'Elephants in the Dust' report - UNEP
'Elephants in the Dust' report - UNEP
'Elephants in the Dust' report - UNEP
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Look<strong>in</strong>g at seizures of 800 kg or more that were made <strong>in</strong> 2009,<br />
2010 and 2011, <strong>the</strong>re were 8, 9 and 17 such seizures, respectively,<br />
<strong>in</strong> those years, total<strong>in</strong>g nearly 61 tonnes of ivory. The <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g<br />
pattern of large movements of ivory represents <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>volvement of<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternational crim<strong>in</strong>al syndicates <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> trade operat<strong>in</strong>g through<br />
sophisticated networks that l<strong>in</strong>k Africa with Asia. To address this<br />
grow<strong>in</strong>g trend, <strong>in</strong>creased law enforcement efforts and <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
cooperation is a prerequisite. For this reason, <strong>in</strong>vestigation of<br />
large-scale ivory seizures should be recognized as <strong>the</strong> s<strong>in</strong>gle most<br />
important ivory trade crime for urgent follow-up attention.<br />
Unfortunately, it is rare for <strong>in</strong>vestigations follow<strong>in</strong>g large-scale<br />
ivory seizures to be made, and when <strong>the</strong>y are, <strong>the</strong>y are generally<br />
<strong>in</strong>effective. As a result <strong>the</strong> entire crime cha<strong>in</strong> is rarely addressed<br />
and arrests, prosecutions and convictions of <strong>the</strong> crim<strong>in</strong>als <strong>in</strong>volved<br />
rarely happen. The entire enforcement cha<strong>in</strong> must work<br />
toge<strong>the</strong>r. There is a need for better communication, collaboration<br />
and coord<strong>in</strong>ation on <strong>the</strong>se cases at <strong>the</strong> national and <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
levels. Us<strong>in</strong>g controlled delivery techniques and wildlife<br />
forensic technology, as well as <strong>the</strong> prompt exchange of relevant<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation to facilitate <strong>in</strong>vestigations <strong>in</strong> all implicated countries<br />
is of paramount importance. This should be followed by<br />
successful prosecutions and effective deterrent penalties. The<br />
International Consortium on Combat<strong>in</strong>g Wildlife Crime (IC-<br />
CWC) can play an important role <strong>in</strong> this regard. ICCWC br<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>tergovernmental bodies that have a mandate<br />
from <strong>the</strong>ir member States to engage <strong>in</strong> or support wildlife law<br />
enforcement, to ensure a well coord<strong>in</strong>ated law enforcement response<br />
to combat illegal wildlife trade. Each ICWWC partner<br />
agency br<strong>in</strong>g its unique skills and resources to <strong>the</strong> Consortium<br />
and deals with a different part of <strong>the</strong> system, which all need<br />
to work toge<strong>the</strong>r to secure successful enforcement action. Unless<br />
a mechanism for broad collaboration is funded and implemented,<br />
<strong>the</strong> illegal trade <strong>in</strong> ivory will cont<strong>in</strong>ue, result<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
subsequent local eradications of elephants <strong>in</strong> parts of Africa.<br />
Departure po<strong>in</strong>ts and dest<strong>in</strong>ations<br />
The two countries most heavily implicated as dest<strong>in</strong>ations for<br />
illicit trade <strong>in</strong> ivory are Ch<strong>in</strong>a and Thailand. In terms of trade<br />
routes and transit countries or territories through which large<br />
quantities of ivory are flow<strong>in</strong>g from Africa to Asian consumers,<br />
Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia, <strong>the</strong> Philipp<strong>in</strong>es and Viet Nam are<br />
<strong>the</strong> paramount countries and territories of concern. Mov<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
source countries and exit po<strong>in</strong>ts for large amounts of ivory leav<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Figure 13: Large-scale ivory shipments orig<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g from Africa<br />
have almost exclusively been seized <strong>in</strong> conta<strong>in</strong>ers at major ports<br />
<strong>in</strong> Asia, where <strong>the</strong>re is an established customs <strong>in</strong>spection systems.<br />
Shipments have ma<strong>in</strong>ly orig<strong>in</strong>ated from not only Dar es<br />
Salaam or Mombasa, but also West Africa.<br />
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