World’s remaining wild tiger range countries agree on Customs and police enforcement measures for nearly-extinct species

Brussels, 14 February 2012

Joint Press Release

Police and Customs heads from 13 Asian countries agreed today to tighten controls and improve cross-border cooperation to curb the illegal smuggling of tigers and other critically endangered species. The accord came at the conclusion of the two-day international “Heads of Police and Customs Seminar on Tiger Crime”, which brought together top Police and Customs officers from countries that still have tigers living in the wild.

Hosted by the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), and organized by INTERPOL, in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO), and with technical and financial support from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Secretariat and the World Bank, the Tiger Seminar objective was for participants to agree on a robust set of law enforcement-based solutions to protect tigers and other rare and highly threatened species.

“The tale of the tiger is not simply about conservation, it is also about crime,” said Yury Fedotov, UNODC Executive Director. “It concerns transnational organized crime, high profits, widespread corruption, money laundering, fraud, counterfeiting, and violence.”

The Tiger Seminar brought together 26 delegates from 13 tiger range countries as well as senior representatives from ICCWC members and key partner organizations operating in the field of tiger conservation and wildlife crime. A critical Tiger Seminar activity was to raise awareness among Customs and police authorities of the impact wildlife trafficking has on wild tigers.

“We must take immediate and urgent action to save these magnificent animals from extinction,” said Kunio Mikuriya, WCO Secretary General. “The global Customs community is firmly committed to working closely with its partners to stop criminal trafficking in endangered species and other environment sensitive goods, by ensuring more vigilant and effective border enforcement among a range of measures.”

Environmental crime is a serious international problem with a detrimental impact on the global economy and security. Criminals violate national and international laws through increasingly sophisticated techniques and highly organized networks. Their activities directly affect human health, and threaten the environment and global biodiversity.

"Our efforts to fight tiger crime must not just result in seizures; they must result in prosecutions, convictions and strong penalties to stop the flow of contraband,” said John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General. “If we get the enforcement system right for the tiger, we will help save countless other species together with their ecosystems."

Tiger conservation experts presented an up-to-date situation analysis of wild tiger conservation threats, particularly worldwide and Asian trans-national organized crime links to wildlife crimes, including the trade in tigers and tiger parts.

"Wildlife and other environmental criminals too often operate in remote areas with impunity, evading detection, and circumventing full prosecution under the law,” said Keshav Varma, Program Director for the World Bank Global Tiger Initiative. “The World Bank and the Global Tiger Initiative fully support the resolve of Customs and police officials from tiger range countries to collaborate on sharing intelligence, and we applaud efforts to intensify pressure on the organizers of criminal networks and corrupt officials who shield them."

Working with environmental crime experts, senior Customs and police officials from participating tiger range countries agreed on cross-border action points, opportunities and cooperation strategies, after discussing national priorities, challenges, and reviewing best practices.

“This important seminar has highlighted the environmental crime challenges facing senior law enforcement officers and the need for enhanced international cooperation,” said Jean-Michel Louboutin, INTERPOL Executive Director of Police Services. “Criminals cannot prosper from abusing our shared natural heritage.”

Tiger Seminar attendees discussed the need to develop a coordinated response to combat tiger crime.

“We need to work collectively through our respective environmental programmes,” added Jean-Michel Louboutin. “In this context, the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation in Singapore will from 2014 provide a key platform to fight environmental crimes in the 21st century.”

The Seminar also recognized INTERPOL’s Project Predator, which aims to develop the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies and form National Environmental Security Task Forces.

“If we lose an emblematic species like the tiger, mankind will be acknowledging that it is prepared to lose any animal on the planet; this must not be allowed to happen,” added Yury Fedotov. “By our actions, we must show that we have the capacity, the ability and the commitment to protect other species living on this planet.”

TIGER SEMINAR BACKGROUND

Compelled by the need to urgently respond to the burgeoning threat of environmental crime, in 2010 five intergovernmental organizations formed the International Consortium to Combat Wildlife Crime ICCWC. These organizations are: the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), INTERPOL, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the World Bank and the World Customs Organization (WCO). The consortium seeks to scale up wildlife law enforcement effectiveness, by intelligence-led interdiction and advanced investigative methods.