Not to be missed!
Project GAPIN on its way
During the next months, the WCO will be running a project in the fight against illicit trafficking in wildlife and against related corruption. This project is called “Project GAPIN” (abbreviation of Great APes and INtegrity) and was publically announced by Sweden as the generous sponsor of the project during the 1st Capacity Building Committee held in Brussels end of September 2010.
Increasing wildlife crime is a matter of grave concern to governments and the international community and so is related corruption. Customs administrations can play an important role in the fight against these miserable circumstances. The project is therefore jointly carried out by the Compliance/Facilitation and the Capacity Building Directorate of the WCO Secretariat, a number of Member Countries from three WCO regions – namely the East and Southern Africa Region, the West and Central Africa Region and the North of Africa, Near and Middle East Region - and the respective WCO Regional Offices on Capacity Building (ROCBs), Regional Training Centers RTCs) and Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs).
The project objectives are
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Building up enforcement capacity of Customs officers for enforcing CITES at the borders while focusing on the importance of integrity;
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Preventing, investigating, and repressing illegal trade in protected wildlife – in particular great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos);
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Promoting communication and cooperation among the participating countries;
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Bringing awareness of Customs officers in the area of wildlife enforcement;
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Gaining insights on the trends of illegal trade of several species of wildlife in the selected regions.
The project description indicates in its conclusion:
