This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2014/feb/12/prince-william-charles-illegal-wildlife-trade
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Prince William and Charles: 'we will combat the illegal wildlife trade' | Prince William and Charles: 'we will combat the illegal wildlife trade' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Ahead of a high-level summit on the illegal wildlife trade in London on Thursday hosted by the UK government, the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge told the world this week: | Ahead of a high-level summit on the illegal wildlife trade in London on Thursday hosted by the UK government, the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge told the world this week: |
| We have come together, as father and son, to lend our voices to the growing global effort to combat the illegal wildlife trade - a trade that has reached such unprecedented levels of killing and related violence that it now poses a grave threat not only to the survival of some of the world’s most treasured species, but also to economic and political stability in many areas around the world. | We have come together, as father and son, to lend our voices to the growing global effort to combat the illegal wildlife trade - a trade that has reached such unprecedented levels of killing and related violence that it now poses a grave threat not only to the survival of some of the world’s most treasured species, but also to economic and political stability in many areas around the world. |
| Prince Charles went on to echo comments he’s made before, about the need for a battle against poaching: | Prince Charles went on to echo comments he’s made before, about the need for a battle against poaching: |
| We must treat the illegal wildlife trade as a battle, because it is precisely that. The rising and apparently insatiable demand, much of it from Asia, has provided an economic incentive for trafficking to become increasingly criminalised and professional. Organised bands of criminals are stealing and slaughtering elephants, rhinoceros and tigers, as well as large numbers of other species, in a way that has never been seen before, pushing many species to the brink of extinction. | We must treat the illegal wildlife trade as a battle, because it is precisely that. The rising and apparently insatiable demand, much of it from Asia, has provided an economic incentive for trafficking to become increasingly criminalised and professional. Organised bands of criminals are stealing and slaughtering elephants, rhinoceros and tigers, as well as large numbers of other species, in a way that has never been seen before, pushing many species to the brink of extinction. |
| Prince William also launched his new wildlife charity on Wednesday, United for Wildlife, a consortium of seven wildlife NGOs. “It is my hope you will become part of United for Wildlife and the global alliance to stop illegal trafficking of wildlife,” he told experts from all over the world have been meeting today and yesterday at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). | |
| They have been discussing in depth the kind of measures which will need to be endorsed at the highest level at tomorrow’s Lancaster House conference if the ‘battle against illegal wildlife trade’ is to be won. | |
| Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who lives in Kenya and has fought for decades to help ensure the survival of the African elephant, told the meeting: “If there is one thing I have learned, it’s that half-measures don’t work.” | Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who lives in Kenya and has fought for decades to help ensure the survival of the African elephant, told the meeting: “If there is one thing I have learned, it’s that half-measures don’t work.” |
| Dr Paula Kahumbu, who runs a Kenyan NGO called WildlifeDirect and blogs at the Guardian, explained that Kenya’s new wildlife laws proscribed life imprisonment or a fine of £150,000 for the killing of an endangered species. She wrote yesterday about how Kenya shows African governments can be part of the ‘solution’ to the trade rather than being part of the problem, as they are sometimes perceived to be. | Dr Paula Kahumbu, who runs a Kenyan NGO called WildlifeDirect and blogs at the Guardian, explained that Kenya’s new wildlife laws proscribed life imprisonment or a fine of £150,000 for the killing of an endangered species. She wrote yesterday about how Kenya shows African governments can be part of the ‘solution’ to the trade rather than being part of the problem, as they are sometimes perceived to be. |
| John Sellar, a British policeman who served for years as the chief enforcement officer of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) and who only last week went to Buckingham Place to receive an OBE for services to conservation, declared in an impassioned speech: “What I care about, above all, is putting the bad guys behind bars.” | John Sellar, a British policeman who served for years as the chief enforcement officer of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) and who only last week went to Buckingham Place to receive an OBE for services to conservation, declared in an impassioned speech: “What I care about, above all, is putting the bad guys behind bars.” |
