The high level inaugural UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) meeting in Nairobi ended on Friday with revelations that illegal trade in wildlife could be financing terrorism.
To curb the menace, UNEA called for reinforced actions and enhanced international coordination to counter the illegal trade in wildlife, which poses threats to the environment and sustainable development.
The resolution strongly encourages governments to implement their commitments to fight the illegal trade through, among other things, targeted actions to eradicate supply, transit and demand for illegal wildlife products.
It promotes zero-tolerance policies and the development of sustainable and alternative livelihoods for communities adversely affected by the illegal trade.
According to a report by UNEP and Interpol titled “The Environmental Crime Crisis”, released during UNEA, global environmental crime is worth up to US$213 billion each year and is helping to finance criminal, militia and terrorist groups. This financing is threatening the security and sustainable development of many nations.
UNEP was requested to undertake a number of activities to further efforts in this area, including: providing an analysis of the environmental impacts of the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products to the next UNEA session.
The global environmental body has also been mandated to raise public awareness about the issue and to work closely with the International Consortium to Combat Wildlife Crime, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Interpol, Cites, UNDP and the Secretary General’s Rule of Law Group.
UNEP was also requested to support governments to develop and implement environmental rule of law mechanisms at the national level.
UNEA also featured a ministerial dialogue on the illegal trade in wildlife, during which participants moved beyond the current attention focused on the poaching crisis facing African elephants and rhinos, to address a wider range of threats from illegal harvesting and trafficking, including timber, fish and other wildlife.