Combatting wildlife trafficking – protecting biodiversity and beyond
Silja Fischer & Crawford Allan for International Airport Review
May 5, 2021
See link
https://www.internationalairportreview.com/article/158332/combatting-wildlife-trafficking/
for photos.
For International Airport Review, Silja Fischer, Manager of Wildlife
Trafficking Prevention at ACI World, and Crawford Allan, Senior Advisor to
TRAFFIC on Wildlife Crime, detail the dangers poised by wildlife
trafficking; the role that airports and the aviation industry can play in
detecting, and helping to prevent, this trade; and how combatting wildlife
trafficking can help to avert future pandemics.
Over the past 14 months, understandably, much of the industry’s focus has
been on the COVID-19 pandemic. However, airports’ efforts to help to combat
wildlife trafficking have continued. Wildlife trafficking is a threat to
endangered species, erodes ecosystem integrity and has also been identified
as a factor that can contribute to the emergence of zoonotic diseases
(transmissible from animal to human). Mitigating these risks and exploring
these further under a ‘one health’ approach is more relevant than ever.
Wildlife Trafficking by Air – A Persistent Problem
In March 2021, something about a particular red suitcase at Aeropuerto
Ecológico Galápagos (GPS) seemed irregular. Upon opening to investigate,
cargo personnel from the airport found 185 endangered baby tortoises bound
by plastic wrap and falsely declared as ‘souvenirs’. Ten tortoises had
died, but, thankfully, the remaining tortoises were saved from entering the
illegal wildlife trade and taken to Santa Cruz to be rehabilitated. It
transpires that, despite restricted movement globally, COVID-19 hasn’t
stopped wildlife traffickers from exploiting the aviation industry.
In December 2020, customs officials seized 23.5kg of shark fins from two
passengers behaving suspiciously at an airport in Asia; in August 2020, 80
cobras and vipers were discovered by customs at an airport in Africa en
route to the UK, stuffed into plastic bottles and bags. But, however
sordid, these incidents can be taken as success stories – those where
wildlife smuggling was detected, and the chain disrupted. There are many
more events globally where traffickers get away with their crimes.
Trade in certain species and wildlife products can be illegal under
international or domestic law. Most countries are party to the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES). This convention aims to protect about 6,000 animal and 33,000
plant species by restricting imports and exports. Regardless, the illegal
wildlife trade was estimated to have an annual value between $7 billion and
$23 billion per year (UNEP-Interpol 2016).
Why Is This a Concern?
Impacts of wildlife trafficking, identified by TRAFFIC and other experts,
include threats to biodiversity, potential risks for human health and
effects on the economy by loss of eco-tourism and undeclared revenue. In
addition, it opens the door to corruption and organised crime, promotion of
instability and undermining governance. In a survey conducted by Airports
Council International (ACI) in 2020, among a limited number of airports,
over 90 per cent considered the impact on biodiversity and over half
considered the impacts on health as the most significant general risks of
wildlife trafficking.
There are also direct risks for airports. When illegal wildlife and
wildlife products pass through an airport, this can generate negative
press, which affects the airport’s reputation and can also create health
and safety risks for enforcement authorities, staff or passengers should
contact with wild animals occur. Further, there are economic risks,
including losses from negative impacts on tourism and effects on
operational efficiency.
The Potential to Make a Difference
Air transport is exploited by traffickers as it is a quick and convenient
way to move wildlife contraband between the country of origin and the
destination, possibly via various transit points. Databases like the ROUTES
Dashboard, which collects publicly available data on wildlife seizures in
aviation, and the CITES database, which includes seizure data from member
state reports, illustrate the global nature of the problem. Yet, though
pervasive, the restricted trade flow between airports and air transport
routes results in a bottleneck for these crimes and provides crucial
opportunities for intervention.
Enforcement of wildlife trafficking regulation is usually the
responsibility of law enforcement agencies and, at airports, custom
authorities generally have a central role. However, airport operators can
play a critical role in assisting these agencies to detect and disrupt
potential occurrences of wildlife trafficking. Each airport operates
differently, but possible responses can include: adopting a policy against
wildlife trafficking; raising awareness among the airport community and the
public; offering training; supporting reporting; further engaging with
border and law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders; and providing
equipment and/or tools to detect wildlife crime. This does not mean that
aviation security screeners should deviate from their core mandate.
However, screeners may play a role in alerting the responsible authorities
when items are detected during screening. Where possible, airports can also
support the activities of governments, charities and non-governmental
organisations that are involved in preventing trafficking.
The upcoming ACI Combatting Wildlife Trafficking Handbook, developed under
the USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered
Species (ROUTES) Partnership with support from TRAFFIC, draws on experience
from ACI member airports to exemplify the actions that airports can take to
combat the problem and help to mitigate risks.
