Visualizing corruption risks in the illegal rhino horn trade supply chain

This publication provides infographics and accompanying text that maps the areas along the rhino horn supply chain most vulnerable to corruption and identifies feasible entry points for different anti-corruption approaches.

Understanding the specific drivers behind specific corrupt incidences is vital to inform anticorruption responses. Any planned response must be informed by careful assessment of the specific corrupt practices involved, as well as the facilitating and driving factors behind the behaviours, the power and resources of change agents and their opponents, and the risks involved. The “right” anti-corruption response is the one that is most suited to the specific actors, opportunities, and constraints of a given situation.

This visualization¹ breaks the rhino horn supply chain into four sections and identifies areas of low, medium or high risk of corruption: 

1. Sourcing: Includes planning, preparation, and acquisition of the rhino horn as well as local transport of illegally acquired rhino horn and delivery to intermediary buyers for processing, packaging, and/or further distribution.
2. Distribution: The process of processing (occasionally), packaging, and exporting rhino horn to buyers in other countries.
3. Selling: The transaction where the final consumer purchases and receives the illegal rhino horn.
4. Laundering of proceeds: Processing the revenues from rhino horn crimes to be able to use it as licit money or to further finance the corruption underpinning the rhino horn enterprise.

¹ For the purposes of this visualization, corruption risk is defined as both formal and informal weaknesses within a system, institution, or process that make corruption easier or easier to hide (facilitators) and motivate individuals to engage in corruption (drivers).