1. Promoting the use of existing tools and services
EU and AFRICA TWIX
Promoting the use of existing tools and services
Katalin Kecse-Nagy
TRAFFIC
Second Global Meeting of WENs
Sept 2016, Johannesburg

2. TWIX
TWIX = Internet tool developed to facilitate information exchange and international co-operation between wildlife law enforcement officials – currently implemented in Europe and Central Africa
“European Union / AFRICA - Trade in Wildlife Information eXchange”
2 components:
mailing list
database of seizures
Not a WEN, for the exclusive use of enforcement officers

3. Establishment
EU-TWIX system established in October 2005 by the Belgian Federal Police, Customs, CITES Management Authority and TRAFFIC
AFRICA-TWIX list established in March 2016 with the participation of Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo, with the support of the Commission of Central African Forests (COMIFAC)
Africa-TWIX is in a pilot phase but strong support from African countries
NOT duplicated but ADAPTED to the Central African context/needs
TRAFFIC manages the systems on behalf of the partners

4. Users enforcement agencies including: Customs Police
Environmental inspection services
Prosecutors and judges
Veterinary and phytosanitary inspection services
CITES Management Authorities
International/regional organizations
CITES Secretariat, Interpol, UNODC, WCO, EC, Europol
No. of users
In Europe – close to 900
In Central Africa – over 60
Mention MoUs with some of these orgs – WCO, CITES Sect!
Complementarity with Interpol, WCO and other offical channels for info sharing – NO NOMINAL/SENSITIVE INFO shared

5. Geographic coverage EU-TWIX AFRICA-TWIX
All EU MS plus neighbouring countries

6. Mailing lists
Connects officials from countries via their address
Access-restricted, only enforcement (except the TWIX Manager)
Quick sharing of seizures news/alerts
No nominal information shared
Triggers seizures and facilitates investigations
Help with identification of seized specimens/products, locating rescue centres etc.
Sharing of resources and expertise (e.g. lab analyses) – requests for various assistance
Reveals scope of illegal trade networks in the EU
No. Of s shared
in Africa, since the start (March 2016): over 200
In Europe: about 400 per year in last years

7. Databases of seizures
Countries keep control over and ownership of their data
No nominal information
Africa TWIX database under development - in the database: data fields adapted to local needs/request
EU-TWIX – data transfer via WCO for many MS, database focuses on EU only
Under development
Adapted to needs identified by countries in the region

8. directories on European laboratories, rescue centres for seized specimens, wildlife experts, and prices of specimens in trade
Used to monitor current illegal trade patterns (e.g. species, countries, concealment methods most relevant in illegal trade): allows to determine enforcement priorities
Focus in Africa: ID tools, national legislation, training materials,

10. Examples of use of the seizure data
UNODC report – uses EU-TWIX data with the permission of the EU Member States

11. Some success factors Simple and easy to use (email)
Connects wildlife enforcement officers across agencies
Active support/facilitation by dedicated TWIX manager
Adapting to the regional/specific needs
Provides effective platform for regional collaboration
Workshops to establish personal contacts/build trust
Careful handling of data and information sharing – managed to keep exchanges/data confidential (no mis-use of TRAFFIC’s situation)

12. Thank you for your attention!