By USAID Wildlife Asia

USAID Wildlife Asia is a five-year, US$24.5 million, regional counter wildlife trafficking (CWT) initiative addressing the trafficking of pangolins, tigers, elephants and rhinos in Southeast Asia and China. The USAID Wildlife Asia Activity works to address wildlife trafficking as a transnational crime. The project aims to reduce consumer demand for wildlife parts and products, strengthen law enforcement, enhance legal and political commitment and support regional collaboration to reduce wildlife crime in Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia, China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), Thailand, and Vietnam. TRAFFIC is a leading non-governmental organization working globally on trade in wild animals and plants in the context of both biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. TRAFFIC collaborated with USAID and many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) when researching and writing this report. This report is the third in a series, which builds on the previous USAID digests, Counter Wildlife Trafficking Digest: Southeast Asia and China, 2017, and Counter Wildlife Trafficking Digest: Southeast Asia and China, 2018. This report covers the period January to December 2019 with a focus on pangolins, tigers, elephants, and rhinos, and highlights the key developments in legislation on conservation, outlines some of the innovative social and behavior change communication (SBCC) research projects and campaigns, and then explores the seizures made in 2019. USAID Wildlife Asia and TRAFFIC regularly collect and update documentation on the current state of wildlife trafficking of these species through a compilation of secondary sources to report on and analyze trends and changes in patterns of trade. This information provides an evidence base to support decision-making about priority interventions in policy, law enforcement, and consumer demand reduction. SBCC covers the range of campaigns and the research that provides information on demand for illegal wildlife products, as well as reducing consumer demand for these goods. A wide range of remarkable SBCC projects have been implemented since the previous digest, with new collaborations between NGOs and the travel industry, and with government agencies taking an active role in reducing demand for wildlife products. This report highlights some of these SBCC campaigns along with the gaps remaining to be filled. As with previous issues, this third issue of the digest is based on a compilation of documentation, news articles, and reports that are readily available in the English language. Unlike previous digests, some information is also drawn from translated documents held in TRAFFIC’s Wildlife Trade Information System (WiTIS). Nevertheless, it is possible that some data are still missing; therefore, USAID Wildlife Asia does not assume the figures included provide a complete data set. The recommendations provided target not only USAID Wildlife Asia directly but also the broader counter wildlife trafficking community and include a focus on social behavior change, improved law enforcement, increased government commitment, political will, and effective regional coordination.

Bangkok: USAID Wildlife Asia, 69p.

By Hai Thank Luong

As one of the earliest countries in the Southeast Asia region, Vietnam joined the CITES in 1994. However, they have faced several challenges and practical barriers to preventing and combating illegal wildlife trade (IWT) after 35 years. This first study systematically reviews 29 English journal articles between 1994 and 2020 to examine and assess the main trends and patterns of the IWT’s concerns in Vietnam. Findings show (1) slow progress of empirical studies, (2) unbalanced authorship between Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese conducting their projects, (3) weighting of wildlife demand consumptions in Vietnamese communities rather than investigating supply networks with high-profile traffickers, (4) lacking research in green and conservation criminology to assess the inside of the IWT, and (5) need to focus on potential harms of zoonotic transmission between a wild animal and human beings. The article also provides current limitations before proposing further research to fill these future gaps.

Laws 11: 64. https://doi.org/10.3390/laws 11040064 

By The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)

West and Central Africa continues to raise concerns among Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as a significant hub for global wildlife trafficking. This briefing highlights the parallel responsibilities and shortcomings of both West and Central Africa and South-East Asia in implementing their commitments under CITES and outlines what needs to happen to tackle transnational wildlife crime more effectively. At SC74, EIA raised these concerns in our briefing document Joint Responsibilities: The Nigeria- Vietnam wildlife trafficking corridor and compliance with CITES, which similarly highlighted the need for urgent action.

London; Washington, DC: EIA, 2022. 12p.

