Wildlife trafficking
Introduction (1/2)
Almost all countries in the world have adopted, over the years, legal provisions to regulate trade in wildlife. The international frontrunner in this regard was the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) which was concluded in 1973. This Convention, however, deals with (the restriction of) legal trade in endangered animal and plant species and does not have the objective of combatting wildlife trafficking. In fact, there is not even a single international agency or body that deals with wildlife trafficking: CITES keeps itself busy with ensuring that the rules of the Convention are properly applied, which brings it, from time to time, in contact with illegal wildlife trade activities. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) deals with illegal fishing activities, the International Tropical Timber Regulation (ITTO) with illegal logging of tropical trees. INTERPOL, the international police organisation, deals with the investigation of criminal activities generally. It has adopted wildlife trade as one of its priority topics, in view of the growing relevance of criminal activities, in particular of organised crime. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has neither the financial nor human resources to play a leading role in the fight against wildlife trafficking. Private organisations such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), or TRAFFIC, play a very important role in combating wildlife trafficking, but are not, by their very nature, and their financial and human resources, able to assume a leading role in this battle.
These structural problems are mirrored in the legal rules against wildlife trafficking. There are no harmonised rules with regard to the fight against this form of trade. Investigation powers for customs and police authorities, confiscation and seizure rules for animals or plants, and sanctions differ widely. Monitoring and reporting provisions are not aligned, within states or at a regional or international level. In a number of countries there is a lack of the necessary scientific and technical expertise to support customs, police or environmental authorities to allow distinguishing, for example, between a parrot which belongs to a highly endangered species and a parrot which is not particularly protected.
