Inama means ‘wild animals’ in the language of the Zambian Bemba tribe. The INAMA Project was initiated in 2014 in the framework of the Environment Programme to tackle Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT), with the objective of mitigating this global scourge by strengthening the capacities of targeted Customs administrations in Asia, South America and Africa, to ensure an enhanced enforcement of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
IWT has a devastating impact on the environment, the social and economic development of the affected countries, and international security. Wildlife crime is one of the largest organized criminal activities, and finances transnational organized crime groups that are often involved in other illegal commodities such as narcotics and weapons.
Current phase
The current phase of the INAMA Project was initiated in September 2019 for a duration of four years, and is funded by the United States (US) Department of State.
With 17 beneficiary Administrations in sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Asia, it aims at combatting IWT, by:
- Enhancing training capacity;
- Improving risk management and case selection;
- Fostering interagency and international cooperation;
- Strengthening operational capacities.
The expected enhanced enforcement capacity in the targeted Administrations should lead to more successful IWT enforcement operations and seizures.
Several online and face-to-face activities are envisaged, such as:
- Regional IWT workshops;
- Risk Management technical support national missions;
- Risk Management international workshop, with the participation of all beneficiary countries;
- National support missions and trainings on legislation, enforcement and interagency cooperation in the field of IWT.
Some of the activities are implemented with the support of the COPES Programme, and the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC).
Previous phases
The INAMA Project builds on the Great Apes and Integrity Project (GAPIN), which ran between 2010 and 2013.
Since its inception in 2014, and in a joint effort to tackle IWT, the INAMA Project has provided support to more than 30 countries and has benefitted from funding from:
- The US Department of State;
- Swedish International Development Agency (Sida);
- The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ);
- The CITES Secretariat.