By Alastair MacBeath, Simone Haysom, Emerson Sy

In recent years, several studies have raised alarm at the illicit trade pressure on the Philippines’ endemic pangolin species – the Palawan pangolin. Between 2018 and 2019, seizures of Palawan pangolins increased more than ninefold compared with the previous 18 years.1 Around 20 live pangolins have been ‘retrieved’ in and around Metro Manila, a several hundred kilometres boat ride away from their natural habitat, the province of Palawan – also known as the Philippines’ ‘last ecological frontier’. Recent studies have estimated that as many as 26 784 pangolins may be illegally hunted on the islands of Palawan per year,2 with much of the meat and most of the scales making their way to buyers based either in Manila or abroad, making this a national problem driven by international demand. In light of these indications of burgeoning illegal trade, this report was undertaken with three aims in mind: 1) to understand the broader context of drivers and factors that shape pangolin trafficking dynamics; 2) to shed light on the nature of networks driving the trade; and 3) to identify challenges and gaps in the state response. It is intended to complement work undertaken under the rubric of a broader project by the Zoological Society of London and six other organizations, namely 'Combating Palawan pangolin trafficking: Empowering community-based protection and proactive enforcement', funded by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The primary components of this project focus on community-based responses to illegal hunting, but also seek to improve…..

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  the government response at various levels of the trade chain. The report sets out how trafficking of the Palawan pangolin has grown over the last two decades, with what appears to be a sharp acceleration from around 2016. This rise has been linked both to shifts in the broader illicit economy in the Philippines, burgeoning links between pangolin consumer populations and the country, and global shifts in the patterns of illicit trade. We also describe the challenges facing the Filipino government agencies charged with responding to wildlife trafficking, which have created gaps in the state response that trafficking networks have profited from.  

Geneva: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2022. 46p.

By The IUCN National Committee of The Netherlands

On behalf of the IUCN National Committee of the Netherlands (IUCN NL), Earth League International (ELI) conducted undercover investigations on jaguar poaching and trafficking in Bolivia. ELI investigated the criminal networks behind this illegal wildlife trade from 2018 to 2020 and unveiled the traffickers’ modus operandi and transport methods, routes and geographical hotspots. The investigations showed that the demand for jaguar parts comes from Asia and the trade is generally run by Chinese residents in Bolivia. The jaguar is the only member of the panthera family in the Americas and is by far the biggest cat on the continent. Scientists estimate there are between 130,000 and 208,000 jaguars left in the wild, mostly concentrated in the Amazon basin. The jaguar is classified by IUCN as ‘near threatened’. According to local experts, today there are an estimated 2,000-3,000 jaguars left in the wild in Bolivia.

Amsterdam: IUCN National Committee of The Netherlands, 2021. 24p.

By Andrea Crosta, Chiara Talerico, Allison Joseph, Liliana Jauregui, Marc Hoogeslag

  The jaguar (Panthera onca) is listed on CITES Appendix I and is classified on the IUCN Red List as ‘near threatened.’ Scientists estimate that the size of the global jaguar population varies greatly. A study by De la Torre et al (2018) estimated the global population of jaguars to be 64,000 individuals, while Jędrzejewski et al (2018) estimate that there are 173,000 (138,000±208,000) jaguars left in the wild, mostly concentrated in the Amazon basin. To tackle jaguar trafficking, more information on the trade's scale, nature and dynamics is needed. One of the objectives of ‘Operation Jaguar’ was exactly that. Operation Jaguar is a joint project between IUCN NL, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), and Earth League International (ELI) and is made possible by the Dutch Postcode Lottery. ELI has conducted undercover investigations on jaguar trafficking in Latin America as part of Operation Jaguar. Multiple missions have been undertaken to four Latin American countries: Bolivia, Suriname, Peru, and Ecuador. The focus of the intelligence-led operation was to unveil the central nodes, mechanisms, and structure of the entire criminal supply chain, with a bottom-up – top-down approach focusing on the illegal wildlife goods providers, the traders, the transporters, and the sellers in China. Through Operation Jaguar we have identified and investigated the most important jaguar trafficking networks in these four South American countries. ELI has researched the illegal wildlife supply chain to unveil the dynamics underneath jaguar trafficking in the region and identify the main players, trafficking routes, and destinations. Over the years more than a dozen trafficking networks operating regionally and internationally have been unveiled. Confidential Intelligence Briefs (CIBs) regarding these jaguar trafficking networks have been shared with several governmental and intergovernmental agencies.   

San Francisco: Earth League International, 2022. 19p.

