Laos political commitment building

Environmental Investigation Agency, UK (EIA)

EIA published a report in the lead up to the Hanoi Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade in November 2016 examining how 15 countries including China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam – had implemented their commitments under the London Declaration of February 2014. This report utilized specific indicators developed by EIA to assess the countries’ actions. EIA continues to review progress made in implementation of the London Declaration particularly by China, Laos and Vietnam.

EIA investigative products are used by a number of stakeholders to push for greater commitment by consumer countries to enforce wildlife crime laws pertaining to the trade in Asian big cats and ivory – see above description in the law enforcement support section.

Freeland

Freeland has a Memorandum of Understanding with the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) that commits the two organizations to collaborate to strengthen and harmonize legislation across the 10 ASEAN Member States on combating wildlife crime. Using the Freeland-produced ASEAN Handbook on Combating Wildlife Crime, a Freeland-led Legal Support Task Force (that also includes National University of Singapore and ASEAN-WEN) provides technical training and support to parliamentarians and their staff who are responsible for writing laws and policies. Freeland also provides technical support to the AIPA Secretariat to mobilize interest among politicians and media across ASEAN to suppress wildlife trafficking.

INTERPOL

INTERPOL’s Environmental Security Sub-Directorate seeks to promote the prioritization of work by national police services on environmental crime issues. See also the above INTERPOL reference in the section concerning support of law enforcement (national level).

TRAFFIC

TRAFFIC conducts regular market monitoring surveys in Laos along with seizure data analysis and intelligence gathering across the country particularly related to the trades in ivory, bears, birds, pangolins, and tigers. Its research and analysis are used to advocate legislative reform to close loopholes and step up enforcement interventions – see national law enforcement support section for additional information.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

UN Environment and UNDP, in partnership with other UN agencies such as UNODC and the CITES Secretariat, along with the Global Wildlife Program, will convene an Africa-Asia Symposium on Strengthening Legal Frameworks to Combat Wildlife Crime in Bangkok in July 2017. The Symposium is expected to bring together up to 10 countries from Africa and 10 from Asia to discuss criteria for effective legal frameworks and priority issues to strengthen application of national laws to wildlife crime.

United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment)

UN Environment, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and others, will convene an Africa-Asia Symposium on Strengthening Legal Frameworks to Combat Wildlife Crime in Bangkok on 4-5 July 2017 (the Symposium). The key objective of the Symposium is to advance efforts in Africa and Asia Pacific to strengthen and harmonize legal frameworks to combat wildlife crime. Participants will discuss their countries’ experiences with developing and enacting laws that address wildlife crime, and debate proposed criteria and recommended minimum requirements for strengthening legislation that governs the multiple aspects of wildlife crime. Opportunities to strengthen political will to combat wildlife crime through the strategic engagement of parliamentarians from Africa and Asia Pacific will also be explored as a secondary objective. The Symposium will support the participation of 20 representatives from Africa and Asia Pacific, and more if additional resources that can be mobilized. Target participants will be senior government officials who are responsible for developing or strengthening laws and regulations relevant to combating wildlife crime. Laos is proposed for inclusion in the Symposium.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

UNODC, through its Global Programme for Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime, works with national legal systems and law enforcement agencies of Member States (which in ASEAN includes Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam) to strengthen legislative frameworks, shape policy, enhance knowledge and capacities, and increase regional cooperation to combat wildlife and forest crime. In October 2015, the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime agreed to include “wildlife and timber trafficking” as a priority crime under the purview of the Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC). In June 2016, UNODC worked in cooperation with Thailand and the Royal Thai Police to convene a regional conference to bring the SOMTC focal points on wildlife and timber trafficking together to agree on a work programme. The Work Programme to Combat Wildlife and Timber Trafficking will be integrated with the existing SOMTC 2016-18 Work Programme to implement the ASEAN Plan of Action to Combat Transnational Crime. In parallel, UNODC is also encouraging the establishment of a SOMTC working group on wildlife and timber trafficking to coordinate implementation of the Work Programme.

UNODC conducted a rapid assessment in Laos in October 2014 to evaluate the strengths and challenges of the national criminal justice response to wildlife and forest crime. In July 2016, UNODC conducted a brief update of this assessment, collecting updated statistics and evaluating recent changes in the institutional structure.

UNODC organized a press conference in Laos to highlight World Environment Day 2016, in cooperation with representatives from the Ministry of Public Security and the Office of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, to call for an end to wildlife trafficking.

UNODC hosted a Laos-Vietnam policy dialogue in April 2016 to improve the response of trafficking of natural resources across land borders. It was the first policy dialogue meeting on this issue between the two countries. Participants identified a framework of challenges and solutions to improve international cooperation, focusing on trade and regulations, and law enforcement and corruption.

USAID Wildlife Asia

USAID Wildlife Asia will seek to build commitment by engaging high levels of the judiciary in the region. See above section on law enforcement support (national level) for additional information with specific reference to Laos.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)

WCS conducts internal constituency building within the government to build support for wildlife trafficking issues, including with the media and diplomatic groups and hosting side events for the national assembly. This work is funded by the U.K. Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) Challenge Fund for Laos.

WCS provides technical support for bilateral meetings between Lao, Thai and Chinese enforcement agencies to join and share information on wildlife trafficking and international cooperation mechanisms to enable joint investigations between the countries.

WCS provides support to the Government of Laos to phase out tiger farming in the country. WCS is a member of a working group advising the government on the development of a phase-out strategy as well as management options for the 700 tigers held in tiger farms within the country.

The Wildlife and Aquatic Law as well as the Penal Code contain many grey areas and inconsistencies that make them confusing for law enforcement officers to implement. With support from the US Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), WCS has assisted with the revision of the penal code and is in the process of reviewing the Wildlife and Aquatic law to enhance legislative and regulatory frameworks.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

Multi-lateral trans-boundary workshop support to follow-up on relevant international/regional commitments to tackle IWT and bilateral meetings/inter-provincial roundtable dialogues support to strengthen cross-border cooperation with neighboring countries (China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam) are also part of WWF’s project with the Lao government. This includes providing technical advice on relevant IWT issues.