ASEAN-WEN Support Program, China hosts ASEAN to close net on wildlife crime

Please see attached a Press release on “China-ASEAN Wildlife Law Enforcement Cooperation” exchange in Guangzhou and Shenzhen that just finished on 14 Sept 2007. This cooperation was aimed to strengthen regional cooperation in the fight against wildlife crime. Altogether, eight officials representing police, Customs and environmental agencies from Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines joined their Chinese counterparts to address the issue of cross border illegal wildlife trade.




ASEAN-WEN Support Program
China hosts ASEAN to close net on wildlife crime

Press Release

September 14, 2007 (Guanzhou) – China has wrapped up an historic five-day exchange with law enforcement officers from five ASEAN countries to jointly address one of the region’s major crime issues. The “China-ASEAN Wildlife Law Enforcement Cooperation” exchange in Guangzhou and Shenzhen aimed to strengthen regional
cooperation in the fight against wildlife crime. Altogether, eight officials representing police, Customs and environmental agencies from Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines joined their Chinese counterparts to address the issue of cross border illegal wildlife trade.

China is a major consumer of Southeast Asia’s wild animals and plants and has vowed to cooperate with its ASEAN neighbors to help reduce the illegal trade, which has global connections to other major consumer markets in the EU and North America. The exchange is the first time ASEAN officials have been invited to China to directly engage with their Chinese counterparts to discuss strategies for addressing what has become one of the world’s most profitable forms of black market trade.

ASEAN officials representing the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEANWEN)
traveled to Guangdong Province on September 10th and met with Chinese officers from the Forestry Police, Customs and the State Forestry Administration over 4 days, while also paying visits to major Chinese air and sea customs points in Shenzhen and Huangpu.

In Huangpu, China opened up its highly secure confiscations warehouse to the visiting officials, displaying wildlife seizures that included several tons of ivory, snake skins and many other wildlife parts. ASEAN representatives were also taken to a market in Shenzhen, where Chinese officials are monitoring possible sales in protected wildlife.

“We want to be open and honest about what’s going on here,” said Wan Ziming, Director of the Enforcement and Training Division of China’s State Forestry
Administration. “Everyone is blaming China for consuming Southeast Asia’s wildlife
and wants China to solve the problem. The fact is, we are trying but we can’t do this
alone. We need to work together with other countries, with ASEAN-WEN, to stop the
illegal trade.”

China’s desire for further engagement with ASEAN-WEN in order to protect biodiversity was welcomed by international conservationists. “China’s openness gives us hope that more meaningful cross border enforcement cooperation in Asia may be on the horizon,” said Steven Galster, Director of Operations for Wildlife Alliance in Thailand.

ASEAN-WEN Support Program
The exchange was supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), through the ASEAN-WEN Support Program. Like China, the United States is a major consumer of wildlife and has vowed to support global efforts to reduce the
illegal wildlife trade. ASEAN-WEN representatives are slated to visit the United
States for wildlife forensics training next year. “This meeting is very timely with the release of TRAFFIC’s publication on the State of Wildlife Trade in China, which shows that China has been taking steps to reduce illegal trade,” said Dr Xu Hongfa, TRAFFIC’s China Program Director. “These exchanges should be conducted regularly to ensure collaborative efforts between ASEAN and China continue, and to encourage the exchange of timely and accurate information on wildlife crime.”

Notes for editors:
ASEAN-WEN
The ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network was officially launched in December 2005,at a ministerial-level meeting held in Bangkok. It includes CITES Authorities, Customs and Police working together to broaden inter-agency co-operation against wildlife crime. Cooperative agencies in ASEAN-WEN include: Interpol, World Customs Organisation, the CITES Secretariat, and the ASEAN Secretariat. ASEAN-WEN Support Program ASEAN-WEN is an intergovernmental initiative that is bringing ASEAN governments together to combat wildlife crime. Wildlife Alliance and TRAFFIC, via a cooperative partnership with USAID, are providing technical assistance to government agencies that are implementing ASEAN-WEN.

Illegal wildlife trade in Asia. Asia is a global hotspot for illegal poaching, wildlife trafficking and endangered species consumption. This concentration derives from several factors including: regionally high biodiversity; well-established transportation links and smuggling routes; nominal allocations of local and international government resources to the issues; and low public awareness of regional conservation and sustainability needs. The TRAFFIC report The State of Wildlife Trade in China 2006 can be downloaded from www.traffic.org
For more information and photos, contact:
Tassanee Vejpongsa Azrina Abdullah
Communication Officer TRAFFIC Southeast Asia
PeunPa Foundation Thailand Tel: +66-(0)2-662-4029
(a member of Wildlife Alliance) email: azrina@iucnt.org
Tel +6681 9399433
Email : Tassanee@peunpa.org