Transparency data

Tackling the Illegal Wildlife Trade: objectives 2018 to 2019

Published 20 September 2018

1. Overview

The illegal wildlife trade (IWT) poses a serious, long-term risk to the global economy and international security. Tackling this trade is critical to both protecting wildlife improving the lives of the vulnerable communities who live alongside it, and to combatting corruption and international crime. This work supports the objectives of the National Security Strategy and the UK Aid Strategy by promoting global prosperity, building stability overseas, and tackling serious organised crime.

2. FCO objectives on the illegal wildlife trade

The UK is a global leader on tackling the illegal wildlife trade. We hosted the first International Conference on the illegal wildlife trade in 2014 and will host the conference again in October 2018. The FCO seeks to support this work, and to complement the Governments Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund to support our policy objectives to:

• achieve ambitious international agreements on the illegal wildlife trade
• build awareness of the illegal wildlife trade amongst decision makers and the public
• reduce demand for illegal wildlife trade products, strengthening enforcement, supporting effective legal frameworks, and developing sustainable livelihoods for communities affected by the illegal wildlife trade
• support cross-border law enforcement, including collaboration

3. Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the illegal wildlife trade

The illegal wildlife trade is global issue, worth up to £17 billion per year. It is a highly organised, sophisticated criminal industry.

The criminals who run this trade do more than damage wildlife and put the world’s most endangered species at risk. The trade fuels the corruption and crime which hold back development for some of the poorest nations. It damages economic growth and sustainable development, and undermines good governance and the rule of law. Tackling it will help to improve the lives of the vulnerable communities who live alongside it.

The FCO illegal wildlife trade programme utilises ODA-eligible funds only.

4. Tackling the illegal wildlife trade project objectives

This programme supports the above and helps to advance UN Sustainable Development Goals. In particular it concentrates on the following key work streams to:

• support the objectives of the London IWT Conference to take urgent action to tackle illegal wildlife trade by strengthening end to end law enforcement, building coalitions, and closing markets for illegally traded wildlife
• focus on ivory by strengthening legislation and law enforcement, cross-border collaboration and tackling displacement, and reducing demand through public awareness and behaviour change
• build capacity and engagement within partner governments
• support cross-border law enforcement across key regions
• raise awareness of IWT with local audiences

5. Tackling the illegal wildlife trade programme during financial year 2017 to 2018

There were a small number of projects under the strengthening environmental security programme strand of the FCO’s policy programme in financial year 2017 to 2018 which were dedicated to tackling the illegal wildlife trade. Some successes included:

• providing technical advice to the Vietnamese Government contributing to the government’s more effective action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, which included an increase in seizures and a commitment to end bear farming by 2020
• providing technical advice and equipment to the Virunga Park Foundation and Democratic Republic of Congo National Park authorities, modernising communications and information management systems, contributing to more effective security throughout the Virunda National Park and increasing capacity to combat poaching activities