By Ramacandra Wong, Kanitha Krishnasamy

Overall, whole tigers, dead and live, as well as a variety of tiger parts equal to a conservative estimate of 3,377 tigers were confiscated between January 2000 and June 2022 across 50 countries and territories, with data showing an increasing trend. According to Skin and Bones: Tiger Trafficking Analysis from January 2000–June 2022, the tigers and their parts were seized in 2,205 incidents, mostly in the 13 Tiger Range Countries (TRCs). India, home to more than half of the global wild tiger population, remains the top-ranked country with the most incidents and number of tigers confiscated. Data from the first half of 2022, the Year of the Tiger, stood out for several reasons: Indonesia, Thailand, and Russia recorded significant increases in the number of seizure incidents compared to the January-to-June period of the previous two decades.  This recent period was also particularly significant for Indonesia, home to the Critically Endangered Sumatran Tiger. It has already seized more tigers in the first half of 2022 (18 tigers) compared to all confiscations in 2021 (totalling 16 tigers). 

Selangor, Malaysia: TRAFFIC, Southeast Asia Regional Office, 2022. 52p.

By Mary Utermohlen and Patrick Baine

The report, In Plane Sight: Wildlife Trafficking in the Air Transport Sector, produced by C4ADS as part of the USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership, analyses global airport seizures of illegal wildlife and wildlife products from 2009 to 2017, finding trafficking instances in at least 136 countries worldwide. New data from 2017 shows a massive spike in rhino horn seizures, which nearly tripled from 2016 numbers. The seizure data indicate that wildlife traffickers moving ivory, rhino horn, reptiles, birds, pangolins, marine products, and mammals by air tend to rely on large hub airports all over the world. Collectively, these categories account for about 81 percent of all trafficked wildlife, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and serve as indicators for broader trends within illicit wildlife trafficking. According to the In Plane Sight report, routes of wildlife products such as ivory, rhino horn and pangolin tend to flow from Africa to Asia, often transiting first through the Middle East and Europe. Wildlife traffickers carrying live animals, such as live birds and reptiles, generally rely on direct flights worldwide with different hotspots for wildlife trafficking in every region. China was by far the most common destination for all seized wildlife products between 2009 and 2017.

Washington, DC: C4ADS and The USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES), 2018. 214p.

By Wildlife Justice Commission

The report aims to bring to light key aspects of the criminal dynamics of ivory and rhino horn trafficking in Vietnam and the efforts of Vietnamese law enforcement authorities in bringing Ah Nam to justice. The Wildlife Justice Commission initiated an investigation in 2016 to delve into the illegal ivory and rhino horn trade in Vietnam and gain a deeper insight into the Africa-Asia supply chain. By January 2017, Ah Nam had become the main focus of the investigation due to his growing role. By 2019 he had asserted his position as one of Vietnam’s top wildlife criminals, acting as lead broker for a sophisticated criminal network responsible for trafficking vast quantities of elephant ivory and rhino horn from Africa to China via Vietnam. The Wildlife Justice Commission’s investigations into Ah Nam and his network resulted in the collection of a wealth of intelligence and evidence. This information on Ah Nam and his key associate Duong Van Phong was compiled in a detailed Case File and provided to the Vietnam Environmental Crime Police and the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of China Customs in December 2017. The two men were partners in crime for the entire period of the investigation and were eventually arrested and convicted together. Over the course of the three-year investigation, the Wildlife Justice Commission documented Ah Nam’s access to a minimum of 17.6 tonnes of raw ivory (valued at more than USD 9 million), and 477 kg of rhino horn (valued at more than USD 8 million). This quantity of product is estimated to equate to the killing of approximately 1,760 elephants and more than 106 rhinos, and still represents only a fraction of what Ah Nam’s network is likely to have trafficked. The Wildlife Justice Commission’s efforts directly contributed to the arrest of 12 other individuals in Vietnam – 10 of whom were imprisoned and two were released without charges – and the seizure of 1,428 kg of ivory and 18 rhino horns. Ah Nam’s conviction and heavy penalty also send an important message: the risk-reward ratio for wildlife crime is changing in Vietnam. Analysis of published court judgements in China shows that additional cases linked to Ah Nam have continued to be prosecuted and convicted, while the Wildlife Justice Commission’s investigations have found many Vietnamese traders are no longer operating due to the increased fear of arrest and difficulties in smuggling products across the border into China.

The Hague: Wildlife Justice Commission, 2022,. 59p.

