Interpol conducts international wildlife crime control meeting

[Guest guest]

Chers collègues,

 

Veuillez trouver ci-joint le dernier communiqué de presse diffusé par

INTERPOL. Les traductions seront publiées sur tous les sites web au fur et à

mesure de leur disponibilité. (

http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2009/PR2009110.asp )

 

Cordialement,

 

Bureau de Presse

 

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International agencies meet to develop global strategy to combat wildlife

crime

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VIENNA, Austria - Representatives from the secretariats of the Convention on

the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), INTERPOL, the UN

Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO)

are holding their first-ever joint meeting in Vienna to design strategies

intended to prevent and combat the illegal trade in wild animals and plants.

 

Officials from the World Bank are also taking part in the meeting (17-18

November), reflecting the growing appreciation of the substantial criminal

financial gains associated with illegal trade and the involvement of

money-laundering.

 

Wildlife crime takes many forms and involves a wide range of plants and

animals. It may start with illegal logging in a forest and then stretch

across to the other side of the world, where the wood is converted into

furniture. Along the way, the contraband will cross many borders, may be

concealed using sophisticated methods, and officials may be corrupted to

facilitate the smuggling.

 

Some wild populations of species, such as rhinoceroses and tigers, are

literally on the brink of extinction, and the high value of wildlife

products ranging from caviar to timber makes illegal trade extremely

profitable, generating millions of dollars each year whilst impoverishing

local communities. Organized criminal groups are associated with this trade

and the wildlife law enforcement community faces daily challenges including

heavily-armed poaching gangs, threats, harassment and bribery attempts.

 

Due to its international nature, forest rangers, customs and police all have

a role to play and greater international co-operation is clearly needed.

 

Willem Wijnstekers, Secretary-General of CITES, said “I am delighted that

these major international bodies are coming together in an example that I

hope will be followed in due course at national and regional levels.”

 

Underlining the need for stronger co-operation INTERPOL Secretary General

Ronald K. Noble said, “The threat posed by wildlife crime is often

underestimated by the wider public and also by law enforcement. This meeting

will provide a strong platform for all of us to identify key areas where

national and international organization can better work together to address

gaps in responses and develop solutions.”

 

Secretary General of the WCO, Kunio Mikuriya, commented, “The WCO

appreciates and fully supports the initiative to set up a strategic

blueprint that will lay the ground for a co-ordinated approach to curb this

global menace.”

 

This strategic meeting aims to promote greater national and international

attention to such crimes, to find out what is driving different types of

wildlife crime, consider how local communities can be better engaged and to

offer a roadmap that countries and agencies can follow to structure their

response. It will review the legal framework to prevent and control wildlife

crime, identify threats and networks, examine the main drivers of supply and

demand, and look at the factors enabling trafficking – and how to

counter-act them.

 

The outcome of the meeting is expected to be a comprehensive strategy

document that will be submitted for endorsement to policy-makers and senior

management of the four international agencies.