephant ivory in support of the Ivory Alliance 2024.

In this regard, Lao PDR will endeavour to strengthen the capacity of domestic enforcement authorities to interrupt and seize illegal flows of wildlife, and enable effective prosecutions of wildlife crimes. Lao PDR will strengthen synergies between relevant enforcement authorities, such as the Forest Inspection, Environmental Crime Police, Customs, and prosecutors, with specialised agencies such as on cybercrime and cyber security, economic crime, money-laundering and corruption, to better tackle illegal wildlife trade in the country. Lao PDR will also ensure coordination and collaboration with neighbouring countries, such as China, Vietnam, and Thailand, in targeting criminal elements that facilitate the illegal trans-boundary trade in Lao PDR. With this, we will coordinate closely with international bodies such as through ICCWC and with supporting organisations in the country.

Lao PDR will adopt adequate legislative measures to implement CITES and address loopholes and gaps in existing relevant legislation on illegal wildlife trade, such as the Wildlife and Aquatic Law, and ensuring enforcement and dissemination of the revisions to the Penal Code, as soon as it enters into force.

Lao PDR will ban the establishment of farms of wildlife listed in Lao PDR’s Prohibited List and CITES Appendix I for commercial purpose, in accordance with effectively implementing Prime Minister Order No. 05. In relation to this, Lao PDR will also finalize and complete the full-site audit of tigers kept in captivity and enforce strict and systematic management and penalisation of captive tiger facilities to ensure that they are not complicit to the illegal wildlife trade.

Lao PDR will promote engagement and collaboration with the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism and other relevant Ministries and agencies in Lao PDR to strengthen complementing interventions against illegal wildlife trade by promoting the tourism, transport, and other relevant sectors on their active roles at wildlife crime prevention and demand reduction. Lao PDR will promote pro-active partnerships with various sectors such as private sectors engaged in tourism and transport, international and local non-government organisations, and academia.

Lao PDR will increase bilateral cross-border collaboration with CITES and law enforcement agencies from China, Vietnam, and Thailand, and with ASEAN countries under the context of the ASEAN Working Group on CITES and Wildlife Enforcement, to facilitate exchange of information and best practices to improve mechanisms for CITES, justice and police cooperation on issues of illegal wildlife trade. Lao PDR also renews its commitment to work with other countries, and through ICCWC, to strengthen collaboration across trafficking routes.

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

In 2018 the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg implemented new legislation on illegal wildlife trade, increasing sanctions and permitting very strict restrictions on import/export as well as on national trade of species listed in CITES appendices I and II.

Based on this new legislation the government has adopted a regulation, prohibiting national trade in raw ivory and including a set of very narrow age and weight exemptions for worked specimens. This regulation can be regarded as one of the most progressive in the world.

Republic of Madagascar

Madagascar firmly commits to employing all its resources to fight against illegal wildlife trade and better to coordinate efforts to make them more effective. The responsible ministries (Ministry of the Environment, Ecology and Forests, the Secretary of State for the Gendarmerie, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Public Security) are committed to prioritising the fight against trafficking and to put in place a national structure and strategy to ensure effective action.

Therefore Madagascar firmly commits:

• prepare a national strategy to fight against trafficking of wildlife, particularly of tortoises
• strengthen collaboration at national level to fight against illegal wildlife trade
• strictly apply existing national legislation and respect international commitments on illegal wildlife trade and biodiversity conservation
• collaborate with international partners to exchange information and pursue traffickers, particularly in relation to the maritime routes favoured by traffickers

Malawi

Malawi recognizes that Illegal Wildlife Trade is a serious organized and transnational crime, is aware that it is the main driver for poaching currently taking place in many parts of Africa and that it poses a threat to national security, political stability as well as economic growth.

Malawi has developed legal tools such as the renewed Wildlife Act that now carries a maximum custodial sentence of 30 years, courtroom monitoring, sentencing guidelines and guidance on mutual legal assistance.

The Malawi Government remains committed to strengthened law enforcement.

The Malawi Government will strive to expand its scope of investigation, using the Financial Crime Act 2017 to ensure parallel financial investigations are possible when conducting investigations on wildlife as a predicate crime.

The Malawi Government will intensify its efforts to work with governments around the world including range, transit and destination states.

Malaysia

Malaysia:

• pledges to end deforestation and are reforesting where deforestation has taken place
• continues to strengthen enforcement efforts to deter encroachment into the protected areas for wildlife poaching and illegal harvest of forest products
• is undertaking a tiger survey and hopes to see an increase in tiger numbers
• is working with regional states to create a Malaysian regional tiger reserve
• increase collaboration between Sabah State Government and relevant stakeholders such as plantation companies for wildlife conservation, focusing on Borneo pygmy elephants

United Mexican States

Mexico reaffirms its commitment to strengthen the exchange of information, personnel and technical experience through collaboration on mechanisms for notification and warning in cases of suspected illegal activity, and to participate in international operations and the strengthening of actions against the illicit exploitation of wildlife species.

Mongolia

Mongolia will convene North-East Asian experts and senior officials to strengthen cooperation to fight the illegal wildlife trade and will establish a sub-regional dialogue on transboundary wildlife conservation and management. With this initiative the government will organise the first meeting of stakeholders aimed at building a network and identifying potential priorities in autumn 2019. The sub-regional dialogue will be based on the existing initiatives and dialogues, such as Gobi Great Six Initiative aimed at protecting the globally endangered species of Wild Bactrian Camel and Goitered Gazelle, and sustainable financing for biodiversity.

Burma (Republic of the Union of Myanmar)

Combatting wildlife crime is one of Burma (Myanmar)’s priorities and a new wildlife law was published on 21 May 2018 which increased fines and penalties for wildlife crime.

With support from WWF and WCS, public campaigns have increased public awareness and engagement and in September 2018 regional governments announced a ban on all illegal wildlife sales which will be rolled out nationally.

Burma (Myanmar)’s first public destruction of ivory and other seizures of illegal wildlife products took place on October 4 2018, sending a clear message that this trade will no longer be tolerated. This is the first of a series of public burnings that will destroy all stockpiles.

Burma (Myanmar) is initiating monitoring and reporting systems that have been a very effective tool in significantly reducing wild elephant poaching hotspots.

An action plan for combatting illegal wildlife trade is being drafted based on the four pillars of the Hanoi statement – eradicating the market for IWT products, ensuring legal frameworks and deterrents, strengthening law enforcement and sustainable livelihoods and economic development.

Burma (Myanmar) will work with other Asian and neighbouring countries and international organisations to enhance law enforcement.

Burma (Myanmar) supports the London declaration on Illegal Wildlife Trade and will actively take part in implementing the statement.

Namibia

Namibia will complete the repeal of its wildlife legislation first enacted in 1975 and most recently amended in 2017 to increase the penalties for wildlife crimes. This will bring together the legislation into a consolidated nature conservation law that will help fight wildlife crime.

Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Netherlands is highly committed to combatting wildlife crime and attaches special attention to targeting the whole illegal wildlife trade chain. The Netherlands will:

• implement the EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking and stimulate enforcement co-operation
• implement a national enforcement and awareness operation focussing on the Netherlands as a destination country of international illegal trade as a follow-up to the successful “Operation Pangolin” (2017) which focussed on illegal transit trade
• support the African Elephant Fund for projects in the range states aimed at the implementation of the African Elephant Action Plan (AEAP)
• support African Parks Network for translocating and reintroducing lion, leopard and cheetah in Liwonde and Majete, Malawi
• support the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) for effectively tracking illegal trade in ivory
• commit to funding international actions to combat corruption and to strengthen forensic cooperation and capacity building

New Zealand

New Zealand further commits to:

• strengthen information sharing with other countries and organisations to address both the supply and demand of illegal wildlife trade
• assess the need for regulation of New Zealand’s domestic ivory trade
• explore working with Pacific neighbours to identify priorities and approaches to reducing demand for trade in endangered species in the region

Peru

Peru will host the first high-level regional conference in Latin America focused on IWT in 2019.

Philippines

The Philippines continues to work to eradicate the market for illegal wildlife products.

The ‘bayanihan’ strategy will upscale its fight against IWT on two levels:

• legislative – a bill to update the Phillipines’ wildlife conservation law will bring the Philippines closer in step with international colleagues
• executive level – A draft executive order creating the national anti-wildlife crime council is being finalised.

