Tag Archives: Poaching
14 November 2014
The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) released Guidelines on Methods and Procedures for Ivory Sampling and Laboratory Analysis in support of the deployment of forensic technology to combat elephant poaching. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | New UN guidelines issued to counter ‘critically high’ levels of elephant poaching in Africa
Source: ICCWC-UNODC | Guidelines on Methods and Procedures for Ivory Sampling and Laboratory Analysis | 2014
14 October 2014
During a visit to the Garamba National Park, top UN official Mr. Martin Kobler, who heads the UN Organisation Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), urged national and international actors to step up efforts in preserving the natural resources and rich biodiversity of the park located in the north-eastern part of the country. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | DR Congo: UN envoy urges increased efforts to protect biodiversity of Garamba Park
14 May 2014
On 13 May at a special event in Vienna, Yury Fedotov, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), urged the international community to ‘come together at the highest political level’ to end wildlife and forest crime. Fedotov further warned that ‘[t]he rate of poaching is such that a number of iconic and lesser known species risk being wiped out over the next decade – and we will all bear responsibility for those losses.’ It is a shared responsibility to prevent such losses, stressed Fedotov. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | UN crime chief urges global action to disrupt ‘ruthless’ illegal wildlife trade
17 February 2014
At the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade on 13 February, forty-six countries agreed to a declaration to fight the illegal wildlife trade, which results in the deaths of thousands of elephants, rhinos and other endangered species per year. The declaration states that the trade has a ‘significant scale and detrimental economic, social and environmental consequences.’ The countries agreed to address corruption, adopt legislation for stricter penalties on poachers, and recruit more law enforcement officers, among other actions. Additionally, in the declaration states promise to not procure wildlife products officially. Foreign secretary William Hague described the conference as unprecedented, historic and a turning point in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade.
Source: The Guardian | Global accord on combatting illegal wildlife trade agreed by 46 nations
14 January 2014
On 6 January 2014, six tonnes of confiscated ivory (ornaments, tusks and carvings) were publicly destroyed by Chinese authorities in the city of Dongguan, in an effort to combat the illegal trade in elephant tusks.
UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Achim Steiner said: “[t]he largest remaining land mammal on the planet is facing one of the greatest crises to hit the species in decades (…) Yet, there is reason for optimism. International cooperation is paving the way towards improved law enforcement and increased efforts to reduce demand. These efforts need to be stepped up and strengthened to produce the desired results (…) We have also seen the destruction of ivory stockpiles across range, transit and demand states: in the Philippines, the Gabon, the United States and China among others. As well as create critical public awareness, such actions send a clear message that wildlife crime will not be tolerated.” (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | UN agency praises China’s destruction of ivory stockpile
Source: UNEP News Centre | UN Applauds China Efforts to Combat Illegal Ivory Trade