Notes:
Development of the resources was kindly supported by:
- Germany’s ‘Partnership against Poaching and Illegal Wildlife Trade’, implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU)’.
- The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs (DEFRA) through the “Reducing Demand for Wildlife Products among Chinese Nationals in Laos” project.
NOTES TO EDITORS
TRAFFIC has published the following resources for banks and institutional investors:
- The Illegal Wildlife Trade and the Banking Sector in China: The Need for a Zero-Tolerance Approach
- Briefing note for Institutional Investors: The Illegal Wildlife Trade and the Banking Sector in China: The Need for a Zero-Tolerance Approach
Briefing Note for Institutional Investors
About the reports and guides
The reports have been prepared to provide practical guidance to banks in China, Vietnam and Lao PDR on the systems and processes that they need to have in place to manage the business risks associated with the illegal wildlife trade and thereby play a key role in combating that trade. They advise that banks should integrate commitments to zero tolerance of the illegal wildlife trade into their systems and processes for managing anti-money laundering and corruption, and into their corporate social responsibility strategies.
The guide for institutional investors makes the case for taking action against money laundering from the illegal wildlife trade and outlines the role that investors can play in encouraging Chinese and Vietnamese banks to take effective action on the illegal wildlife trade. For example, this can include encouraging banks to make a formal commitment to zero tolerance of the illegal wildlife trade and to integrate these commitments into their anti-money laundering systems and processes. The guide provides suggestions for how investors can engage with banks in an attempt to effect real change within these organisations.
The illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife parts and products globally is estimated to be worth billions of US dollars annually, ranking alongside the illegal trafficking of narcotics, arms, and humans.[1][2] The consequences of the illegal wildlife trade are devastating. The Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services 2019 Assessment identified that a million species are at risk of extinction and that the second most significant driver of biodiversity loss is ‘direct exploitation’ which is sometimes driven by trade.[3]
[1] https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/13210/web-beyond-the-poaching-offender-survey.pdf
[2] https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2014/May/wildlife-crime-worth-8-10-billion-annually.html
[3] https://ipbes.net/document-library-catalogue/summary-policymakers-global-assessment-laid-out