Federal Government of Somalia

Somalia is to become an effective partner on technical needs and financial support in the following areas:

• assessment and mapping the present situation of Wildlife in Somalia
• re-establishment of Wildlife protected areas and the rehabilitation and reforestation of degraded ecosystems (forest lands and range areas)
• reviewing old laws and regulations and developing new ones for prevention and control of alien species and control of illegal trade in endangered species
• public awareness raising on preservation of indigenous species and preventing illegal wildlife trade, deforestation and range degradations
• developed countries should provide new and additional financial resources to enable least developed countries to meet the obligations and take actions on decisions coming out from this conference
• financial support and incentives in respect of those national activities which are intended to achieve the objectives of the London Conference

South Africa

Wildlife trafficking has been declared a priority crime in South Africa.

Targeting corruption through operational and strategic levels, South Africa participates in and works with international organisations such as Interpol, the UN, WTO etc. South Africa supports Interpol through the wildlife crime working group.

South Africa shares technologies such as the rhino DNA base, where we can track the origin of illegally traded species.

South Africa’s strategy to address Rhino Poaching, spear headed by Edna Malawa, has resulted in a decrease in the numbers of Rhinos poached from 2017 to 2018.

Communities will need to be invested in and South Africa is committed to alleviating poverty and unemployment in our conservation areas, we will create employment and small business opportunities – this is one of the primary aims of the government’s biodiversity strategy.

South Africa pledges to continue the important work of implementing and enhancing the integrated and multidisciplinary approach of tackling wildlife crime as a Serious Organised Crime, using policing, justice, defence, customs and revenue services as well as cyber and financial services.

South Africa commits to close collaboration with our international law enforcement counterparts.

South Africa commits to strengthening regional cooperation, including sharing human, financial and physical resources, to make available training, communication, prosecution and investigative methods.

South Africa is currently strengthening its legal frameworks by creating a new legal category for IWT targeted species and will have a draft bill ready for 2019.

South Africa is committed to addressing corruption at all levels, and will deal with those involved in corrupt activities, and have recently arrested a gang of organised criminals including police officials and other members of organised criminal networks.

Community representation is critical to the preservation of biodiversity, therefore South Africa will donate 6,000 head of game to communities, to enable communities to participate in the national conservation effort.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s Department of Wildlife is currently in the process of passing enabling legislation and regulation to improve the implementation of the CITES convention.

The Government of Sri Lanka has already made rapid progress to curtail Illegal Wildlife Trade and it is with confidence that the Government of Sri Lanka will be able to effectively contribute to the aims and objectives of the declaration of the London Conference on IWT 2018.

United Republic of Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is committing to work with other range states of Africa, and other countries to ensure effective fight against Illegal Wildlife Trade, both trafficking and poaching.

Further, we commit to sharing Tanzania’s model to the fight against the illicit trade. This model has been very successful and we welcome other range states to come and learn from us.

Kingdom of Thailand

Strengthening law enforcement and countering corruption

Thailand commits to:

• strengthen cooperation amongst law enforcement agencies at both national and international levels to combat the illegal wildlife trade which is focused on important species/specimens including ivory, rhino horn, tigers, pangolin and Siamese rosewood along entire trafficking chain
• revise legislation to enhance its effectiveness and compliance with CITES provisions in order to increase the effectiveness of national law enforcement. More key measures will be set for: controlling trade in, breeding of, and possession of CITES-listed species; including new appropriate penalties
• promote and incorporate the use of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, B.E. 2542 for effective prosecution and tackling of money laundering which is associated with illegal wildlife trade
• enable the prosecution of wildlife trafficking kingpin by: the use of the Prevention and Suppression of Participation in Transnational Organised Crime Act and with the cooperation with relevant countries in conjunction with the transnational crime investigation and suppression

Closing of illegal wildlife trade markets

Thailand commits to:

• prevent, suppress and eliminate the illegal wildlife trade in country, especially African elephant ivory and wild Asian elephant ivory, by rigorously implementing key measures: the enforcement of the Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Action, especially the arrest and prosecution of offenders and the enhancement of network cooperation with national law enforcement agencies
• control the domestic trade in domesticated Asian elephant ivory in compliance with the Ivory Act B.E 2558 and CITES resolutions. This includes: the registration of ivory shops and their ivory products; audits and reports of ivory stock annually; development and improvement of the ivory trade database system to enable the effectiveness of ivory traceability. Strict and effective law enforcement is also included by the increased cooperation amongst government agencies, private sectors and NGOs nationwide.

Harnessing technology and innovation

Thailand commits to:

• initiate, develop and use the Smart Border Patrol system at international airports, sea ports and land borders for prevention and suppression of transnational wildlife trafficking. This system also helps enhance the capability of law enforcement at border checkpoints
• develop and apply forensics science by analysing and examining scientific evidence to support prosecution of wildlife crime cases
• increase the use of the Smart Patrol System and the Network Centric Anti-Poaching System (NCAPs) in protected areas to prevent wildlife poaching that may link to illegal trade
• launch a pilot joint agency wildlife law enforcement in the country to collate intelligence from Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) and 12 analysis software to analyse and evaluate the illegal activity trend for effective planning of wildlife crime prevention and suppression
• prevent the laundering of wild caught elephants and wild caught tigers into the captive population by continuing recording of DNA information of domesticated elephants and captive tigers into a database and also implantation of microchips into captive animals

Building coalitions: engaging the private sector, NGOs and academia

Thailand commits to:

• carry out activities on demand reduction for illegally trade wildlife and their products by cooperation amongst Government organisations, relevant agencies including NGOs, private sectors, transport and tourism
• promote and organise campaigns by government in cooperation with relevant agencies to raise awareness regarding relevant laws and regulation, as well as the impact of illegal wildlife trade
• active participation in conservation amongst government, NGOs and the public in watching illegal activities on social media regarding poaching, trade or illegal possession of wildlife and reporting such activities to the relevant authorities

United Kingdom

The UK reaffirms our commitment to tackle the Illegal Wildlife Trade, building on commitments made at the previous Illegal Wildlife Trade Conferences in London, Kasane and Hanoi. The UK is investing more than £36 million between 2014 and 2021 to take action to counter IWT, including work to reduce demand, strengthen enforcement, ensure effective legal frameworks and develop sustainable livelihoods. The UK is also investing in wider conservation programmes which will also have an impact on tackling the illegal wildlife trade. The UK government:

• commits an additional £6m to the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund. In addition, the latest round of the Challenge Fund launched in 2018 has, for the first time, been extended to include certain species of endangered plants
• is giving an extra £3.5 million worth of technical assistance to Financial Intelligence Units implemented by the UN Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Centre of Excellence for Financial Investigation (ECOFEL)
• building on successful deployments in Gabon and Malawi, the UK is committing £900,000 to develop a British military counter-poaching taskforce. Its members will train African park rangers to use more effective and safer counter-poaching techniques as they seek to disrupt poaching
• is committing £1 million to support community initiatives in Malawi which will be focused around the parks where ranger training has taken place
• making a £2.1 million commitment to public-private partnerships in Indonesia, to secure and extend critical habitats for species including the Sumatran tiger and Asian elephant. Part of the ‘Partnerships for Forests’ programme, the money will be focused on the Rimba Corridor initiative in central Sumatra which links fragmented habitats using green ‘wildlife corridors’
• finalising the introduction of a ban on the sale of ivory which will be among the strongest in the world
• create a new international Ivory Alliance 2024, chaired by the Defra Secretary of State. This aims to reduce the poaching of elephants for their ivory by one third by 2020, and two thirds by 2024 by tackling ivory demand and lobby for domestic market closure, and stronger enforcement of bans or other ivory legislation in key demand and transit markets
• injecting £50,000 into a new WILDLABS Tech Hub that brings together key technology companies and conservation organisations to find innovative ways to tackle IWT in ODA-eligible countries
• committing up to £40,000 to create education packs for children in multiple languages which will teach them about key conservation and IWT issues – in partnership with Tale2Tail, a citizen ivory action group, and the WWF
• the UK will establish a new global consortium made up of specialists in demand reduction and behaviour change, to make sure that our future work on IWT is as binding and effective as possible
• the UK is carrying out a critical review of the strengths and any weaknesses in our responses to stopping the illegal wildlife trade by implementing the International Consortium Combatting Wildlife Crime’s Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit
• committing to host a side event at CITES COP next year to stimulate joint action on how to evaluate and monitor IWT interventions
• it has also been confirmed that Peru will host the first high-level regional conference in Latin America focused on IWT in 2019, supported by up to £50,000 of UK government funding.

United States

We estimate that the United States government will fund more than $90 million in counter-wildlife trafficking programs and projects in the coming year.

The United States will continue our efforts to disrupt transnational organized criminal networks.

We will redouble our efforts to root out the corruption that fuels wildlife trafficking.

