The EU Action Plan against wildlife trafficking

The EU Action Plan against wildlife trafficking

• Gaël de Rotalier – European Commission (DG ENV) • OECD HIGH LEVEL RISK FORUM Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade WCO-OECD Regional

Policy Dialogue on Countering Illicit Trade: Addressing the Governance Gaps in Europe WCO Headquarters,

• Brussels, Belgium 7-8 November 2016

Overview

• EU Action Plan adopted on 26 February 2016 • (COM (2016) 87), accompanied by a Staff Working

Document with comprehensive Analysis and Evidence

• Endorsed by Member States through Council conclusions in June 2016

• Following stakeholder consultation and EP resolution in 2014

New scale of wildlife trafficking

• Beyond iconic animals, many more species are affected by wildlife trafficking, for example sharks, great apes, big cats, pangolins, corals, turtles, tortoises, lizards, catci, orchids, animals used for bushmeat, reptile skins, tropical timber or wood used for charcoal

Impact on security

• Links with financing of militia groups acknowledged by UN Security Council – fuelling conflicts in the Great Lakes Region

• Links with terrorism acknowledged by G7 leaders 2015 and in recent EU Action Plan on Financing of Terrorism

Drivers of wildlife trafficking

• In countries of origin: poverty; poor governance; lack of resources to enforce the rules; low priority among decision-makers

• In countries of destination: steep increase of demand for wildlife products in some Asian countries from wealthier middle and upper classes; lack of awareness on the impact of wildlife trafficking; insufficient control by enforcement agencies

The EU and legal trade in wildlife products: some facts and figures

• The EU is an important market for, and exporter of legal wildlife trade products. EU trade in wildlife products (including timber, fish (excluding aquaculture) wild animals and plants) is estimated to be in the order of EUR100 billion

• The EU accounts for nearly 20% of global timber market

• For CITES-listed species (excluding caviar extract), the value of EU imports in 2014 was estimated at EUR900 million, and the value of EU exports at EUR1.2 billion. The most important traded CITES commodities include live plants, leather products (notably 1.3 million reptile skins imported into the EU), caviar, corals and timber products.

The EU as market, transit and source region for illegal wildlife productsOverview of seizures of wildlife products reported by EU MS in 2014

Objectives of the WAP

• Put wildlife trafficking higher on the political agenda of the EU and its MS

• Turn high-level commitments against wildlife trafficking into concrete deliverables with timeline and monitoring mechanisms

• Reinforce EU action against wildlife trafficking in the EU and globally

1st pillar: prevention – acting on the key drivers of wildlife

trafficking (1)

• reduce the demand for illegal wildlife products (awareness raising, engaging with the business sector)

• tackle the root causes of the problem in source countries (make sure that rural communities are engaged in and benefit from wildlife conservation and support strong actions against corruption)

1st pillar: prevention – acting on the key drivers of wildlife

trafficking (2)• Suspend the export of old raw ivory items from

the EU and strengthened scrutiny over intra-EU trade in old ivory items

• Propose the inclusion of new species in CITES to ensure that they benefit from international protection (with special focus on species imported into the EU)

2nd pillar: enforcement (1)

• strengthen implementation and enforcement of the rules in the EU through enhanced cooperation between competent enforcement agencies, adequate training, the setting of priority enforcement targets at EU level, cross-border operations between EU Member States

• Increased role for Europol and Eurojust

2nd pillar: enforcement (2)• Put wildlife trafficking on the radar screen of organised

crime specialists and agencies and make sure that organised wildlife trafficking is considered a serious crime in national legislation of EU MS

• Review EU regime on criminal sanctions applicable to wildlife trafficking in 2016, as part of the review of the Directive 2008/99 on environmental crime

• Increased scrutiny on the import of hunting trophies in the EU to ensure their legal and sustainable origin

3rd pillar: global partnership

• increased and strategic EU financial support to tackle wildlife trafficking in source countries (700Mi Euros for 2014-2020 for activities related to African wildlife conservation)

• use the EU diplomatic and trade leverage to press for progress against WLT at the bilateral, regional and global levels

3rd pillar: global partnership

• better explore and address the links between wildlife trafficking and security

• support joint international law enforcement operations

Next steps

• Implementation • Inter service group within the Commission • Scoreboard• Monitoring through the CITES Enforcement Group twice

per year and “wildlife days” in February 2017• In mid 2018, COM will report on progress • In 2020 evaluation of the Action Plan