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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Mar 20, 2019 · News ItemThailand’s Office of the Attorney General and USAID Launch Rapid Reference Guide to Help Prosecutors Fight Wildlife Crime
BANGKOK, March 20, 2019 – Thailand’s Office of the Attorney General and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the Rapid Reference Guide on Applicable Offences to Trafficking of Critically Endangered Species in Thailand, a tool to help investigators and prosecutors navigate existing legislation to more effectively build strong… -
Mar 15, 2019 · News ItemVietnamese Woman Champions wildlife protection through corporate social responsibility
Ms. Le Thi Thu Thuy, Deputy Director of Small & Medium-sized Enterprises Promotion Center and a member of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), is making wildlife protection and consumer demand reduction her business, through corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Vietnam. To celebrate International Women’s Month, USAID Wildlife…
Upcoming Events
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Mar 27, 2019 · EventWebinar: Reducing Consumer Demand for Wildlife in Asia
To combat wildlife trafficking, USAID Wildlife Asia, USAID Saving Species and GlobeScan conducted multiple wildlife consumer demand studies in China, Thailand and Vietnam. -
Mar 24, 2019 · EventCounter Transnational Organized Crime (CTOC) Training Course
Counter Transnational Organized Crime (CTOC) training course is designed to help law enforcement investigators identify and disrupt transnational organized crime groups involved in wildlife trafficking. The course equips appropriate enforcement authorities with the knowledge and skills required to identify and disrupt organized, cross-border wildlife trafficking supply chains moving pangolin, elephant…
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.