We will work to cut off the flow of the illicit proceeds of wildlife trafficking, including through the work of multilateral organizations such as the Financial Action Task Force Global Network, which includes its regional bodies.

We will continue to seek stiff penalties on those convicted of wildlife trafficking and related offenses in U.S. courts, and will seek extradition of criminals overseas, as appropriate under law.

The Department of the Interior, led by Secretary Ryan Zinke, will continue strategically placing Senior Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Law Enforcement Attachés at American Embassies, increasing the current number from 7 to as many as 12.

We will continue using trade agreements as an important tool to address these crimes.

With funding from the State Department, the Department of Justice’s overseas capacity building offices will continue to make wildlife trafficking a priority.

We will:

• convene at the Department of Justice an expert forum to discuss countering the illegal wildlife trade
• continue to engage the private sector, especially the technology sector, to reduce online/cyber sales of illicit wildlife and to scale up innovation and new technologies to help in this fight
• continue to work with the transportation sector to stop the illegal shipment of illicit wildlife
• continue to evaluate how to best address other conservation crimes, such as illegal logging and illegal fishing
• continue to educate and change consumer behaviour at home and abroad about illegal wildlife products
• continue to assist countries to enforce laws to cut the flow of the proceeds of illegal wildlife trafficking
• use our diplomatic outreach to foster greater international cooperation in this arena

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

1. Consider the wildlife crime as a serious organized crime

Under the Vietnam Penal Code, wildlife crime including ivory-related crime is a serious crime with a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment. Vietnam is committed to implement the newly revised Penal Code effectively in order to apply appropriate sentences towards wildlife crimes:

• Vietnam is strengthening the legal framework relating to wildlife crimes and implementing the revised 2017 Penal Code and 2017 Law of Forestry by issuing four new decrees, seven circulars guiding the implementation of the new Laws which will come into effect on 1 January 2019
• the Judicial Council of the Vietnam Supreme People’s Court will issue a resolution guiding the application of a number of provisions of the Penal Code on violations of regulations on the protection of endangered species in 2018
• Vietnam has a plan to standardise and issue a guideline on species product identification (ivory and rhino horns) for frontline officers at ports and border gates in controlling hand luggage, handicraft and jewellery by 2020
• in 2020 Vietnam will develop and issue a technical guideline on DNA sampling from ivory and rhino horn to enhance investigations following seizures

Vietnam will improve information systems in compliance with international requirements including the Elephant Trade Information System. Vietnam aims to have a reporting system on the inventory of confiscated ivory before 2020.

Vietnam aims to train at least 1,000 officers in police, customs and forest protection on laws and law enforcement in 2019-2020 on CITES implementation and illegal wildlife trade issues.

The Ministry of Public Security with the support of the UK Government and non-government organisations will continue to consider having a seconded police officer based in Mozambique to enhance investigation of trans-continental illegal wildlife trade that was bilaterally agreed in 2015.

2. Building coalitions with private sectors, non-government organisations, institutes and apply the technologies and innovations.

Vietnam cooperate actively with governments and non-government organisations to develop a curriculum for lectures colleges and institutes on wildlife issue in order to strengthen law enforcement on controlled wildlife trade and transport and judicial implementation relating to wildlife crimes. The curriculum is expected to be completed in 2019.

Captive bear farming will be completely phased out over the period 2020 to 2025. CITES and FLEGT permits will be issued online and connected to the one-door Customs system within one year of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between Vietnam and the EU coming into effect.

3. Closing markets for illegally-traded wildlife

Wildlife conservation focusing on rhino, pangolin and elephant will be included in the -curriculum of elementary schools. The pilot phase will begin in 2019 and will be applied nationwide from 2025.

Vietnam will conduct demand reduction campaigns from 2018 to 2023 for tour guides, hotel staff and cooks at more than 100 training centres of the Vietnam Tourism Association as a way to spread messages on tackling illegal wildlife trade to visitors. The Vietnam Business Association and Oriental Traditional Medicine Association will ask for commitment from businessmen and doctors to not consume illegal wildlife products. Residents at border areas will have access to information on demand reduction via newspapers and television.

Vietnam will promote communication on wildlife demand reduction, targeted at individuals, enterprises, media reporters and editors in 2019 to raise awareness of legislation, change behaviour relating to illegal wildlife trade and increase the quality of news relating to the illegal wildlife trade.

Republic of Zambia

Developing and enhancing partnerships

The Government of Zambia has developed working mechanisms with a number of strategic partnerships to provide an enabling environment for Public Private Partnerships (PPP’s) in the management of wildlife protected areas in the country. In addition, the Zambian Government through the Department of National Parks has partnered with the Wildlife Crime Prevention, a Zambian NGO, to support investigations in wildlife crimes across the country.

To contribute to enhancing law enforcement and wildlife conservation, Zambia will strive to strengthen existing partnerships based on different area specific models in place in the North Luangwa National Park and Nsumbu National Park (Frankfurt Zoological Society), South Luangwa National Park (Conservation South Luangwa), Lower Zambezi National Park (Conservation Lower Zambezi), Kafue National Park (Panthera, Musekese Conservation, Game Rangers International), Bangweulu wetlands and Liuwa National Park (African Parks Network), Kalumbila Trident Foundation (West lunga National Park), and the Sioma Ngwezi and Kafue National Parks (WWF-Zambia).

Increased funding

The Government of Zambia is exploring sustainable funding mechanisms for the Department of National Parks and Wildlife which is an important prerequisite for any institution mandated to manage and protect wildlife. This is to ensure that the department protects wildlife which is critical to the development of the tourism sector in Zambia and delivers on its mandate in an effective manner.

Improving enforcement skills and capacity

The Government of Zambia commits to recruiting additional Wildlife Police Officers to address critical manpower shortages in all protected areas. The wildlife police officers are responsible for undertaking resource protection activities in Zambia’s protected areas including undertaking foot patrols. It is therefore Government’s commitment, with the support of partners to ensure that all Wildlife Police Officers are well equipped with necessary skills and equipment required to deal with the current threat posed by poachers and criminal syndicates behind illegal trafficking in wildlife products. This will require training of trainers with skills to deliver training to new recruits as well as in service.

The Green Corridors concept

The Zambian Government is committed to support existing Trans-frontier Conservation Areas (TFCA’s) such as the Kavango-Zambezi TFCA and the Malawi-Zambia TFCA’s. The Zambian Government with support from cooperating partners has embarked on an ambitious plan to develop the tourism circuit in the Sioma Ngwezi National Park as part of the regional tourism hub by improving law enforcement, wildlife re-stocking and empowering communities living in the wildlife corridors.

Zambia remains committed to establishing additional Trans -frontier Conservation Areas (TFCA’s) to its existing portfolio of TFCA’s. The Ministry of Tourism and Arts will engage respective governments in expediting the signing of MOU’s for the establishment of outstanding TFCA which are critical for free movement of elephants and other wildlife species.

Illegal Timber trade

To combat trafficking of timber especially the witnessed surge in Mukula tree (Pterocarpus chrysothrix) , the Government of Zambia has ensured that there is improved collaboration between the Department of National Parks and Wildlife and the Department of Forestry to curb illegal timber harvesting in wildlife protected areas.

The Department of National Parks and Wildlife which is the designated CITES Management Authority in Zambia has also been providing technical assistance to the Forest Department on establishing regulatory frameworks with the aim of ensuring sustainable trade in timber and effective implementation of CITES regulations.

Legislative review

Review the National Parks and Wildlife Act No. 14 of 2015 to strengthen the mandate and capacity of DNPW to effectively manage and protect wildlife from threats including habitat loss and illegal wildlife trade. Increase penalties for serious wildlife crimes and provide for wildlife offences that will not be eligible for bail.

Regional cooperation and collaboration

At regional level, Zambia is committed to domesticating the SADC Law Enforcement and Anti-poaching Strategy (SADC LEAP) and provisions of the SADC protocol on conservation and law enforcement. The overall objective of the LEAP Strategy is to significantly reduce the level of poaching and illegal trade in wild fauna and flora and enhance law enforcement capacity in the SADC Region by 2021. The strategy provides a framework for concerted action and cross-border collaboration by Member States and International Cooperating Partners (ICPs) for minimizing wildlife crime and illegal trade, enforcing the law more effectively, promoting sustainable trade and use of natural resources, and reducing the root causes and enablers of wildlife crime.

Zambia is a member state to the Lusaka Agreement on cooperative enforcement operations Directed at Illegal Trade in Wild and Fauna and recently assumed the Chairmanship of the Lusaka Agreement Governing Council. The Lusaka Agreement is a regional instrument whose objective is to promote cross-border cooperation in the fight against wildlife crime in Africa. It seeks to promote effective cooperative enforcement of national, regional wildlife laws and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) with the long-term goal of reducing and ultimately eliminating illegal trade in wild fauna and flora. Under the Agreement, the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF) has been one of the long standing agencies in combating wildlife crime in Africa even when Illegal Wildlife Trade was not high on the global agenda. LATF has achieved significant milestones in bridging source, transit and destination countries of wildlife contraband through executing and coordinating national, regional and multi-regional enforcement operations, undertaking capacity building programmes, gathering and sharing of relevant intelligence, carrying out investigations into violations of wildlife and forestry laws, and facilitating compliance with MEAs and biodiversity related conventions. As President of the Lusaka Agreement Governing Council, the Republic of Zambia is committed to increasing the membership of the Agreement and enhancing the capacity of the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF). We therefore wish to call for support upon development partners to consider extending support to LATF. This will contribute to strengthening the organization hence regional effort in combating illicit trade and illegal exploitation of Africa’s fauna and flora.

Zimbabwe

The Government of Zimbabwe pledges to continuously cooperate with the international community in fighting illegal wildlife trade and trafficking. We call upon countries gathered here to also consider the plight of people and communities who bear the brunt of living with wildlife. They need to see the benefits for them to become effective partners in addressing illegal wildlife trade.

Zimbabwe will strengthen its legal framework governing the conservation and management of wildlife resources, including increasing enforcement efforts by all security agents. Zimbabwe will continue to improve measure and instruments that enhance its success in prosecution of criminal syndicates through its competent judiciary systems.

African Union (AU)

The AU Commission is currently rolling out the implementation of the African Strategy on Combatting Illegal Exploitation and Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora in Africa. The Strategy, its Action Plan and the Brazzaville Declaration on the same, were adopted at the June 2015 AU Summit of Heads of States and Government held in Johannesburg and is designed to guide a common, coordinated response by countries in Africa to combat the illegal trade in wild fauna and flora. Its objective is to prevent, reduce and eventually eliminate the illegal trade in wild fauna and flora in Africa, through the implementation of an Africa wide strategic framework agreed upon by member States.

In July this year, the African Union Experts Group on Wildlife under the chairmanship of Angola, met in Luanda, where they validated a Monitoring and Reporting Tool to track progress on the implementation of the Strategy at national, regional and sub-regional levels. The Commission is committed in supporting efforts to use scientific geospatial data standards to enable effective management of information related to the illegal trade of wild flora and fauna. Efforts are underway to mobilize resources to support countries in the implementation of the Strategy.

The African Union Commission is committed to work with AU member States and relevant stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of the outcomes of the 2018 IWT Conference in line with the AU wildlife Strategy’s 7 strategic components: - (i) Political Commitment, (ii) Regional and International Cooperation, (iii) Enforcement and Compliance, (iv) Training and Capacity Development, (v) Awareness and Advocacy, (vi) Knowledge, Information and Technology and (vii) Governance.

The African Union Heads of States and Government adopted the 2018 AU theme on “Winning the fight against Corruption: a sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation” This theme is very much relevant to the efforts for combatting illegal wildlife trade as the profits from trafficking in wild fauna and flora feed corruption and weaken public institutions such as police, customs, and the military. In this regard the Commission plans to convene a High Level side event on the margins of the February 2019 AU Summit under the theme of “Corruption and Illicit Exploitation of Africa’s Natural Wild Fauna and Flora”.

African Wildlife Foundation (AWF)

Over the next 4 years, AWF commits to investing an additional $25 million to support African governments in implementing the priorities coming out of the London 2018 IWT Conference, focusing on:

• building African leadership and ownership of the illegal wildlife trade agenda on the continent
• protecting habitats and key populations of rhinos, elephants, great apes, large carnivores and giraffe
• enhancing detection of wildlife crimes and strengthen prosecutorial and judiciary capacity to put perpetrators behind bars

AWF can only be successful with the continued and increasing support of our donors and partners around the world. With our collective commitment to action, the scourge of poaching can end and wildlife and wild lands will thrive in modern Africa.

Alliance of Religions and Conservations (ARC) and FaithInvest

Through the creation of a new organisation, FaithInvest, we have committed to move into environmental and sustainable development with around £3.4 trillion of faith and philanthropy funds to invest. The faiths are the fourth largest investing group at around £10 trillion closely followed by the philanthropies. Because the faiths and philanthropies have supported thousands if not millions of projects on the ground they can also generate new investable projects to meet the gap of such projects and FaithInvest, launched at this Conference, will provide a pipeline of new investable environmental and sustainable projects for investors – religious, philanthropic or secular.

Association of Zoos and Aquariums

The U.S.-based Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Wildlife Trafficking Alliance (WTA) is a coalition of more than 60 leading companies, non-profit organizations, and AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums that are working together with the U.S. government to reduce the purchase and sale of illegal wildlife and wildlife products. In 2019, WTA pledges to leverage its public-private partnerships on a global scale, maximizing its collective impact to combat wildlife trafficking around the world. Working with key international organizations, WTA will coordinate efforts to:

1. Raise global awareness of the scope of the wildlife trafficking crisis
2. effect behavior change by reducing global consumer demand for wildlife and wildlife products
3. mobilize global companies to adopt best practices to assure wildlife traffickers are not utilizing their goods and services, and to assist in raising public awareness and demand-reduction efforts to their consumers

The Basel Institute on Governance

The Basel Institute on Governance, through its newly established Centre on IWT, is pledging to support global anti-IWT efforts by applying and sharing its tested multi-disciplinary method to prevent and combat financial crimes. By attacking IWT through a financial crime lens, it is expected we can, through this pledge, help interrupt financial flows emanating and facilitating IWT, thereby making IWT less attractive and less lucrative and interrupting organised crime networks that are driving IWT globally. The Basel Institute will work with its existing partners in the law enforcement community in supply and demand countries and critical financial centres, is excited to support emerging Collective Action initiatives under the United for Wildlife Initiative, and will bring its track record of context sensitive grassroots work to build resistance against IWT into play. It is hoped that other IWT initiatives will be partnering with us and that our work will complement and meaningfully support others valuable efforts.

BirdLife International

In response to increasing threats to birds and other biodiversity caused by illegal wildlife trade world-wide, BirdLife International supports the principles of the 2018 London Conference declaration and pledges to contribute to global action on illegal wildlife trade in a number of key areas, in particular the escalating trade affecting birds in Asia.

The scale and impacts of the illegal wildlife trade have reached crisis levels in recent years, with the 2014 London Conference doing much to increase international awareness of this critical issue. However, while the trade in wildlife such as elephants, rhino, tiger and pangolin has rightly risen in the public consciousness, the illegal and unsustainable trade in birds has had less attention. BirdLife International – the world’s largest nature conservation partnership, comprising 120 national NGO Partners across the globe, and the IUCN Red List Authority on birds - is working to better understand and address the direct and indirect impacts of the illegal wildlife trade in and on key bird taxa across the world. In particular, we pledge to step up joint efforts to tackle the illegal wildlife trade relating to vultures (see separate joint pledge), songbirds, hornbills and parrots, particularly in Africa and Asia.

With regard to the illegal trade in Asian birds, the BirdLife International Partnership pledges to participate in and support national and international efforts to:

• reduce and eventually halt trade in Helmeted Hornbills, their parts and derivatives
• reduce the threats to Asian songbird and parrots affected by trade, and reverse the declines in these species
• undertake and publish by 2020 a situation analysis of the hunting and take of wild birds in Southeast Asia, including an assessment of the driving role of trade, working with the relevant Intergovernmental Task Force^{[footnote 1]}.

These commitments are needed because illegal trade in Asian birds has been a major driver of population declines in many species, driving a range of species to the brink of extinction in the wild.

BirdLife will take action to reduce bird trapping at key sites in the wild and help ensure the existence of legal and sustainable markets, raising awareness, building capacity and supporting a range of government, private and community-based approaches to demand reduction and enforcement of national and international policies and legislation.

In all cases, BirdLife will contribute to agreed international plans and strategies, in particular the IUCN SSC Helmeted Hornbill Status Review, Range-wide Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (2018-2027); recommendations and strategies of the IUCN SSC Asian Songbird Trade Specialist Group; and status reviews of Asian parrot species in trade.

