countering wildlife trafficking through Kenya's ports

Increasing demand for wildlife products, especially in Asia, is threatening many animal and plant species such as Black Rhinoceros Diceros bicornis, African Elephants Loxodonta africana, and African pangolins (Phataginus and Smutsia sp.).

Every year, the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) displaces billions of US dollars of national revenue from developing countries to the criminal individuals and networks involved in this crime. Traffickers exploit legitimate transport, logistics services and international trade routes to move wildlife and their products illegally from source to consumer countries.

Most of the ivory (72%) and pangolin scales are trafficked by sea in containerised cargo due to the high volumes involved and the minimal risk of interception and arrest. Kilindini Port, also referred to as Mombasa Port—Kenya’s and East Africa’s largest seaport—is highly vulnerable to wildlife trafficking: of almost 55 tonnes of ivory intercepted between 2002 and 2017, Mombasa Port was involved or inferred to be involved (Little and Outhwaite, 2020). This highlights its strategic location and why it is exploited bycriminals. Strengthening port law enforcement capacity as well as the security of maritime supply chains are therefore critical actions in the fight against wildlife trafficking.

To address the threat of wildlife trafficking through Kilindini Port and other Kenyan seaports, a three-day Port Stakeholder Workshop was convened in Mombasa by the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife of The Republic of Kenya (MOTW) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), wildlife trade specialists TRAFFIC, and the World Wide Fund for Nature-Kenya (WWF-Kenya), with technical support from the World Customs Organization (WCO) and The Royal Foundation (TRF).

73 representatives from MOTW, Kenya Port Authority (KPA), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), Customs representatives from Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Viet Nam, shipping companies and private sector associations, UN organisations, USAID, and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), along with national and international experts on wildlife trade and maritime issues, participated in the event on 23rd–25th October 2019. Overall, representatives from a total of 12 countries from 31 organisations were engaged in the workshop.