Powerful alliance to fight wildlife crime comes into effect
THE Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Secretary-General of ICPO-INTERPOL, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the President of the World Bank and the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) have signed a Letter of Understanding that brought the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) into effect yesterday.
"Environmental crime is global theft and as the world's largest police organization, INTERPOL is committed with the support of each of our 188 member countries, to build on the work already being done in protecting our planet for future generations.", said INTERPOL Secretary General, Ronald K. Noble.
"Our wildlife is precious and an essential part of the earth's rich biodiversity, making it incumbent upon all of us to stand together and take concerted action to protect endangered species from prevailing threats," said WCO Secretary General, Kunio Mikuriya.
Protected from international commercial trade through a listing in CITES Appendix I since 1975, tigers still suffer significantly from illegal trade. They are poached for their skins and body parts, which are used for decorative and traditional medicine purposes.
It is almost four decades since the world realized that tiger numbers were falling alarmingly. Since the 1970s, governments and the conservation community have spent tens of millions of dollars trying to save this magnificent animal.