Birdlife International, Endangered Wildlife Trust, IUCN Vulture Specialist Group and The Peregrine Fund

In the context of the increasing threat to biodiversity caused by illegal wildlife trade worldwide, BirdLife International, the IUCN Species Survival Commission Vulture Specialist Group, The Peregrine Fund and the Endangered Wildlife Trust are particularly concerned by the direct and indirect impacts of the illegal trade on vultures. Collectively, we pledge to participate in and support national and international efforts to:

• reduce and eventually halt the trade in vultures and their body parts for belief-based use
• reduce and eventually halt the practice of sentinel poisoning of vultures by elephant poachers
• reduce human-lion conflict that masks the intentional trade in lion parts whereby both vultures and lions are poisoned

We will continue to contribute to related international plans and strategies, in particular the Multi-species Action Plan to Conserve African-Eurasian Vultures adopted by Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species in 2017, which explicitly addresses these threats and includes actions to combat them.

These commitments are needed because African vultures are facing an extinction crisis, in part driven by illegal wildlife trade. In recent years their populations have crashed such that seven of the 11 species in Africa are now Critically Endangered or Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Born Free Foundation

Born Free is committed to bring to an end the commercial trade in and trafficking of wild animals and parts and products derived from them. We pledge to:

• fight the devastating international trade in, and trafficking of, wildlife. We pledge to expose the cruel, unsustainable and illegal commercial exploitation of wild animals, and those who indulge in it
• urge governments to adopt legislation outlawing the trade in ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales, lion bones, live reptiles, and the myriad of other wildlife products the trade in which devastates so many lives and threatens the very future of so many wild animal species
• help ensure that wildlife trafficking is treated as serious crime, that laws aimed at preventing it are effectively enforced, and that perpetrators are subjected to robust prosecution and truly deterrent sentencing
• do all we can to help enforcement authorities dismantle the criminal networks controlling the trafficking, and bring their members to justice
• do all we can to ensure that wild animals confiscated from illegal trade are returned to the wild, or where this not possible provided with the best possible care

Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF)

The CCF pledges to continue fighting the illegal trade in cheetahs, whether as live animals for the pet and tourism industries or as products, both on the supply and demand sides. CCF will use its extensive research to raise awareness in collaboration with governments, communities and international and non-governmental organisations, by sharing information driving the trade, including the prevalence of live cheetah advertisements on the Internet and social media.

China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF)

CBCGDF is against all illegal wildlife trade and is committed to working with international colleagues to protect pangolins – the critically endangered species that suffers the most in the world from illegal trade. CBCGDF focuses on the way of mobilizing the protection strength of civil society in China. Volunteers of CBCGDF who are not afraid of the difficult risks, will form larger cohesive forces and make unannounced visits to the pangolin-consuming provinces in the traditional areas of China.

In the meantime, accompanied by the appalling exposure of the vicious incidents of eating pangolins, and the newly revised “Wildlife Protection Law”, CBCGDF will increase the public’s awareness and conscience of protecting pangolins.

In China, it is difficult for the relevant departments to inquire about the handling and whereabouts of pangolin products. CBCGDF will keep tackling this issue by initiating administrative lawsuits against the local related departments, requesting information disclosure and letting the public know about their assistance and handling of the rescued pangolins.

Combining with long-standing work experience in pangolin protection, CBCGDF will:

• recommend and work with domestic/international colleagues for establishing international research institute/center for transgenic methylation testing
• recommend and work with related Chinese departments to destroy all the seized pangolins dead bodies directly
• recommend and work with the departments about those pangolin scales supposed to be burned
• recommend and inspect the related Chinese departments that rehabilitation of pangolins should be carried out in accordance with the guidelines of CITES and IUCN. For a live pangolin showing a specific and obvious trauma, it should be released in the wild as soon as possible after the completion of the rescue.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Secretariat

The CITES Secretariat will:

• diligently pursue the functions entrusted to it in Article XII of the Convention
• continue to support its Parties to effectively comply with their obligations under the Convention, particularly in relation to actions to address illegal wildlife trade
• actively pursue the implementation of the Decisions, Resolutions and other recommendations agreed and adopted by its governing bodies, the CITES Conference of the Parties and the CITES Standing Committee, particularly in relation to actions to address illegal wildlife trade.

CTRIP.COM International

CTRIP would like to use its brands to raise awareness of IWT amongst its users. CTRIP fully supports the announcement made during the Conference by WTTC and WWF - CTRIP will become distributor of this announcement. CTRIP will launch a campaign in the future to raise awareness of the endangered Tibetan antelope. CTRIP will work with environmental protection organisations and work with our suppliers and educate tourists to avoid buying illegal wildlife trade products during their visits.

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Durrell Wildlife commits to the rescue and recovery of the ploughshare tortoise in Madagascar as a model for the recovery of many tortoise species that are extremely threatened by trafficking for the illegal pet trade. Hundreds of less well known species are actively being traded into extinction. The ploughshare tortoise has been driven to the very edge by international reptile breeders and dealers. We commit to work with local communities, national and international partners to halt the poaching, increase capacity and support the judiciary to prosecute dealers. We will collaborate with international partners to track trade routes and identify approaches to reduce the interest among private dealers and breeders in owning these rare animals. Our commitment is open-ended. The recovery of the species will take many years to come. But we will stand with a global community of partners to address the mass trade in threatened species

Elephant Action League (EAL)

The EAL is, and will continue to be, an organization entirely devoted to fighting wildlife crime through its intelligence-gathering and investigative operations. EAL’s operations have a two-fold purpose of supporting the work of national and international governmental authorities and informing the public.

EAL, now operating in three continents on a variety of wildlife crime-related issues, commits itself to sharing actionable intelligence with law enforcement agencies around the world. EAL commits itself to facilitating the efforts of authorities to arrest, prosecute, and convict high-level traffickers, kingpins, and middle-men by providing the intelligence needed to disrupt, and when possible, dismantle, illegal wildlife product and live animal supply chains.

This work can only be accomplished by an organization with integrity and independence. As such, EAL commits to providing governments and the public with facts and solid evidence, as well as first-hand information that can be used by the international community to raise awareness and effectively engage policymakers in the fight against wildlife crime.

The Elephant Crisis Fund and Save the Elephants

The Elephant Crisis Fund and Save the Elephants jointly commit US$20 million over five years, to fight the illegal wildlife trade through supporting elephant-related anti-poaching, anti-trafficking and demand reduction projects in Africa and Asia. We also commit to directing 100% of funds to on-the ground activities, with 0% used for administrative fees or overheads.

Elephant Family

Elephant Family is committed to championing the protection of the Asian elephant in its own right. Building on our work to expose emerging illegal markets that threaten the species, we will continue to raise awareness and lobby at the highest levels of government and international fora to strengthen international laws and end the illegal trade.

Endangered Wildlife Trust

We are committed to combatting Illegal Wildlife Trade and in addition we are pledging to ensure that we keep wildlife free.

We pledge to keep our carnivores wild and free by not petting, walking, feeding or taking selfies with them. We promise to be an ambassador for the cause and encourage others not to support organisations that promote these activities.

Eurogroup for Animals

The illegal trade in exotic pets has received increased attention in the last decades, with the EU appearing as an important consumer region and thus driver for this traffic. In fact, the exotic pet trade has been identified as a key target sector for the EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking. Eurogroup for Animals and its member organisation AAP Animal Advocacy and Protection commit to provide support in fighting the illegal trade on exotic pets through our joint campaign for a better regulation of such trade in the EU. We will continue to work with Member States and EU institutions promoting the adoption of Positive Lists of allowed pet species as the most effective system to facilitate law enforcement by providing clarity to owners and enforcement agencies.

Fauna and Flora International (FFI)

Fauna & Flora International (FFI) will continue to work towards ending illegal and unsustainable wildlife hunting, collection and trafficking of vulnerable or neglected species such as sturgeon, saiga, Caribbean reptiles, sharks, rays, yellow-naped parrot, helmeted hornbill and Siamese crocodiles, in addition to Sumatran tigers, African and Asian elephants, rhinos, pangolins and marine turtles.

FFI will continue to push for the global response to illegal wildlife trade to deliver on commitments to give communities living alongside wildlife equal voice, and secure rights and opportunities to lead and benefit from conservation, and work with and support communities to develop the skills, resources and incentives to engage in wildlife protection. FFI will continue to support the generation and on-the-ground implementation of innovative finance and technological solutions to illegal wildlife trade in partnership with leading companies, entrepreneurs, investors and other conservation stakeholders.

Forest Forces

Commencing in the Brazilian Amazon, and later in other tropical rain forests, to really halt deforestation and wildlife crime, there has to be human action on the ground. Forest Forces is about protecting nature and wildlife with local people on the ground and supported by justice actors. It combines (ancient) local knowledge, such as from indigenous communities, with (modern) scientific knowledge, such as from criminology and GPS technology. Forest Forces applies scientific concepts and best practices of criminology in order to combat and especially prevent forest and wildlife crime.

