Illegal wildlife trade
News & Blog
28 Jun 2022
NewsApplying behaviour change approaches to fight corruption and illegal wildlife trade
Green Corruption, Prevention, Research and Innovation
16 Jul 2021
BlogNew policy brief on how to reduce the social acceptability of wildlife trafficking
Green Corruption, Prevention, Research and Innovation
25 Jun 2021
NewsNew four-part series spotlights green corruption risks and what to do about them
Asset Recovery, Collective Action, Private Sector, Green Corruption, Prevention, Research and Innovation
31 May 2021
NewsSocial media, dark web and cryptocurrencies: curbing the illegal online sale of wildlife and environmental goods
Green Corruption
23 Apr 2021
BlogWhy do people poach, trade and buy protected wildlife – and what might change that behaviour?
Green Corruption, Prevention, Research and Innovation
Publications
Research case study 4: Deconstructing a criminal network involved in illegal wildlife trade between East Africa and Southeast Asia
The illegal wildlife trade threatens biodiversity and security worldwide. Criminal networks pocket billions of dollars in illicit profits from stripping the world bare of endangered species and corrupting politicians and public officials in the process.
Yet there is very little empirical evidence on the role of both ordinary citizens and criminal networks in the illegal wildlife trade. Our research aims to fill this gap.
We used social network analysis and network ethnography techniques to study the criminal network of a wildlife trafficker based in East Africa. The insights can bolster law enforcement efforts aimed at identifying and dismantling wildlife trafficking networks.
Policy Brief 10: Using anti-money laundering frameworks to fight illegal wildlife trade in Uganda
In February 2020, Uganda made a high-level political commitment to work with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) to strengthen the effectiveness of its anti-money laundering (AML) regime. Among other commitments, Uganda undertook to demonstrate that law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities apply the money laundering offence consistent with the identified risks.
Studies show that Uganda has high risks for cross-border movement of illegally obtained wildlife and wildlife products, both as a source and transit country. In addition, Uganda and the East African region in general have made some massive seizures of illegal wildlife products, which points to organised criminal activity. Notably, no money laundering prosecutions have to date arisen out of illegal wildlife trade (IWT) as a predicate offence in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
This short Policy Brief provides an outline of how the AML framework (intelligence, investigations and prosecutions) can be utilised to help combat IWT and the corruption that facilitates it. The insights are drawn from the Ugandan context, but can be applied with appropriate adjustments to other jurisdictions seeking to strengthen efforts to combat IWT and related corruption/money laundering.
About this Policy Brief
This publication is part of the Basel Institute on Governance Policy Brief series, ISSN 2624-9669, and supports the Basel Institute’s Green Corruption programme.
It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Suggested citation: Walugembe, Tom. 2022. “Using anti-money laundering frameworks to fight illegal wildlife trade.” Policy Brief 10, Basel Institute on Governance. Available at: baselgovernance.org/pb-10.
This Policy Brief was funded by UK Aid through the IWT Challenge Fund. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the UK Government. This research is co-funded through a core donation to the Green Corruption programme from the Principality of Liechtenstein.
Working Paper 39: Behavioural drivers of corruption facilitating illegal wildlife trade – Problem analysis and state of the field review
This Problem Analysis is a review of the efficacy and opportunities for using social norm and behaviour change (SNBC) approaches to combat illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and other natural resource-related corruption.
Behavioural science is a rich and expansive field that has received prominent coverage in recent years for the promise it offers as a foundational yet underutilised approach to achieving biodiversity conservation. Extensive literature shows how SNBC initiatives can help combat diverse corruption problems, although for those related to natural resource management the evidence for doing so is sparse.
This report synthesises the available information and suggests the next steps to redress this current lack of evidence. It seeks to:
- Understand what SNBC approaches might or might not work in fighting corruption.
- Identify entry points for designing SNBC interventions that can effectively reduce corruption related to IWT.
About and acknowledgements
This Analysis has been produced in association with the Targeting Natural Resource Corruption (TNRC) project. The TNRC project is working to improve biodiversity outcomes by helping practitioners to address the threats posed by corruption to wildlife, fisheries and forests. TNRC harnesses existing knowledge, generates new evidence, and supports innovative policy and practice for more effective anti-corruption programming. Learn more at tnrcproject.org.
