TRAFFIC helps train Nanjing enforcement agencies to combat wildlife crime
Nanjing, China, 1st December 2017—This week 60 enforcement officials from Nanjing received training on combatting wildlife crime on the internet and through courier channels during a workshop co-organized by Nanjing Forest Police College (NFPC) and TRAFFIC. Participants from the Forest Police, Customs, Administration for Industry and Commerce, Procuratorate and Postal Bureau attended.
Experts speakers included representatives from the World Custom Organization’s (WCO) Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO) for Asia and the Pacific; China General Customs; State Administration for Industry & Commerce; Technical Investigation Department of Beijing Police Bureau; Beijing Xicheng Procuratorate; Nanjing Forest Police College; and TRAFFIC.
Topics discussed included: the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and Wild Animal Protection Laws in China; case studies on wildlife smuggling through logistics channels; laws and regulations governing wildlife trade online and the logistics industry; the current levels of wildlife crime online and in the logistics sector; identification of species regularly traded as pets; identification of wild animal and plant products; and techniques used to combat crime. Frontline Forest Police and Customs officials also shared their skills and experiences in combating wildlife crimes.
Representatives from Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, EMS, SF-express and Fedex China spoke about their procedures used to combat wildlife crime and collaborate with enforcement agencies. The enforcement officials noted their deep appreciation for these efforts and discussed collaboration issues such as how to obtain appropriate evidence and how to use advanced techniques to identify illegal wildlife trade, both, online and during the delivery process.
TRAFFIC spoke about Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) manuals for the internet and logistic companies on combatting wildlife crime.
“Wildlife crime through the internet and logistics channels has become a key issue in recent years and Standard Operating Procedure manuals aim to provide practical guidance to companies to help in combatting such crime,” said Zhou Fei, Head of TRAFFIC’s China Office.
Enforcement officials commended the training and the opportunity for in-depth discussions with companies. “This meeting is a great platform for enforcement officials to exchange experiences with companies and learn from each other,” said one Forest Police official.
“We learnt a lot of useful techniques and experience for combating wildlife crimes and the discussions with companies are a good starting point for collaboration to combat illegal wildlife trade. We hope TRAFFIC can continue to organize such workshops in the future.”
The workshop was supported by Defra and WWF UK.
