TRAFFIC in the Americas
The Americas are a hugely diverse wildlife market, acting as both a consumer destination but also as a transit hub. With many digital and online companies based in the US, working with the private sector to combat illegal trade on online platforms is a key priority.
Timber trade from South America is an ongoing issue, as the continent continues to face high levels of illegal logging and unsustainable harvesting.
current focus:
trade monitoring, wildlife crime, cybercrime, engaging industry
an introduction to our priorities
Our US office is based in Washington DC, co-ordinating actions to develop new solutions to fighting back against wildlife crime and unsustainable wildlife trade.
The Wildlife Crime Initiative, a joint project between TRAFFIC and WWF, was launched in 2014 and pioneered multi-faceted conservation approaches to tackling the poaching crisis facing African wildlife. The initiative has since evolved into separate projects, but helped form innovative foundations to protecting ecosystems, supporting enforcement, and embedding high level policy changes to combat poaching and illegal trade.
Priority countries for our work in the Americas
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contact us in the US
USA
+1 202 293 4800
We're helping bring together industry and the private sector in the fight against wildlife crime and cybercrime
Crawford Allan, Senior Director, America and Wildlife Crime
some areas of focus within our America Office
Explore wildlife trade priorities we're working on from our office in the US and their links to our wider projects.
With the development of new technologies and digital platforms, wildlife trade has increasingly moved to online avenues. A significance focus in the Americas has been bringing together tech companies across the world.
We're working with partners to facilitate online companies committing to actions which reduce the opportunities for criminals and illegal traders to exploit online platforms to trade in endangered or illegal wildlife products. The Global Coalition to End Wildlife Trade Online has been a major victory for wildlife, bringing together giants such as Tencent, Alibaba, Google, and Facebook. The USAID ROUTES Partnership is a separate initiative which arms the aviation and logistics industries with tools, training, and collaborative approaches to identify and shut down illegal wildlife products in global transport chains.
a selection of our conservation projects
Wildlife TRAPS
The Wildlife TRAPS Project, financed by USAID and implemented by TRAFFIC in collaboration with IUCN, is designed to develop and deliver a suite of ground-breaking partnerships and pioneering approaches to tackle wildlife crime between Africa and Asia.
Wildlife TRAPS uses targeted assessments, collaborative action planning, and innovative approaches to identify and advance interventions that can break trafficking chains and disrupt organised criminal networks.
Temminck’s Ground Pangolin Smutsia temminckii © Darren Pietersen / African Pangolin Working Group
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Wildlife crime
Our US office helps co-ordinate various actions and projects delivering partnerships, approaches, and innovative solutions to reducing illegal wildlife trade and wildlife crime.
This includes ongoing monitoring activities to identify emerging trade flows and evolving trafficking trends as well as supporting high-level international wildlife policy commitments in the public and private sector.
Seized ivory by the Department of National Parks, Bangkok © Ola Jennersten / WWF-Sweden
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Combating global wildlife cybercrime
Recent years have seen illegal wildlife trade steadily shifting towards online platforms. Illegal traders and smugglers are exploiting e-commerce websites, social media platforms and logistics companies to trade in wildlife contraband.
This project is working to equip these sectors, as well as local law enforcement, with the necessary tools and knowledge to shut down the opportunities for their platforms to be exploited, as well as working to increase the detection and action taken against wildlife cybercriminals.
related news and reports
explore the latest news and reports relevant to our work in the Americas
latest reports related to our work in the AMERICAS
The Americas is a major trader in wildlife products, and a leading market for engaging with the private sector . Explore the latest publications here.
For the full TRAFFIC archive, visit our publications page.