GlobeScan

GlobeScan is a strategy and insights consultancy focused on sustainability, purpose and reputation. Across Asia, GlobeScan pledges to deliver best practice demand reduction research to better understand consumers of wildlife products, particularly, but not confined to markets in Asia, to uncover the drivers of demand and from there to provide input and evidence for the most effective demand reduction intervention strategies.

Helping Rhinos

We, at Helping Rhinos, make a commitment to working with both our project partners in the field and local communities to establish an innovative approach to conservation that operates alongside a proven track record of improving habitats, reducing poaching and working to eliminate the illegal wildlife trade.

Humane Society International

Humane Society International commits to:

• cooperating with government agencies and intergovernmental organizations to build capacity for law enforcement officers that combat illegal wildlife trade
• continuing our work to raise awareness about wildlife species threatened by illegal wildlife trade among current and potential consumers
• reducing demand for illegal wildlife products through community outreach and engagement
• closing down legal markets for wildlife products that are detrimental to wildlife populations or contribute to poaching and/or illegal trade of those species and products derived from them

The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC)

ICCWC, subject to the availability of donor funding, will continue to further expand its work to strengthen criminal justice systems and provide coordinated support at national, regional and international levels to combat wildlife and forest crime, through the implementation of the ICCWC Strategic Programme 2016-2020. In particular, in line with the focus areas and activities contained in its Strategic Programme, the Consortium will:

• expand the application of the ICCWC Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit and the ICCWC Indicator Framework for Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime, including expanding support for the implementation of recommendations resulting from Toolkit implementation relevant to ICCWC
• conduct in-depth research and analyses on illegal trade in wildlife to inform decision making and in support of the development of appropriate law enforcement responses
• develop tools and provide technical support to strengthen the capacity of member States to detect and address corruption, money laundering and illegal trade on the internet, associated with illegal trade in wildlife
• develop tools and provide technical support to promote and strengthen the use of forensic science, specialized investigation techniques, risk management practices, and anti-money laundering and asset forfeiture, to address wildlife crime
• continue to create awareness about the serious nature of wildlife and forest crime and to encourage member States to identify it as a matter of high priority for their national law enforcement agencies
• implement activities to promote, enhance and support institutional cooperation between national agencies responsible for wildlife law enforcement, and provide platforms and initiate activities that can facilitate intensified cooperation in the investigation of transnational criminal networks
• support investigations and operational analytical work, in particular to follow-up of transnational investigations linking organized criminal networks through information exchange and the development of operational plans to target these networks
• continue to work with frontline law enforcement staff manning international borders, continuously building capacity to identify and interdict illegal wildlife consignments
• support the review and development of national legislation enabling strong action against wildlife and forest crime and that provide penalties that will act as effective deterrents
• provide mentorships and training to prosecutors to enhance capacity in preparing and presenting wildlife cases in court, applying legislation, including in financial investigations and support prosecutorial and judicial networks
• initiate and provide targeted operational support to regional and global operations to combat wildlife crime

International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)

The International Fund for Animal Welfare pledges to continue to take robust action to end wildlife crime through our network of experts and global offices. We will do this by:

• utilising our network of experts to explore new ideas and create real solutions that have enduring impact on animals and the places they call home
• engaging and working with local communities to deliver practical and sustainable solutions that create environments where both animals and people thrive
• building the capacity of law enforcement agencies, prosecution services and judiciary in key source, transit and consumer countries to fight wildlife crime
• working with governments, enforcers, leading online technology companies, IGOs, NGOs, and academics to reduce wildlife trafficking online
• changing the behaviour of consumers in key consumer countries to reduce the demand for wildlife parts and products, including from elephants, rhinos, tigers and pangolins
• delivering and supporting effective programmes in key poaching areas, including the use of intelligence and innovative technology to stop poaching before it happens
• working with governments and civil society to advocate for legislation that encourages information-sharing on wildlife crime between various national agencies, as well as cross-border

To combat the threat posed by online wildlife traffickers, it is critical that public and private sectors unite to improve coordination and communication between governments, inter-governmental organisations, enforcement agencies, private companies, non-governmental organisations and academics, and create a network to defeat a criminal network. The Global Wildlife Cybercrime Action Plan, launched at the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference, brings together critical actors in the fight against online wildlife traffickers. Coming out of the Cyber-enabled Wildlife Crime Workshop, co-hosted by INTERPOL and IFAW in June of this year, there was a commitment to improve coordination across the public and private sectors. Launched by IFAW with partners including INTERPOL, the Action Plan maps out collective goals, outlines the steps that must be taken to achieve these, and provides a reporting mechanism for adaptive management of the plan.

Irdeto BV

As a world leader in cybersecurity and the protection of digital assets, Irdeto BV pledges their time, expertise and technology to the identification, disruption and dismantling of illegal wildlife product traded online.

Irdeto commits to passionately collaborate with organizations working to protect animal species and ecosystems worldwide, through the provision of their technology and experience in the identification of products traded illicitly through digital markets, including e-commerce and social media platforms, in both the open and dark web.

IUCN

IUCN, through its Members, Commissions, National Committees and Secretariat is committed to combatting illegal wildlife trade:

• we commit to achieving this by increasing recognition and respect for the rights, livelihoods and priorities of rural communities living with wildlife so that effective and equitable responses to IWT can be built. We will build on our efforts in Africa and look to expand into other high priority areas, especially Asia
• we also commit to building a better understanding of how communities can be supported and engaged as critical actors and partners in responses to IWT and to increase the voice of communities in discussion and decision-making on IWT
• we will achieve this by supporting our members and through our own projects and actions. IUCN already supports communities and other stakeholders to combat illegal killing through its grant-giving initiatives focused on tigers, African carnivores, lemurs and other iconic taxa
• we aim to expand these programmes, but to also highlight the plight of less-well known species, such as certain plants and invertebrates, that are seriously threatened by the illegal wildlife trade
• IUCN’s knowledge will be further used to support the results of the London Conference by including species threatened by IWT on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and further developing our online legal platforms, Ecolex and Wildlex
• we further pledge to ensure that the fight against illegal wildlife trade is featured prominently in our World Conservation Congress in 2020 and we will work to encourage countries to report their own progress on combatting wildlife crime as contributions to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals and any new post-2020 biodiversity targets.

Jane Goodall Institute

The Jane Goodall Institute is committed to understanding and protecting chimpanzees, other apes, and their habitats, and educating, inspiring and empowering people to take action to create a better world for people, other animals and our shared environment. Our global vision is for a healthy planet where people make compassionate choices to live sustainably and in harmony with each other, the environment and other animals.

We will work to end the illicit trafficking of wildlife, with a particular focus on apes, our closest living relatives and especially chimpanzees, our flagship species.

The Jane Goodall Institute has established a Global Policy against wildlife trafficking and this week our founder, Dr. Jane Goodall, launched our ‘Forever Wild’ campaign against wildlife trafficking, saying: “Without a concerted global effort to stop trafficking, primates and other wildlife will be gone for good.”

To protect the future of animals and their habitats, we will empower young people with the skills, attitudes, behaviours, and motivation to make compassionate, holistic decisions for the betterment of our planet and for the viability of great apes.

The Jane Goodall Institute will continue to advance the development and greater application of the ‘triangle approach’ which promotes the important interplay between sanctuaries, law enforcement agencies and local communities, who all have a vital role to play in ending illegal wildlife trade.

Our commitment here at the London conference is to use our global force to work on all levels in strong collaboration and partnership with other organisations and agencies to do our part in the fight to end wildlife crime.

Lilongwe Wildlife Trust

In 2016, at CITES COP17, Malawi was identified as a “country of primary concern”. With our partners - especially from the Government of Malawi - the Lilongwe Wildlife Trust will work to ensure that, by CITES COP19 (in 2022), Malawi will no longer be listed as a “country of primary concern” (as determined through ETIS’s seizure data and any other tools used by CITES) as a result of our collective efforts.

Natural Resources Defense Council

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) will work to strengthen wildlife trade regulations and enforcement in the United States, China, and globally by promoting and supporting the adoption of better policies and procedures for identifying and combating unsustainable and illegal wildlife trade. Over the course of the next five years, NRDC is on track to spend more than $1,000,000 to achieve its wildlife trade objectives.

Oxford Martin Programme

Oxford Martin School has pledged £1 million to develop an Oxford Martin programme on the illegal wildlife trade which is working in three main areas:

• understanding the online trade in wildlife and produce pattern recognition software
• understanding consumer behaviours and motivations
• improve design, monitoring and evaluation for interventions on IWT

Through this funding we will build a network of like-minded researchers around the globe

Pan African Wildlife Conservation Network

The full weight of our expertise and energy will henceforth be devoted to the cause of ensuring the African and Asian Elephant are not made extinct and livelihoods will be at the top of the agenda to ensure communities living alongside protected areas benefit in a non-consumptive sustainable way and that Range States start talking to each other.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Plants are the foundation for so much biodiversity on this planet. They are in peril, and if we lose plants, we lose animals, and humanity too.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew pledges to be the voice for plants under threat from illegal trade. We will continue to work hard to raise awareness about the illegal trade in plant species both here in the UK and across our vast network of partners around the world, so it is ended once and for all. This struggle needs collaboration and we at Kew are pledging our support today at this IWT conference.

Satellite Applications Catapult

The Satellite Applications Catapult helps organisations make use of, and benefit from, satellite technologies, and brings together multi-disciplinary teams to generate ideas and solutions. Based in Oxfordshire, the Catapult is one of a network of centres to accelerate the up-take of emerging technologies and drive economic impact for the UK.

Under the continuing threats of climate change, habitat loss and the illegal wildlife trade, the United for Wildlife community created Wildlabs which is a community dedicated to sharing information of the use of technology. This has led to the proposal of Wildlabs TechHub, a 6 month programme that will provide a mechanism that enables conservationists and tech companies to work in partnership to deliver cost-effective and robust solutions to IWT challenges. Helping “nearly there” solutions get over the line to implementation; and developing new solutions to problems, particularly by applying existing technology to IWT problems.

The Satellite Applications Catapult pledges to provide £50K of Business and Technical support to the WildLabs TechHub programme with the goal to help identify barriers and solutions, develop business strategies and provide technical assistance with satellite technology to develop sustainable solutions in the fight of Illegal Wildlife Trade.

Save the Asian Elephants

The illegal wildlife trade is driven by demand. For some species such as the Asian elephant, the demand is for live animals trained to obey commands; this is driven by the profits to be made by offering tourists an ‘elephant experience’ ranging from rides to circus-style shows to photo-opportunities. To assist the UK Government in fulfilling commits STAE urges it makes to:

• ban the advertising by UK travel companies of unethical elephant experiences
• use its influence to persuade other countries implicated to take similar measures
• Assist Asian elephant range states to enforce laws preventing the illegal capture of young elephants and to improve the welfare of elephants already in captivity, returning them to their natural habitat wherever possible
• work with India to establish a model elephant sanctuary operating on good standards of elephant management and veterinary care; and a mahouts’ training centre that operates on principles of positive reinforcement only; and to encourage veterinary exchanges to enhance levels of care and to increase awareness

South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN)

SAWEN is a legitimate intergovernmental organization for wildlife law enforcement support in South Asia. By the joint efforts of eight SAWEN member countries namely- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, it was formally launched in 2011 with its Secretariat based in Kathmandu, Nepal. It promotes regional cooperation to combat wildlife crime in South Asia. It focuses on policy harmonization; institutional capacity strengthening through knowledge and intelligence sharing; and collaboration with regional and international partners to enhance wildlife law enforcement in the member countries.

SAWEN commits to carry out the following initiatives in coming days. SAWEN will:

• encourage its member countries to prepare national level action plans in combating wildlife crime and support to implement the activities
• create a regional forensic expert group working to support wildlife crime investigation through forensic analysis in their country
• implement capacity building focused activities in SAWEN countries identified in Capacity Building Action Plan (2018)
• facilitate regional operational activities focusing on highly traded species
• foster strategic partnership with ICCWC partners and relevant international organizations to implement joint activities in mutual collaboration
• collaborate and cooperate with regional Wildlife Enforcement Networks (WENs) in exchanging the information, best practices, lesson learns in line to fight against wildlife crime

Syentium Ltd

Syentium will continue developing and operating automatic CITES smuggling detection systems at local and international level to counteract links between organised trafficking, corruption and terrorism.

TRAFFIC

Over the next five years, TRAFFIC commits to:

• facilitate and provide the expertise to support a Social and Behavioural Change Communications Community of Practice consisting of public, private and civil society sector experts, academic researchers and practitioners, sharing knowledge and experience globally around how best to eradicate the markets for illegal wildlife products, by changing purchasing preferences, buyer behaviour and potential consumer intentions
• the expertise to support key members of the financial and banking sector, along with financial investigators, in the area of asset recovery and forfeiture of proceeds from wildlife crime
• support a business coalition aiming to end wildlife trafficking online, and help grow the partnership towards its mission statement of 80% reduction in online trafficking by 2020, with regional groups of companies across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America

Tusk

We commit to investing £7 million this year to tackle the illegal wildlife trade and will strive to deliver £20 million in funding over the next three years.

Our projects protect more than 40 different threatened species, so we also commit to doing more to protect other species affected by poaching and the illegal wildlife trade, including pangolin, lion, vulture and crane.

Finally, having successfully engaged some of our corporate partners in tackling the illegal trade, including DHL and British Airways, our third commitment is to secure engagement in the cause from more of our private sector partners and sponsors.

Two Million Tusks

Two Million Tusks pledge to continue monitoring and reporting on the UK elephant ivory trade, and will also include and fight for all other ivory bearing species that are not at present protected by UK law.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

UNDP will enhance its support to governments in combating wildlife trafficking, development of wildlife-based economies and livelihoods and reducing poaching, trafficking and demand. UNDP is already supporting 14 countries in addressing illegal wildlife trade in Africa and Asia to be implemented between 2017 to 2023 financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

UNDP will enhance capacity to combat wildlife trafficking at key sea ports in Africa and Asia in support of commitment 10 of the Buckingham Palace Declaration, in partnership with the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the United for Wildlife Transport Task Force, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the GEF.

UNDP will strengthen financing for wildlife conservation through The Lion’s Share – an innovative new initiative that asks advertisers to contribute 0.5% of their media buy for each campaign featuring wildlife or animals to The Lion’s Share Fund. UNDP will host The Lion’s Share Secretariat and support overall Fund management, and with founders FINCH and founding partners Mars, Incorporated and Clemenger BBDO, aim to raise $100 million by 2021.

UNDP will work with the Elephant Protection Initiative to ensure strong coordination on sustainable wildlife management in Africa and enhanced implementation of National Elephant Action Plans.

UNDP will convene the Jaguar 2030 Coordination Committee and facilitate the development of a conservation roadmap for the Americas with range state governments, PANTHERA, the Wildlife Conservation Society and WWF, including measures to tackle growing international trade in jaguar parts.

UNDP will deliver coordinated ‘one-UN’ responses to combat illegal wildlife trade with other member entities of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Illicit Trade in Wildlife and Forest Products (CITES Secretariat, UNDP, UN Environment, UNODC, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Department of Political Affairs, Department for Peacekeeping Operations, and Department of Public Information). This will include the development of a Massive Open Online Course on combating illegal wildlife trade to be launched in 2019.

US Wildlife Trafficking Alliance

The U.S. based Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Wildlife Trafficking Alliance (WTA) is a coalition of more than 60 leading companies, non-profit organizations, and AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums that are working together with the U.S. government to reduce the purchase and sale of illegal wildlife and wildlife products. In 2019, WTA pledges to leverage its public-private partnerships on a global scale, maximizing its collective impact to combat wildlife trafficking around the world. Working with key international organizations, WTA will coordinate efforts to:

1. raise global awareness of the scope of the wildlife trafficking crisis
2. effect behaviour change by reducing global consumer demand for wildlife and wildlife products
3. mobilize global companies to adopt best practices to assure wildlife traffickers are not utilizing their goods and services, and to assist in raising public awareness and demand-reduction efforts to their consumers.

Wildlife Alliance

Throughout Cambodia, the Wildlife Alliance commits to continued technical and financial support of the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team, the team implemented by the Cambodian government to crack down on the illegal wildlife trade.

Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society works to protect wildlife and wild places across the globe in more than 60 countries and all the world’s oceans. On the occasion of the London IWT Conference, the Wildlife Conservation Society pledges to expand our work with government, civil society partners, and local communities to combat wildlife trafficking along major supply chains from source to demand in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

We will promote a science-based approach to this issue and convene other disciplines including criminology and behavioural economics to conduct analyses to better understand the dynamics of wildlife trafficking and linkages with other crimes, inform our interventions and measure our impact.

WCS will support on-the-ground activities to stop the illegal killing of wildlife in strongholds around the world. We will continue to assist responsible authorities to establish and manage protected and conserved areas where priority species occur, assist initiatives to stop illegal hunting, and support the rights of and livelihood for local communities. We will facilitate transboundary conservation initiatives between interested countries, to address wildlife trafficking, strengthen borders and secure landscapes for wildlife and people.

