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| Inside Africa's biggest bushmeat market in Angola | Inside Africa's biggest bushmeat market in Angola |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Angola is home to Africa's biggest bushmeat market but is now ramping up efforts to stop the illegal trade, reports the BBC's Karen Allen from Luanda. | Angola is home to Africa's biggest bushmeat market but is now ramping up efforts to stop the illegal trade, reports the BBC's Karen Allen from Luanda. |
| In a blue plastic bucket is a macabre sight - the head of a small gazelle stares straight ahead, as a woman chops meat from its limp body to the the strains of a popular song on radio. | In a blue plastic bucket is a macabre sight - the head of a small gazelle stares straight ahead, as a woman chops meat from its limp body to the the strains of a popular song on radio. |
| Angola is not for the squeamish. | Angola is not for the squeamish. |
| Bushmeat is everyday fare here. They call it "Carne de Zaza" in Portuguese. | Bushmeat is everyday fare here. They call it "Carne de Zaza" in Portuguese. |
| Scientists like Steve Boyes of the Okavango Wilderness Project and the leader of a National Geographical Society expeditionary team, monitor the trade. | Scientists like Steve Boyes of the Okavango Wilderness Project and the leader of a National Geographical Society expeditionary team, monitor the trade. |
| "This is not about judgement, it is about conservation," he says, as he reveals that $6 (£4) will buy you a monkey and $60 a fine cut of snake. | "This is not about judgement, it is about conservation," he says, as he reveals that $6 (£4) will buy you a monkey and $60 a fine cut of snake. |
| The consumption of bushmeat is a lingering legacy of survival and tradition, not a sign of bloodlust, among a population still badly bruised by an ugly civil war. | The consumption of bushmeat is a lingering legacy of survival and tradition, not a sign of bloodlust, among a population still badly bruised by an ugly civil war. |
| But old habits die hard. | But old habits die hard. |
| During the war which stubbornly persisted from 1975-2002, communities had little choice but to eat bushmeat, and a man I stumble across in the market speaks bluntly of his distaste for change. | During the war which stubbornly persisted from 1975-2002, communities had little choice but to eat bushmeat, and a man I stumble across in the market speaks bluntly of his distaste for change. |
| "I had to eat bushmeat during the war years so I intend to continue eating it now… I'd even eat elephant," he boasts. | "I had to eat bushmeat during the war years so I intend to continue eating it now… I'd even eat elephant," he boasts. |
| Another woman told me that she prefers the taste of bushmeat to chicken, or other commonly eaten animals. | |
| Now Angola has become a flourishing hub for contraband from across the region, with billions of dollars netted globally from what has been dubbed "environmental crime." | Now Angola has become a flourishing hub for contraband from across the region, with billions of dollars netted globally from what has been dubbed "environmental crime." |
| Syndicates are operating on an industrial scale, and the UN and Interpol warn that this illegal activity has now eclipsed arms smuggling in scale. | Syndicates are operating on an industrial scale, and the UN and Interpol warn that this illegal activity has now eclipsed arms smuggling in scale. |
| So long as there is a market and laws are not enforced, it seems, stamping out this lucrative business will be hard. | So long as there is a market and laws are not enforced, it seems, stamping out this lucrative business will be hard. |
| A mammoth task | A mammoth task |
| The recently released report on Environmental Crime - a joint initiative from the UN Environment programme (UNEP) and Interpol - comes with a stark warning. | |
| Failure to address wildlife crime now means sustainable development goals may not be reached. | Failure to address wildlife crime now means sustainable development goals may not be reached. |
| So Angola is trying to ramp up efforts to outwit the poachers, recruit hundreds of former soldiers to re-train as wildlife rangers, and promise strategies to promote conservation. | So Angola is trying to ramp up efforts to outwit the poachers, recruit hundreds of former soldiers to re-train as wildlife rangers, and promise strategies to promote conservation. |
| "We have a big push to manage protected areas and create others for the benefit of our people," said Abias Huongo, director of Angola's National Institute of Biodiversity. | "We have a big push to manage protected areas and create others for the benefit of our people," said Abias Huongo, director of Angola's National Institute of Biodiversity. |
| "For us to survive, other species need to survive," he says. | "For us to survive, other species need to survive," he says. |
| But the sale of the global problem is staggering. | But the sale of the global problem is staggering. |
