Why illegal wildlife trafficking persists globally – Experts

Stakeholders have expressed serious concerns that despite two decades of concerted efforts and actions at the international, national and local levels to combat illegal trade, wildlife trafficking is persisting globally.

They also regretted that thousands of wildlife species are already affected and a wide range of distinct markets, while technology accelerates the capacity of traffickers to reach international wildlife global markets.

Speaking at the launch of the Wildlife and Forest Crimes Analytic Toolkits Report for Nigeria in Abuja, Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, regretted that 20 years ago, there had been an increasing rate of wildlife crimes, like poaching, and illegal logging and that of endangered species in the country.

Lawal observed that the crimes not only threaten our environment but also undermine the rules of law, fuel corruption, and deprive communities of their livelihoods, as well as undermine public health and national security in general, saying the report is timely to provide a roadmap in fighting the illegal acts.

He declared that one of the key findings of the report stresses the need for enhanced coordination among national agencies, improved law enforcement capacity, and stronger legal frameworks. As a country, we are currently reviewing these by signing the Cooperation Agreement Framework with the Cameroon Republic.

“We’ll implement the recommendations in partnership with our international and domestic stakeholders. However, the report will provide the federal government with a valuable guide as we work to improve our efforts to fulfil our obligations under international conventions, such as CITES.”

On his part, Danilo Campisi of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, UNODC, while sharing some findings, stated that Nigeria is the sole transit route of illegal wildlife trafficking in the West African Sub-region, adding, over the years, there has been increasing activities between the Benin Republic and Nigeria.

Campisi noted that it has become crucial for the country and other West African countries, stressing that the illegal wildlife trade is carried out in the seaports, airports, and other means, and since the country is the transit route, they have swung into action, aimed at strengthening court proceedings.

Making a presentation on their research findings, Mr. Giovanni Broussard of the UNODC Global Programme for Crimes that Affect the Environment, stated that the document is meant to provide analysis of counter-based recommendations to national challenges in addressing wildlife and forest crimes.

According to Mr. Broussard, until recently, with the increased seizures of wildlife species and products, and persecutions by the Nigeria Customs, there were very few cases that got to court, ‘so we are calling for the establishment of an Environmental Crimes Unit with the Federal Ministry of Justice to oversee major cases.