WCS will expand our partnerships, prevent criminal activities and strengthen law enforcement and criminal justice agencies to increase the risk of detection, arrest and conviction of the people central to the integrity of illicit supply chains of wildlife in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

We will also expand initiatives to reduce the ability of consumers to purchase illegally sourced wildlife, through both efforts to close selected markets and consumer behaviour change in major consumer markets in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Finally, we will double our efforts to influence national and international policy to ensure adequate levels of political commitment and supporting national legislation are in place to tackle this problem around the world.

Wildlife Justice Commission

Regarding the criminal aspect of illegal wildlife trade the Wildlife Justice Commission encourages the following actions and is offering support to:

• provide intelligence and evidence on illegal wildlife trade to national and international law enforcement agencies
• further support law enforcement agencies and deliver advanced investigative technique training including surveillance, human source management, intelligence analysis and major case investigation
• provide relevant information gleamed from the trade to policy makers to help form policy decisions, identify legislative gaps and assist law enforcement
• enhance the analysis that is needed on mapping and tackling the financial crime side of illegal wildlife trade
• provide expert operational support to the intelligence and investigations staff in the form of mentoring
• tackle the transnational aspect of wildlife crime by facilitating cross border cooperation between law enforcement agencies

The Wildlife Justice Commission is providing law enforcement agencies with training and mentoring programs to help them tackle wildlife crime.

World Animal Protection

The illegal trade in wild animals is a global criminal industry on a scale with crimes in illicit drugs, arms and people trafficking. The growing consumer demand for live wild animals or their products is being driven by the perception of their value as a status symbol, for entertainment, or as medicine.

By 2020, World Animal Protection pledges to positively impact the lives of tens of thousands wild animals from being traded for entertainment, as exotic pets, and as traditional medicines.

We will educate the public on the plight of the elephants, tigers, bears and other wild animals so that they no longer tolerate abuses inflicted by these cruel trades. We will move people, corporates and governments to change their behaviour towards these animals or adopt policies to make a lasting impact for wild animals at risk of illegal trade.

Together we will move the world to protect wild animals, ultimately so that wild animals can be in the wild where they belong.

World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA)

Across the entire WAZA membership throughout more than 50 countries worldwide, WAZA commits the full capacity and expertise of the zoo and aquarium community to end the illegal wildlife trade through confiscation and rescue of animals and the prosecution of criminals, and pledges to educate the more than 700 million visitors zoos and aquariums receive each year as to the devastating impact of the illegal wildlife trade.

The World Bank Group

The World Bank will continue to support international efforts to tackle wildlife and other environmental crime through its coordination of the Global Environment Facility’s Global Wildlife Program and its active participation in ICCWC.

The World Bank will prepare a Good Practice Note to help those implementing its new Environmental and Social Standards look for opportunities to combat wildlife crime and illegal trade in other environmental goods, such as timber, fish and forest products.

World Travel and Tourism Council

The World Travel and Tourism Council, alongside WWF and C-trip and the 100+ signatories of the Buenos Aires Declaration on Illegal Wildlife Trade, have launched an ambitious initiative to change the behaviour of one billion travellers as it relates to IWT using digital tools to aggregate content and the power of their combined distribution networks. Initial funding provided by WTTC is £50,000.

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

By 2023 – Tackle corruption: Corruption is a critical enabler of wildlife crime along the entire value chain and requires preventative as well as reactive approaches. WWF has established partnerships with some of the leading anti-corruption organisations and agencies, with a view to (i) identify what corruption looks like, where it happens and why, drawing also on information from other sectors; (ii) share what we learn; and (iii) identify what interventions can and will make a difference. As WWF, we cannot address corruption alone, but we have extensive conservation experience, knowledge and global outreach and, through partnerships, such as with the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, TRAFFIC, and TRACCC under a USAID-funded programme of work Targeting Natural Resource Corruption, we can provide insights to inform the broader anti-corruption and governance reform agendas. At the same time, WWF is committed to expand its network of civil society actors engaged in conservation, anti-corruption and human rights in order to strengthen the global voice and actions against corruption.

By 2021 – Professionalise rangers: Building on its recent publication “Life on the Frontline: A global survey on the working conditions of rangers”, WWF is committed to supporting further research into ranger welfare, including expanding the geographical focus of the research to date. Through partnership with, and influence of, government and non-government stakeholders, WWF will address identified gaps to ensure significant improvements in ranger’s living and working conditions, with a particular focus on: ensuring adequate training and equipment; improving access to medical care and basic necessities; providing 100% insurance coverage for serious injury or death; and building trust between rangers and indigenous peoples and local communities.

By 2030 – Support communities: Communities play an essential role in conserving biodiversity and tackling illegal wildlife trade. WWF commits to promoting multi-stakeholder approaches in conservation, including supporting indigenous peoples and local communities in the recognition of their procedural rights as well as their rights to the lands and territories that they have been the guardians of for generations. We aim to support at least half a billion hectares of these Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) to be recognised by 2030.

By 2022 – Close ivory markets: Ending the trade in elephant ivory is a global priority for WWF, and for the future of African elephants. We are pursuing an ambitious multi-year initiative to ensure that (i) China and other key Asian ivory markets are closed by governments, backed up by strong enforcement; and (ii) consumer demand for ivory is massively reduced through innovative, targeted awareness and education campaigns. We have so far allocated significant WWF funds in pursuit of these goals and committed to major WWF and TRAFFIC programmes in Asia including China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. We are scaling up fundraising efforts to leverage a further £21 million.

By 2022 – Double tiger numbers: As one of WWF’s largest conservation programmes, we are working with governments, businesses, organisations and local communities towards the global goal to double the number of wild tigers by 2022. Illegal tiger trade is one of the biggest threats to wild tigers; the parts and products of over 1,755 tigers were seized in 15 years across Asia. Our global tiger programme will work over the next 4 years to close markets in key Asian countries, improve intelligence-led enforcement and enhance transboundary cooperation; promote the employment of new tools to facilitate law enforcement and understanding of trade routes; and to deliver behavioural change messages to reduce the consumption and use of tiger parts and products across key consumer states.

By 2030 – Secure green corridors: Whilst delivering urgent action to address specific illegal wildlife trade challenges must remain a core focus, we need to protect the landscapes on which species threatened by the illegal wildlife trade depend. Globally, we need to tackle the key threats to wildlife and human wellbeing by recognising the interlinkages between ecosystem services, wildlife conservation and human development. WWF has the ambition to secure mega wildlife corridors and landscapes across the African continent, with particular emphasis on KAZA (Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area), TRIDOM (Tri-National Dja-Odzala-Minkébé) and SOKNOT (Southern Kenya Northern Tanzania Transboundary Conservation Area). Across these three landscapes WWF provides funding, technical support and helps to convene governments, business partners and civil society to protect and restore critical wildlife corridors in order to secure core populations of endangered species, enable the safe movement of wildlife across landscapes and secure the local livelihoods of millions of people.

Youth for Wildlife Conservation

We commit to fully engage and empower early-career conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts aged 18-30 years old in matters related to Illegal Wildlife Trade, to support them in their conservation efforts and advocate for better decision making and policies that benefit people and wildlife.

Zoological Society of London (ZSL)

ZSL pledges to:

• empower local communities affected by illegal wildlife trade in our focal landscapes, by supporting sustainable livelihoods and helping them play a role in efforts to combat illegal wildlife trade
• work with the technology sector to accelerate the development of appropriate tools for field deployment that assist enforcement agents in monitoring and surveillance activities along the illegal wildlife trade chain. We will help foster a cross sectoral coalition to lead the way in sharing data and knowledge; defining common standards and supporting a community of practice that empowers others to harness the power of technology to combat illegal wildlife trade
• work with its government partners to build capacity and implement SMART in the areas it supports, both marine and terrestrial protected or otherwise, to improve the effectiveness of monitoring and enforcement activities and better protect wildlife at source
• continue to support law enforcement agencies in its focal landscapes to better target the criminal networks engaged in wildlife crime
• develop and expand cooperation with the private sector and to improve cross sectoral engagement between private enterprise, government, NGOs, and multilateral agencies. ZSL will engage with a broad network of stakeholders, including the private sector, to develop and implement new models to promote coexistence between people and wildlife and to combat illegal wildlife trade
• improve the scientific understanding of drivers of demand for wildlife products and to ensure that all its demand-reduction programmes are evidence based

1. Convention on Migratory Species/East Asia-Australasia Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) Intergovernmental Task Force to Address Illegal Hunting, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds in the EAAF. ↩