By InSight Crime and Igarape

Environmental crime respects no borders. This investigation – conducted with Igarapé Institute – reveals how wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, illicit gold mining, and slash-and-burn land clearance are spreading across five Amazonian countries: Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Guyana, and Suriname. These countries account for some 20 percent of the Amazon Basin and have collectively lost 10 million hectares of forest over the last two decades -- an area the size of Portugal. This in-depth report traces the chain of actors involved in the plunder, from the labor force harvesting trees and digging up gold to the brokers and corrupt officials that launder the ill-gotten materials. It also uncovers the land trafficking schemes that serve settlers who invade forests to sow palm oil and soy, as well as raise cattle, for the benefit of large-scale agribusiness.

Washington, DC: InSight Crime and Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brasil, Igarape: 2022. 83p.

By Sarah Heinrich, Talia A. Wittman, Joshua V. Ross, Chris R. Shepherd, Daniel W.S. Challender and Phillip Cassey

In this report, the illegal pangolin trade from 2010–2015 was investigated, focusing on the global trade routes used to traffic pangolins and their derivatives. A total of 1270 seizure incidents were collated, which included at least 20 749 kg and an additional 7154 individual pangolin body parts, 55 251 kg and an additional 5613 individual pangolin scales, and 44 475 kg and an additional 46 760 individual whole pangolins. This excluded a total of 7.6% of all incidents where no quantitative information was available. A subset of these data (excluding domestic trade) was used to study international trafficking routes. An average of 33 countries and territories were involved in international pangolin trafficking per year. Notably, an average of 27 new trade routes were identified each year, highlighting that wildlife trafficking occurs through a highly mobile trade network with constantly shifting trade routes. The seizure incidents involved 67 countries and territories across six continents; demonstrating the global nature of pangolin trafficking, which is not limited to Asian and African range countries.

Selangor, Malaysia: TRAFFIC, Southeast Asia Regional Office, 2017. 49p.

By Victoria Dittmar and Parker Asmann

The expansion of illegal cattle ranching is threatening nature reserves in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. This activity provokes staggering levels of deforestation, irreversible environmental degradation and violence towards Indigenous communities, all while fueling a criminal market that generates millions of dollars in proceeds. A portion of these cattle are smuggled into Mexico, where they either feed the domestic demand for meat or are mixed with beef exports sent to the United States and other countries. This report, produced by InSight Crime, follows the cattle trafficking chain from Central America to Mexico and provides an overview of how this illicit market works. It estimates the size and scope of the industry, highlights illegal ranching hotspots and smuggling routes, identifies the main actors involved in the value chain, analyzes where and how this activity overlaps with other criminal economies, and offers recommendations for governments to tackle the issue. The findings are based on a 14-month investigation that included desktop research, telephone and in-person interviews, and fieldwork in the Mexican states of Veracruz, Tabasco, and Chiapas, the Río Plátano Reserve in Honduras and the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala. Our sources include international, national and local authorities, cattle ranchers and cattle union leaders, former contraband cattle buyers, veterinarians, Indigenous leaders, park rangers, residents of the nature reserves, environmental activists and academic experts. Most of them asked to remain anonymous for their protection. We also reviewed official government data, studies conducted by academics nd non-governmental organizations, and press reports.

Washington, DC: InSight Crime, 2022. 68p.

By Wildlife Justice Commission

The report ‘Operation Dragon: Revealing new evidence on the scale of corruption and trafficking in the turtle and tortoise trade’ describes in detail the results of the Operation and how the intelligence and evidence gathered by the Wildlife Justice Commission investigators provided an in-depth understanding of individual roles and network dynamics, enabling law enforcement agencies to target the most prolific criminals in a time-critical manner.

New York: WJC, 2018. 46p.

By Jabin T. Jacob

The India-Myanmar border regions form a forgotten frontier in the Indian and global imagination. India’s frontiers to the west (Pakistan), to the north (Tibet/China) and to the south (Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean) have always received greater attention. Today, however, the region representing the conjunction of India, China and Myanmar is returning to the centre of attention for a number of reasons both old and new. Violence (‘Guns’) has been endemic in the region since communities and peoples were rent asunder by the imposition and policing of officially demarcated borders between India and Myanmar. Yet, trade (‘Blankets’) – both formal and informal – has managed to carry on. What has added to the importance of the region in the eyes of the national capitals, is the increasing severity of transnational challenges such as drug-trafficking and the spread of diseases (‘Bird Flu’). Together, these three factors have kept both a regional identity as well as specific community identities alive. This paper is an attempt to examine the region-building properties of these factors.

Cahiers de SPIRIT, 2010. 27p,