1. Good Financial Governance in Africa Illegal poaching and wildlife trade big business with devastating consequences what can SAIs do? AFROSAI Working Group of Environmental Auditing Abuja, 13th of Septembre Tassilo von Droste
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GFG Heat Map

2. This presentation will cover the following :
Illegal trade in wildlife: organized environmental crime worth 20 billion USD
Devastating consequences not only for biodiversity
What can SAIs do?
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Illegal poaching and wildlife trad

3. Illegal trade in wildlife
Live or dead non-domesticated animals
Insects
Amphibians
Reptiles
Mammals
Fish
Plants
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Illegal poaching and wildlife trade

4. Wildlife facts: Black rhino population: down by 97% since 1960
Mountain gorillas: 900 left
Elephants: killed last year
Lions historic loss of 85% of the population…

5. Killed and captured by poachers
Gorillas
On the IUCN red list
Killed and captured by poachers
« Bush meat » is consumed locally and exported
In DRC 1 million ton « bush meat » a year.
Babies are sold as pets
Revenues finance war
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6. Illegal poaching and wildlife trade
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Illegal poaching and wildlife trade

7. Black Rhino Loss of 97,6 % of the population since 1960
Rhino horn is used in traditional Asian medicine:
Supposed to cure hangovers, impotence, cancer, fever
There is no scientific evidence to corroborate this.
Tremendous increase in the last years.

8. Black Rhino
Historic distribution (in Yellow) versus current distribution
(in Red)
Source: San Diego Zoo

9. African Elephant
Between elephants have been poached for ivory in 2015 – this is about 5% of the estimated total population in Africa ( )
Ivory is used for:
Jewelry, cutlery, religious figurines.
Demand continues to be high: Between 2013 and 2014 the price of Ivory tripled in China.

10. Elephant
Population distribution

11. The most trafficked animal you’ve never seen…
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12. Illegal poaching and wildlife trade
A pangolin’s value chain – who makes how much ? source:
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Illegal poaching and wildlife trade

13. The value of illegal trade in wildlife
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Illegal poaching and wildlife trade

14. Illegal poaching and wildlife trade
The broader picture of wildlife crime : shows similitude to drug and arms trafficking
Wildlife crime
Corruption
Money laundering
Organized crime
Illegal firearms
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Illegal poaching and wildlife trade

15. Organized environmental crime
Financiers buy weapons/material for « harvesters »
Local resources
Intermediaries
Global markets
Harvesters: poor villagers, insurgents, park rangers, hunters
Intermediaries: Often use bribes and connections to political elite
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Illegal poaching and wildlife trade

16. Tremendous consequences!
No taxes paid
Criminal networks benefit
Wars get financed
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Illegal poaching and wildlife trade

17. Benefits of addressing illegal wildlife trade Source: UNEP
Tourism represents 36 billion dollars in Africa i.e. 7% of gdp
Each live gorilla brings in 1 million dollar in Uganda
Rwanda earned 304 million $ from ecotourism
Tourism
Keep the balance of the natural environment
Prevent irreversible extinction of species
Biodiversity
Revenues are not used by militias to destabilize the state
Wildlife trade gets overseen, regulated and benefits taxed
Rule of law
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Illegal poaching and wildlife trade

18. What actions can be taken by authorities
Implement international laws & commitments (SDG, CITES, London and Kasane Declarations)
Address corruption, money-laundering, organised crime, smuggling of firearms
Strengthen co-operation between source, transit and destination countries
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Illegal poaching and wildlife trade

19. Illegal poaching and wildlife trade
SAI
Audit compliance with international agreements
Audit corruption/ money-laundering
Audit national conservation programmes
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Illegal poaching and wildlife trade

20. International conventions
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora : It’s a legally binding convention on the trade of a total of species. It acts as a framework that gets transposed into domestic legislation by the signatory parties. 183 countries are members. Convention on biological diversity Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn convention) SDGs 14 and 15 includes targets related to the illegal trade of wildlife
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Illegal poaching and wildlife trade

21. Starting points for auditors
Application of international conventions such as CITES
Status of implementation of national legislation/ politics on endangered species
Assess performance of wildlife law enforcement agencies
Capacity of customs to control the trade of threatened species
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Illegal poaching and wildlife trade

22. Illegal poaching and wildlife trade
Useful resources
UNEP : The rise of environmental crimes CITES INTOSAI WGEA – Guidelines « Auditing biodiversitym– Guidance for SAIs » auditing.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=WJWCKyYayx8%3D&tabid=242 IUCN
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Illegal poaching and wildlife trade