CAMBRIDGE, 26 May 2016 (UNODC): The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime this week published its inaugural World Wildlife Crime Report, the first global assessment of its kind.
The study highlights how the poaching and illegal trade of thousands of species worldwide presents real environmental dangers and ultimately undermines the rule of law by potentially fuelling conflict.
The report—part of UNODC's ongoing Global Programme on Wildlife and Forest Crime—looks at eight case studies of species products sorted by seven industrial sectors that make use of wild sourced materials across the world.
Information has been extracted from 164,000 seizures contained in a database of wildlife crime cases in 120 countries. They cover almost 7,000 different species, with no country the source for more than 15 per cent of any seized shipments.
According to UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov, who launched the report: “The desperate plight of iconic species at the hands of poachers has deservedly captured the world’s attention, and none too soon.
“One of the critical messages to emerge from this research is that wildlife and forest crime is not limited to certain countries or regions. It is not a trade involving exotic goods from foreign lands being shipped to faraway markets.”
The report also offers an analysis of legal and illegal markets for wildlife and forest products, to assist in addressing vulnerabilities in the legal trade and promote better global regulatory systems.
It highlights too how gaps in legislation, law enforcement and criminal justice systems present serious issues.
“This UNODC study provides important insight into the pervasive criminality that undermines international efforts to ensure that wildlife and forest trade is legal and sustainable,” said Steven Broad, TRAFFIC’s Executive Director and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for the report.
“UNODC’s analysis of this challenge adds important weight to the case for urgent and effective action by governments and businesses to tackle this critical threat to biodiversity, security and livelihoods of people around the world.”
The World Wildlife Crime Report is available from UNODC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB2ZpUvfTek&feature=youtu.be
