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Wildlife Crime and New York Launch of World Wildlife Crime Report
Co-organized by the Permanent Missions of Germany and Gabon, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
The launch provides a key opportunity to take stock of international efforts to address wildlife crime, as we work towards implementing the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN last fall, which in Goal 15 calls upon all governments to "Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products,"and to "Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities." Wildlife and forest crime destroys diversity and hinders sustainable development on our planet. Billions of dollars in profit are made from this crime. In 2015, 1,175 rhinos were poached in South Africa, while Central Africa has now lost 64 per cent of its elephants in less than a decade. The industrial scale of the killing, the heinous murder of park rangers, the seizures of shipments measured not in kilos, but tons, point to organized crime's involvement in these acts of unconscionable greed. If we are to conserve animal and plant species for successive generations, we must take on the criminals and end the impunity often associated with this crime. To achieve this, an integrated approach is needed to reduce demand and interrupt supply through the seizure of shipments, assets and proceeds.