| The UN estimates that the value of environmental crime has risen by 26% in two years and now stands at $258bn, only behind drugs, counterfeited goods and human trafficking in terms of criminal enterprises. | The UN estimates that the value of environmental crime has risen by 26% in two years and now stands at $258bn, only behind drugs, counterfeited goods and human trafficking in terms of criminal enterprises. |
| Angola hosts Africa's biggest ivory and bushmeat market. | Angola hosts Africa's biggest ivory and bushmeat market. |
| It is a transit point for much of the trade, with ivory smuggled from across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo. | It is a transit point for much of the trade, with ivory smuggled from across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo. |
| A recent seizure of elephant tusks were displayed incongruously in the airport lounge - testimony to at least 11 elephants which fell prey to this spiralling crime. | A recent seizure of elephant tusks were displayed incongruously in the airport lounge - testimony to at least 11 elephants which fell prey to this spiralling crime. |
| Ivory traders face the threat of three years in jail or a hefty fine under Angolan law but insiders admit not enough is being done to enforce the rules. | Ivory traders face the threat of three years in jail or a hefty fine under Angolan law but insiders admit not enough is being done to enforce the rules. |
| The government here has threatened to close down Benfica market in the capital, Luanda, to coincide with the launch of the report and UN Environment Day. | The government here has threatened to close down Benfica market in the capital, Luanda, to coincide with the launch of the report and UN Environment Day. |
| Yet it's a mammoth task. | Yet it's a mammoth task. |
| The fact that we were able to find illegal bushmeat at a market just a few miles away from where UN dignitaries met their Angolan counterparts in the province of Cuando-Cubango, is testimony to the vast scale of this illicit global trade. | The fact that we were able to find illegal bushmeat at a market just a few miles away from where UN dignitaries met their Angolan counterparts in the province of Cuando-Cubango, is testimony to the vast scale of this illicit global trade. |
| Just over a decade since the end of the civil war, in a part of the planet which has been locked away from much of the outside world, new territories are now been opened up for exploration. | Just over a decade since the end of the civil war, in a part of the planet which has been locked away from much of the outside world, new territories are now been opened up for exploration. |
| But it's a race against time, pitting conservationists against poachers. | But it's a race against time, pitting conservationists against poachers. |
| A carpet of thick African bush fed by waters from four rivers make up the Okovango river system. It is a breathtaking sight when viewed from the air, full of promise but also foreboding. | A carpet of thick African bush fed by waters from four rivers make up the Okovango river system. It is a breathtaking sight when viewed from the air, full of promise but also foreboding. |
| It is one of the last remaining pristine parts of the planet which offers the prospect of becoming a new front for criminal gangs - or a gift to science and conservation. | It is one of the last remaining pristine parts of the planet which offers the prospect of becoming a new front for criminal gangs - or a gift to science and conservation. |
| That is why the pressure is on Angola to take a lead in law enforcement, roll out education campaigns and provide new job opportunities which divert communities away from wildlife crime. | That is why the pressure is on Angola to take a lead in law enforcement, roll out education campaigns and provide new job opportunities which divert communities away from wildlife crime. |
| The Okovango Wilderness Project has proposed a 178,000 sq km protected area which would enable elephants and other wildlife to roam freely without fear of being hunted. | The Okovango Wilderness Project has proposed a 178,000 sq km protected area which would enable elephants and other wildlife to roam freely without fear of being hunted. |
| It opens up the prospect of creating jobs in the eco-tourism sector. It is an attractive prospect for a country like Angola that is trying to diversify away from oil. | It opens up the prospect of creating jobs in the eco-tourism sector. It is an attractive prospect for a country like Angola that is trying to diversify away from oil. |
| But conservation is labour intensive and without a major scaling up of global effort and funding, the poachers are likely to continue to have the upper hand. | But conservation is labour intensive and without a major scaling up of global effort and funding, the poachers are likely to continue to have the upper hand. |
| And the funding may need to be raised "to the tune of $800 per sq km per year", says Paul Funston of the conservation group . | And the funding may need to be raised "to the tune of $800 per sq km per year", says Paul Funston of the conservation group . |
| It seems that the world now faces a critical choice - share the burden and costs of African conservation effort, or look the other way. | It seems that the world now faces a critical choice - share the burden and costs of African conservation effort, or look the other way. |