| Wildlife crime is big business, with some estimates putting its value at £20bn pounds a year. | Wildlife crime is big business, with some estimates putting its value at £20bn pounds a year. |
| The world tiger population numbered over 100,000 not much more than a century ago, but is now down to levels as low as 3000 today. Debbie Banks noted: “for every tiger killed, five or eight leopards are also killed, processed and sold by the same individuals.” | The world tiger population numbered over 100,000 not much more than a century ago, but is now down to levels as low as 3000 today. Debbie Banks noted: “for every tiger killed, five or eight leopards are also killed, processed and sold by the same individuals.” |
| Debbie Banks, a campaigner for the Environmental Investigation Agency, said: “Proactive, multi-agency, intelligence-led enforcement solutions that are used to combat other forms of serious organised crime, such as narcotics, will have a significant impact on identifying, apprehending and prosecuting key wildlife criminals, seizing the proceeds of crime and dismantling criminal networks.” | Debbie Banks, a campaigner for the Environmental Investigation Agency, said: “Proactive, multi-agency, intelligence-led enforcement solutions that are used to combat other forms of serious organised crime, such as narcotics, will have a significant impact on identifying, apprehending and prosecuting key wildlife criminals, seizing the proceeds of crime and dismantling criminal networks.” |
| Yet there have been some success stories. | Yet there have been some success stories. |
| Megh Pandey, head of Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, said that Nepal’s tiger population had increased from 95 in 1995 to around 198 today. “The government of Nepal has created law enforcement institutions from community level to prime-minister level aiming to control wildlife crime.” He pointed out that such efforts had to be complemented by habitat conservation and management “through involvement of local communities in order to reduce human-wildlife conflicts and control wildlife crime for a long-term and sustainable management of the protected area system.” | Megh Pandey, head of Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, said that Nepal’s tiger population had increased from 95 in 1995 to around 198 today. “The government of Nepal has created law enforcement institutions from community level to prime-minister level aiming to control wildlife crime.” He pointed out that such efforts had to be complemented by habitat conservation and management “through involvement of local communities in order to reduce human-wildlife conflicts and control wildlife crime for a long-term and sustainable management of the protected area system.” |
| Several of the participants at this week’s ZSL meeting will be participating in their country’s delegations at tomorrow’s Lancaster House Conference on world wildlife crime. | Several of the participants at this week’s ZSL meeting will be participating in their country’s delegations at tomorrow’s Lancaster House Conference on world wildlife crime. |
| The Heads of State who gather in London on Thursday are expected to agree a declaration, indicating their – and the world’s – commitment to further action. | The Heads of State who gather in London on Thursday are expected to agree a declaration, indicating their – and the world’s – commitment to further action. |
| With the UK government acting as the official host of the meeting, David Cameron, the prime minister, and William Hague, the foreign secretary, have both cleared their schedules so as to be able to join the princes in Lancaster House. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who served for many years as the international president of WWF, will be following proceedings closely. It is not yet known what part Prince George will play. | With the UK government acting as the official host of the meeting, David Cameron, the prime minister, and William Hague, the foreign secretary, have both cleared their schedules so as to be able to join the princes in Lancaster House. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who served for many years as the international president of WWF, will be following proceedings closely. It is not yet known what part Prince George will play. |
| If one clear message is to be carried from ZSL to Lancaster House, it is that conservation is too important – and perhaps too difficult and complex – to be left to the conservationists. | If one clear message is to be carried from ZSL to Lancaster House, it is that conservation is too important – and perhaps too difficult and complex – to be left to the conservationists. |
| The whole panoply of law enforcement, including the latest techniques of monitoring and detection, must be deployed if the war against wildlife crime and trafficking is to be won. Such decisions can only be taken at the highest political level. | The whole panoply of law enforcement, including the latest techniques of monitoring and detection, must be deployed if the war against wildlife crime and trafficking is to be won. Such decisions can only be taken at the highest political level. |