USAID Wildlife Asia
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), working closely with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), addresses wildlife trafficking as a transnational crime through the USAID Wildlife Asia activity. The activity works to reduce consumer demand for wildlife parts and products, strengthen law enforcement skills, enhance policy, legislation and jurisprudence and improve regional action to reduce wildlife crime in Southeast Asia and China.
Elephant ivory, rhino horn, tiger as well as pangolins are among the top items illegally traded worldwide, and especially in Southeast Asia and China. Transcontinental organized wildlife crime decimates wildlife populations, destroying opportunities for local community wildlife-based livelihoods, and does not contribute to national revenues. Wildlife trafficking undermines the rule of law, supports corruption and money laundering, facilitates spread of zoonotic diseases, and has links to terrorism. Click here for the more information of this initiative.
Highlights
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Jun 07, 2019 · News ItemAsia-Africa Journalists Exchange Launched
BANGKOK, June 6, 2019 - Thai journalists will travel to Tanzania from June 8 to 17, marking the beginning of the Asia-Africa Journalists Exchange Program to learn more about the wildlife trafficking supply chain in source, transit, and destination countries. -
Apr 22, 2019 · News ItemUSAID Wildlife Asia and Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Apply Social and Behavior Change Communication to Reduce Demand for Illegal Wildlife Products
From March 14 to 15, 2019, 20 government officials from Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) participated in a Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Training conducted in Bangkok, Thailand, by USAID Wildlife Asia.
Upcoming Events
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Aug 16, 2019 · EventAsia-Africa Journalists Exchange
USAID Wildlife Asia and USAID PROTECT have been working closely with journalists under each project to improve the understanding of the importance of wildlife in their countries and regions. Specifically, USAID Wildlife Asia is working with journalists to improve their understanding of wildlife trafficking from source to destination countries, which… -
Aug 16, 2019 · EventCITES COP 18
The 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will take place in Geneva, Switzerland.
Innovations
USAID WIldlife Asia works with partners to develop a collection of tools to facilitate all the objectives. Up to now, 5 tools were developed, as follows:
- Counter Wildlife Trafficking Initiatives Reference Guide
An online version of the Counter Wildlife Trafficking Initiatives Reference Guide - SIG Wildlife Investigator App
This is a mobile app for iOS and Android, aimed to facilitate Special Investigator Group (SIG) in coordinating, communicating, and training. - Pangolin Species Identification Guide:
A Rapid Assessment Tool for Field and Desk:
This guide is designed to help you confidently identify the eight species of pangolin, and when possible, body parts and scales even when removed from the animal. - CITES Species Database
The CITES species Guide. Roughly 5,800 species of animals and 30,000 species of plants are protected by CITES against over-exploitation through international trade.
Resources
Featured reports and fact sheets:
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Mar 03, 2019 · FileUSAID Wildlife Asia Counter Wildlife Trafficking Digest, Issue II, March 2019
USAID Wildlife Asia regularly updates documentation of the current state of wildlife trafficking of these species through a compilation of secondary information to report on and analyze trends and changes in patterns of trade. The Activity also provides an evidence base to support decision-making about priority interventions in policy, law… -
Feb 08, 2019 · FilePangolin Species Identification Guide: A Rapid Assessment Tool for Field and Desk (Lao version)
This guide is published in Lao and designed to help you confidently identify the eight species of pangolin, and when possible, body parts and scales even when removed from the animal.
Reducing Consumer Demand
Surging demand, high prices and lucrative profits from wildlife products are driving the drastic decline in species such as elephants, rhinos, tigers and pangolins. USAID Wildlife Asia helps reduce this demand by communicating, mobilizing and advocating ways to change practices and build new social norms around the use of wildlife products.
Building Political Committment
The Supreme Court of Thailand is the key Thai government counterpart for USAID Wildlife Asia, and activities strengthen the Green Benches program, improving court rules of procedures and introducing sentencing guidelines for wildlife crimes.
Enhancing Law Enforcement
Working with Interpol, the ASEAN National Police and the ASEAN Working Group on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and Wildlife Enforcement, USAID Wildlife Asia supports law enforcement collaboration in the region and brings together enforcement authorities in Asia and Africa to share intelligence on active investigations and collaborate in dismantling transcontinental trafficking syndicates.
Supporting US Government Coordination
USAID Wildlife Asia collects, synthesizes and shares information on counter wildlife trafficking efforts with U.S. agencies in the region, providing a knowledge management hub.