Building wildlife law enforcement capacity to combat illegal wildlife trade in South-East Asia (Via Herp Digest)

Building wildlife law enforcement capacity to combat illegal wildlife trade in South-East Asia
Monday, January 17, 2011 at 0:01
TRAFFIC in CITES, Conservation awareness, Enforcement, Smuggling in Asia

Law enforcers from across South-East Asia will receive training in identification of reptiles and other topics relevant to policing wildlife trade in the region Click photo to enlarge © TRAFFIC Southeast Asia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 17th January 2010-Law enforcers from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam are being trained this week on how to identify threatened reptile species and familiarizing themselves with international wildlife protection policies that will enable them to combat the multimillion dollar illegal wildlife trade in the ASEAN region. 

South-East Asia has long been a hotspot in the multi-billion dollar global trade of wildlife but many wild species, including timber, birds, reptiles and mammals are illegally traded in the region. 

According to statistics compiled by the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN), more than 16.9 tonnes of wildlife products were seized in around 200 law enforcement actions across South-East Asia between January and September 2010. 


The ASEAN-WEN also estimates that 13,000 tonnes of turtles are illegally shipped to China every year from ASEAN countries. 

Experts from ASEAN-WEN and TRAFFIC-Southeast Asia will serve as trainers during the four-day "Training of Trainers" workshop where a number of illegal trade case studies will be presented. 

"If left unchecked, currents trends in the illegal wildlife trade will result in massive and irrevocable biodiversity loss. The Training of Trainer workshop presents a unique opportunity to reduce this trend and to safeguard the region's precious plant and animal resources for generations to come" said Mr. Rodrigo U. Fuentes, Executive Director of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB). 

Mr Manop Lauprasert, Senior Officer of the ASEAN-WEN Program Coordination Unit added "the criminals involved in the illegal wildlife trade are well organized and financed. It's only by working together and pooling our skills, knowledge and reso!
urces across the region can we hope to combat wildlife trafficking effectively."

The current course aims to equip wildlife law enforcers with skills in identifying threatened reptile species that are commonly traded, familiarize them with international regulations governing wildlife trade, such as those under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), and upgrade participants' skills in conducting their own training courses on wildlife regulation. 

Regional Director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Dr William Schaedla said, "We really are starting with the basics.

Most law enforcement personnel never get any training in areas related to wildlife crime. With this course, we're imparting necessary skills to the right people."

It is the second in a series of training workshops that seek to involve and enhance the capabilities of ASEAN and neighbouring countries in the understanding and application of taxonomic knowledge as part of a project on "Taxonomic Capacity Building and Governance for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity" funded by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund. 

The project aims to promote the science of taxonomy which is increasingly considered a fundamental tool required by the global community to implement the Millennium Development Goals and the development targets set by the World Summit for Sustainable Development. 

The current training course takes place from 17th-21st January at the Novotel Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and will be conducted by the ASEAN Centre for!
Biodiversity (ACB) and TRAFFIC Southeast Asia with support from Japan's Ministry of Environment, and the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN).