A southern African WEN ?

It is a multi-agency, intergovernmental law-enforcement network made up of multiple countries within one region, designed to combat the illegal wildlife trade at a regional scale It is a platform for regional collaboration between national law enforcement agencies, CITES authorities, customs, police, prosecutors, and specialized wildlife enforcement group. Definition from Freeland Foundation

It is a mechanism for countries to monitor wildlife crime, share information, develop capacity for enforcement and investigations, and learn from each other’s best practices And a proactive regional response to wildlife trafficking and species loss

OWNERSHIP MUST be ownership of the network by members states

Effective national committees are the heart of a WEN MUST include multiple agencies at national level

Use existing tools as much as possible! There is a ‘cascade’ of available tools that can be used at regional (e.g. WENSA/WCPCU, TWIX, wildleaks), national (e.g. ICCWC analytic toolkit, ICCWC indicator framework, NEST, i14/7, ecomessage, CEN) and sub-national (e.g. MEE, SMART, Protected area audit)

Continually emphasize that it is a serious transnational organized crime

Dealing with wildlife crime also fulfills other obligations that member states have signed up to

Common misconceptions! There are some misconceptions about what a WEN does Common misconceptions!

A WEN should assist with all types of wildlife crime (not just elephants and rhinos)

It does NOT replace existing working structures It does not replace any existing working structures but instead seeks to complement them by bringing better cooperation and collaboration between agencies and between countries.

It is NOT a criminal intelligence gathering body It does not collect and collate criminal intelligence but instead recommends the use of existing processes and structures for such criminal intelligence.

It SHOULD be a link to major donors It should be a link to donors to help ensure that support goes to the parts of the region that need it most.

Any coordination unit, no matter what it is called, should be as free as possible from unnecessary bureaucracy!

Seek sustainable funding An absolute priority that MUST be addressed from the earliest times…