Annexes to COM(2018)711 - Progress report on the implementation of the EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2018)711 - Progress report on the implementation of the EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2018)711  |
| date | October 24, 2018 |
Priority 3 – Strengthening the global partnership of source, consumer and transit countries against wildlife trafficking
Since the adoption of the Action Plan, the EU and its Member States have asserted their status as the biggest aid provider in the fight against wildlife trafficking (first donor). Many projects strive to implement the Action Plan by addressing key drivers and determinants of trafficking, particularly in areas such as environmental crime, corruption and the rule of law, insecurity due to armed conflicts, ecosystem services and livelihoods around protected areas, management of natural resources and resilience of local communities.
The EU and many Member States have formed long-term partnerships with third countries to conserve biodiversity and fight wildlife trafficking, recognising the persistent link between the illegal exploitation of natural resources and the destabilising activities of armed groups, particularly in Central Africa. The Action Plan has provided a significant boost in this area. In addition to pre-existing financial support and ongoing activities, further significant additional EU funds (around EUR 340 million in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and South America and the Caribbean) were mobilised in 2016 and 2017 under the EU development and cooperation policy.
This includes regional programmes against wildlife crime in Central and Eastern Africa, as well as support for conservation in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and other specific countries (for example Guinea). Under the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) Partnership Programme, regional priorities in ACP countries also included capacity-building against wildlife crime.
Box 4 – A new EU global programme on wildlife and forest crime
The EU action ‘Law enforcement and combating wildlife and forest crime’, adopted in 2017, will mobilise EUR 43.5 million to:
- boost the operational capacities of the International Consortium for Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) to improve wildlife and forest law enforcement in targeted countries and promote international coordination (EUR 13.5 million);
- support civil society organisations and local communities in preventing and fighting wildlife trafficking in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
This complements existing regional programmes with ICCWC members, in particular in Central Africa (UNODC), East/Southern Africa (UNODC, CITES), Asia (UNODC) and through the global MIKE 19 programme (CITES), totalling over EUR 40 million.
Member States (notably France, Germany and the United Kingdom) have also been providing considerable financial support to national and regional programmes against wildlife trafficking through their development cooperation policies. Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the EU are contributing to the African Elephant Fund 20 .
In addition to providing financial support, the EU has been actively engaged in bilateral dialogues on wildlife trafficking with a number of relevant source, transit and market countries. EU Delegations actively promote the implementation of CITES and EU wildlife trade regulations in third countries and provide technical support. The EU also uses its trade policy instruments to press for action against wildlife trafficking, e.g. through the inclusion of specific provisions in future free trade agreements (notably with Vietnam) or via the GSP+ scheme 21 . Finally, the EU has fostered dialogue with regional organisations, such as ASEAN 22 and the African Union, to better address illegal wildlife trade.
A number of Member States are mobilising their diplomatic networks against wildlife trafficking and the UK is planning a high-level conference on wildlife trafficking 23 in October 2018.
The EU has been equally proactive at the multilateral level, in particular in the context of CITES, which is the main multilateral instrument against wildlife trafficking and which the EU also supports financially. At CoP17 and the 2017 Standing Committee meeting, the EU actively pushed for targeted recommendations and sanctions to help combat ivory, rhino horn, rosewood and tiger trafficking.
Similarly, the EU and a number of Member States are active players in the discussions on the killing, trapping and trading of birds, for instance as part of the dedicated group of experts set up under the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention). They have also promoted the inclusion of wildlife trafficking on the agendas of the United Nations, the G20, the G7 and other international bodies. More progress is needed to put wildlife trafficking on the agenda of other relevant international bodies and forums, such as the UN Convention against Corruption, the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime and the Financial Action Task Force.
3. Conclusion
The Action Plan has generated considerable political attention and support at EU level. One of its first positive effects has been to raise the profile of wildlife trafficking as a priority issue among a wide range of policy-makers, law enforcement agencies and stakeholders in the EU. This has resulted in the adoption of numerous initiatives at EU and national level to fulfil the objectives of the Action Plan. It has also had numerous other positive results: more enforcement measures in the EU; commitments from actors in the private sector to help combat wildlife trafficking; a ban on the export of raw ivory; strong proposals by the EU against wildlife trafficking in multilateral forums (notably under CITES); increased EU funding for capacity-building and international action against wildlife trafficking; and the mobilisation of EU and Member States’ diplomatic networks in many third countries against this problem.
Overall, good progress has been made on most of the 32 actions in the Action Plan. Ultimately, the best indicators for assessing its impact are poaching and trafficking levels. Despite some encouraging signs (particularly a decrease in poaching levels for elephants and rhinoceros in recent years), wildlife trafficking continues to thrive and pose a serious threat to biodiversity, the rule of law and sustainable development. There is therefore no doubt that the priorities and objectives set out in the Action Plan remain appropriate and relevant.
The EU and its Member States should further intensify their efforts to reach the objectives of the Action Plan by 2020, when the need for further action will be assessed. This is also relevant for meeting target 15.7 of Sustainable Development Goal 15, which calls for ‘urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products’ 24 .
(1)
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2016:87:FIN
(2)
http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10512-2016-INIT/en/pdf
(3)
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2016-0454+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN
(4)
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/cites/trafficking_en.htm
(5)
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/cites/pdf/guidance_ivory.pdf
(6)
See link to the consultation and to the analysis of its responses here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/consultations/public-consultation-ivory-trade-eu_en
(7)
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/legal/pdf/COM_2018_10_F1_COMMUNICATION_FROM_COMMISSION_TO_INST_EN_V8_P1_959219.pdf
(8)
For details on the individual actions under the Action Plan on Environmental Compliance and Governance, see Annex 1 to Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2018) 10 final.
(9)
https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/eu-law-enforcement-step-efforts-to-protect-environment-%E2%80%93-48-arrested-for-trafficking-endangered-species
(10)
European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training – https://www.cepol.europa.eu/
(11)
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/
(12)
https://danube-sturgeons.org/the-project/
(13)
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/wildbirds/docs/Roadmap%20illegal%20killing.pdf
(14)
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/publications/lifepublications/lifefocus/nat.htm#wildlife
(15)
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/isfp/topics/isfp-2017-ag-env.html
(16)
https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/financing/fundings/security-and-safeguarding-liberties/internal-security-fund-police_en
(17)
The Secure Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA) is a communication platform for law enforcement agencies managed by Europol. https://www.europol.europa.eu/activities-services/services-support/information-exchange/secure-information-exchange-network-application-siena
(18)
TRAFFIC is a civil society organisation working on wildlife trade issues.
(19)
Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants. See: https://cites.org/eng/prog/mike/index.php
(20)
http://www.africanelephantfund.org/
(21)
Generalised Scheme of Preferences – http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/development/generalised-scheme-of-preferences/index_en.htm
(22)
Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
(23)
http://www.illegalwildlifetrade.net/2017/11/24/london-2018-illegal-wildlife-trade-conference-oct-10-11-2018/
(24)
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg15