Roundup: UN urges action to tackle wildlife and forest crime

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Tuesday urged world action to tackle wildlife and forest crime, as it released a new report assessing the crime globally for the first time.

The poaching and illegal trade of thousands of species across the globe present real environmental dangers and undermine the rule of law by potentially fuelling conflict, the UNODC said at the release of its inaugural World Wildlife Crime Report.

The report, part of UNODC's ongoing Global Programme on Wildlife and Forest Crime, also urged shared responsibility in tackling this crime given how products made from illicit flora and fauna such as fashion items, furniture, food, and pets, may be hidden in plain sight.

One of the main messages the new report aimed to convey is that wildlife and forest crime is not limited to certain countries or regions, but is a truly global phenomenon.

The report also looked at eight case studies of species products sorted by seven industrial sectors that make use of wild sourced materials across the world.

The trafficking of wildlife is increasingly recognized as both a specialized area of organized crime and a significant threat to many plant and animal species, and the World Wildlife Crime Report represented the first global assessment of its kind.

The report built on information taken from World WISE: a recently-unveiled data platform, which contains over 164,000 seizures related to wildlife crime from 120 countries.

One of the key observations that the database illustrates is the extreme diversity of this illegal activity: nearly 7,000 species are included in the seizures, yet no single one represents more than 6 percent of the total, nor does a single country constitute the source of more than 15 percent of the seized shipments.

"One of the critical messages to emerge from this research is that wildlife and forest crime is not limited to certain countries or regions," said Yury Fedotov, the executive director of UNODC.

Launched at this week's Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, the report was developed by UNODC with data provided by partner organizations under the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime, including the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and the World Customs Organization.

"This comprehensive global report is rooted in the best data and case studies available, is backed by in-depth analysis, and demonstrates a heightened sense of rigor in the way in which we report on wildlife crime," said CITES Secretary-General John E. Scanlon.

The report "shows the extensive involvement of transnational organized criminal groups in these highly destructive crimes and the pervasive impact of corruption, demonstrating that combating wildlife crime warrants even greater attention and resources at all levels," he added.

The report included an analysis of legal and illegal markets of wildlife and forest products, which UNODC said can be useful in addressing vulnerabilities in the legal trade and promote better global regulatory systems.

It also highlighted how gaps in legislation, law enforcement and criminal justice systems present serious issues.

"If we want to get serious about wildlife and forest crime, we must shore up our collective responses and close these gaps," Fedotov said, adding that as with all forms of organized crime and trafficking, criminals will always look to exploit systems where they can.

The report, through analysis of trade sectors, markets and representative case studies, also shed light on seven specific areas to illustrate the scale of wildlife and forest crime: seafood; pets, zoos and breeding; food, medicine and tonics; art, decor and jewellery; cosmetics and perfume; fashion; and furniture. Endit