In recent years, more and more airports have been putting this issue high
on their agendas, for example:
· Aeropuerto Ecológico Galápagos (GPS) in Ecuador has built a strong
collaboration with the responsible enforcement authority, which uses the
airport X-ray machines to verify wildlife via a screen made available to
them
· El Dorado International Airport (BOG) in Colombia has integrated a
wildlife trafficking awareness video and quiz into its workforce induction
course
· London Heathrow Airport (LHR) in the UK has published a sustainability
strategy which includes a commitment to tackling wildlife trafficking
· Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), together with ROUTES partners, ran a
training session for the airport community
· Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has created an anonymous hotline to allow
people to report suspected prohibited items, among them illegal wildlife
products
· Royal Schiphol Group in the Netherlands holds discussions of wildlife
trafficking in fixed committee (such as cargo or security) meetings and are
developing a wildlife trafficking policy
· Zambia Airports Corporation Limited (ZACL) has rolled out an awareness
programme for all airports under its jurisdiction.
There are many more examples. The handbook will provide more detailed case
studies on the comprehensive work and strategies of individual airports.
Sustainability Umbrella, Biodiversity Protection and Global Health
Airports can include wildlife trafficking prevention under their
sustainability umbrella, thereby supporting the United Nations’ (UN)
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of 17 goals that aims to
alleviate global challenges related to the wellbeing of people and the
planet. Addressing this issue can be linked to SDGs such as SDG 3 (Health
and Well-Being), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land), SDG 16
(Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and SDG 17 (Partnerships).
ACI Europe’s Sustainability Strategy for Airports promotes the inclusion of
wildlife trafficking in airports’ strategies as part of biodiversity
protection, for the sake of both planetary and human health. An ACI World
resolution in 2020 encourages members to support the protection of
biodiversity, which can also help to prevent the emergence of zoonotic
diseases and avert future pandemics.
The UN Environment Programme has identified the “illegal and poorly
regulated” wildlife trade, along with other factors such as deforestation
and climate change, as risks for the emergence of zoonoses. It points out
that the illegalwildlife trade may detrimentally impact existing habitats
and bring wild animals into close contact with other animals and humans.
This is further supported by the concern that illegal trade disregards
requirements of proper sanitary/ veterinary controls and quarantine
requirements, flagged by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime and
the Center For Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS, a ROUTES partner).
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the exact origin of
COVID-19 is still under investigation. However, in April 2021, a WHO
Committee regarding COVID-19 called for a better understanding of the risk
of spillover of emerging infections between animal and human populations.
The current pandemic has increased awareness of zoonoses. Simple
anti-wildlife-trafficking measures such as those outlined above may help to
mitigate risks for emergence of new zoonotic diseases.
Global Partners: USAID-ROUTES Partnership and United for Wildlife
Combatting wildlife trafficking requires concerted efforts. It is sensible
to coordinate closely with the relevant authorities, and airports can
benefit from both global and local partners to build the necessary
expertise.
The USAID-ROUTES Partnership, for example, aims to disrupt wildlife
trafficking by reducing the use of legal transportation supply chains. At
its heart is a core group of partners collaborating with the U.S.
government and the transport sector that includes ACI, C4ADS, the
International Air Transport Association (IATA), TRAFFIC (as coordinator and
wildlife trade specialist) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Different ROUTES partners have developed a variety of resources to support
the aviation industry, including airport-specific resources, which are
available on the ACI and/ or the ROUTES website.
The United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce of The Royal Foundation (UK)
brings together leaders from the global transportation industry. It was
created to work with the transport industry to identify how transportation
is exploited by the illegal wildlife trade and looks at ways that the
sector can break the chain between illegal suppliers and consumers. It
works to facilitate collaboration between the transport sector and law
enforcement to disrupt and prevent wildlife trafficking and establish
regional chapters in order to take action at a local and regional level.
In 2016, ACI and other industry partners signed the United for Wildlife
Transport Taskforce Buckingham Palace Declaration – an action plan to
strengthen and coordinate efforts by airports and other stakeholders
against wildlife trafficking. Now signed by over 140 transport sector
companies worldwide, the Buckingham Palace Declaration has become a
landmark demonstration of commitment to keeping wildlife where it belongs.
Step on Board
Airports around the globe are encouraged to learn more about the topic,
assess the situation at their airport, build their network and take action.
Silja Fischer manages the Wildlife Trafficking Prevention programme and the
task force of the ACI WorldSustainability, Environmental Protection and
Legal Affairs department in Montreal. She has over eight years of
experience in policy and regulation in different trade sectors. She was an
air transport agreement negotiator and a national expert to the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Air Transport Regulation
Panel.
Crawford Allan directs wildlife conservation programmes nationally and
internationally related to trade, trafficking and sustainability, with 30
years’ experience. He has led numerous large-scale projects combating
wildlife trafficking and co-created/ oversees the USAID-ROUTES Partnership.
He is the founder of the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online, with
40 of the world’s largest tech companies and other partners. Based in
Washington DC, Allan served on the Federal Advisory Council to the U.S.
Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking from 2013 to 2017. As the
senior advisor to TRAFFIC on wildlife crime, his mission has evolved to
build partnerships to reduce future pandemic risks that are emerging
because of wildlife trade and with an emphasis on private sector solutions.
https://www.internationalairportreview.com/article/158332/combatting-wildlife-trafficking/