This publication is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, or individual TNRC consortium members.
The publication is part of the Basel Institute on Governance Working Paper Series, ISSN: 2624-9650. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
Suggested citation: Baez Camargo, Claudia, and Gayle Burgess. 2022. “Behavioural drivers of corruption facilitating illegal wildlife trade: Problem analysis and state of the field review.” Working Paper 39, Basel Institute on Governance. Available at: https://baselgovernance.org/publications/wp-39
Where are the weakest links in the illegal wildlife trade enforcement chain? Lessons from corruption risk assessments with agencies in three countries
This Practice Note:
- Summarizes experiences and lessons from conducting corruption risk assessments (CRAs) with authorities responsible for investigations and prosecutions of illegal wildlife trade (IWT) cases in three countries in Africa and Latin America. It seeks to demonstrate the value of adopting a collaborative approach to CRAs, illustrates potential avenues for pursuing such an approach when the right factors are in place, and demonstrates how mapping the criminal justice process provides a solid starting point to identify critical vulnerabilities. The note also highlights factors that might recommend another approach, for example where collaboration cannot be assured.
- Highlights some common risks that emerged from the CRAs in the three countries and that may negatively affect the progress of IWT cases in other countries. Still, corruption risks vary among countries and agency contexts, and it is not always feasible for practitioners to conduct or initiate a CRA. These general insights can help point practitioners to possible vulnerabilities to look out for.
The practice note was developed by team members of the Basel Institute’s Green Corruption programme as part of a wider research collaboration between the Basel Institute and the TNRC project consortium.
Takeaways
- Effective enforcement against illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and related crimes is a vital component of wildlife conservation, but corruption risks within law enforcement agencies can undermine their ability to investigate and prosecute such cases. Supporting agencies to identify, evaluate, prioritize, and mitigate their corruption risks can help improve enforcement outcomes, assign scarce resources to areas that pose the highest risks, and build trust and cooperation with other agencies and stakeholders.
- This TNRC Practice Note describes the lessons and insights from a three-country corruption risk assessment (CRA) exercise, using a collaborative approach that involves engaging with agency staff and relevant stakeholders to illuminate and systematically evaluate major risks. This is a sensitive process that requires strong relationships with agency leadership and a deep understanding of local political, social, and economic factors.
- In all three countries, mitigating high-priority corruption risks in law enforcement agencies required a constructive, pragmatic, and sustained approach. Working jointly and acknowledging agencies’ political, capacity, and resource constraints can therefore represent a viable alternative to simply penalizing corrupt practices through investigations and audits.
- Experience suggests that mapping the criminal justice process’ decision points is a crucial first step that builds shared understanding across stakeholders and helps identify corruption risk areas. It can take substantial investments of time to produce such maps, but that investment is usually warranted as it ensures researchers and stakeholders are speaking the same language.
About the TNRC project
The TNRC project seeks to improve biodiversity conservation outcomes by helping practitioners to address the threats posed by corruption to wildlife, fisheries and forests. TNRC harnesses existing knowledge, generates new evidence, and supports innovative policy and practice for more effective anti-corruption programming on the ground.
A USAID-funded project, TNRC is implemented by a consortium of leading organizations in anti-corruption, natural resource management, and conservation: World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre at the Chr. Michelsen Institute, TRAFFIC, and the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) at George Mason University.
Quick Guide 25: Tax investigations and illegal wildlife trade
What role could tax investigations play in detecting, investigating and prosecuting cases of illegal wildlife trade? Potentially a large one, with the right coordination and capacity.
This quick guide by Jovile Mungyereza, Financial Investigation Specialist in our Green Corruption programme and former Tax Investigations manager at the Uganda Revenue Authority, gives a brief introduction to the surprisingly under-researched and under-utilised possibility of using tax laws and investigations to target high-level wildlife traffickers.
About this Quick Guide
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. It is part of the Basel Institute on Governance Quick Guide series, ISSN 2673-5229, and was funded by the UK Government through the IWT Challenge Fund.
