The New Nation - Internet Edition

In a major step forward, the ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) conference concluded last month with strong commitments by Asian governments and interna onal partners to coordinate enforcement e. orts in a concerted e. ort to halt wildlife crime and habitat deple on.

The agreement came at a mee ng, "A Forgo en Crisis: Arres ng Wildlife Deple on through Strengthened Partnerships and Regional Coopera on," that was held April 10-12 in Pa aya, Thailand.

ASEAN-WEN is the region's largest environmental lawenforcement network. It links scores of environmental agencies, police organiza ons, customs bureaus and members of the judiciary from all 10 ASEAN member countries to share intelligence, conduct inves ga ons, and train o. cers to combat wildlife tra. cking and implement interna onal and na onal laws regula ng wildlife trade.

The Pa aya conference was hosted by the

Government of Thailand and sponsored by the World Bank, ASEAN-WEN, the Save the Tiger Fund, TRAFFIC, the U.S. Agency for Interna onal Development, and the FREELAND Founda on. With illegal trade in wildlife es mated at over $10 billion across Asia, second only to weapons and drug smuggling, par cipants at the conference made a call to ac on, with agreement on a new wildlife Manifesto, "Comba ng Wildlife Crime in Asia," supported by ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, Thailand Minister of Natural Resources and Environment H.E. Suwit Khunki , and World Bank President Robert Zoellick. Mr. Zoellick, in his message said, "ASEAN members, other interested countries in Asia, and a powerful coali on of partners in civil society with strong support from the World Bank have come together today to tackle wildlife crime head on and to take smart steps - immediate steps - to coordinate a regional law enforcement response to protect endangered species and protect habitats. The ger is one sad example of a threatened species that we must protect. The World Bank has joined with other partners to help save the wild gers of Asia, whose numbers have declined over the last century from 100,000 to less than 4,000. We congratulate the par cipants for these outcomes and thank the Government of Thailand for hos ng this important event."

A major e. ort by the World Bank is under way and gaining momentum, the Global Tiger Ini a ve. It was launched last year by the Bank, the Smithsonian Ins tu on, the Global Environment Facility, and the Interna onal Tiger Coali on, as an interna onal collabora ve pla orm dedicated to saving wild gers and mainstreaming biodiversity. The delegates began prepara ons for the Year of the Tiger Summit in 2010 that will bring high-level poli cal commitment to save the wild gers, Asia's religious and cultural icon, and the symbol of environmental sustainability. Despite the e. orts of individual governments and conserva on organiza ons, wild gers and many other endangered wildlife species are silently disappearing from the Asian landscape. Saving them requires a concerted mul na onal e. ort with support from top poli cal leaders and interna onal organiza ons. Since its incep on in 2005, ASEAN-WEN has become a successful model for regional coopera on in transna onal law enforcement on illegal wildlife trade. The Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, refl ected on the achievements of this week's conference, saying, "We have a unique, diverse, and rich biodiversity that needs to be protected carefully. We must all work together to conserve our natural heritage. I commend 2 the World Bank for its strong support to ASEAN-WEN to prevent and combat against the threat to the wildlife of Par cipants included ASEAN government delega ons and representa ves from about 20 countries, including 10 non-ASEAN countries, interna onal organiza ons, and numerous NGOs ac ve in wildlife and biodiversity preserva on. They discussed and iden fi ed a series of factors which drive and encourage illegal trading. The Manifesto will help develop the Southeast Asia and South Asia wildlife enforcement networks into fully e. ec ve and sustainable pla orms. These will have specially trained wildlife crime task forces within the na onal police forces and other enforcement agencies to track, monitor, inves gate and share cross-border informa on and to stop illegal wildlife trade and arrest tra. ckers in the region.

"Just as the fi nancial crisis has shown that our economies are all intricately related, wildlife crime and its impacts are cross-border and global. All Asian countries, as well as non- Asian countries, must come together to solve this forgo en crisis," said Thai Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Suwit in a statement. The ministry o. ered to set up a ministerial steering group of ger range states this year. This is signifi cant change and signals high-level poli cal support for the recommenda ons of the Manifesto. The results of a new report, What's Driving the Wildlife Trade?, were also presented at the workshop. The study, jointly conducted by TRAFFIC and the World Bank, reported on the economic and social drivers of wildlife trade in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam.

Civil society groups applauded the Thai Government and World Bank for their pledges.

"The Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and World Bank have done the right thing by listening to conserva on stakeholders and taking their message to the highest levels in Asia," said Kraisak Choonhavan, Chairman of FREELAND Founda on, "We now hope Asia's leaders will listen."

(Source: www. citesnepal.org)