Director General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
The international community is being tested today on its resolve to confront wildlife and forest crime.
This transnational organized crime ranks among such illicit activities as trafficking in human beings, arms and drugs in terms of profits, which are conservatively estimated to be at least$8 to $10 billion annually.
Wildlife and forest crime is profoundly destructive. This crime devastates ecosystems, undermines development, fuels corruption and contributes to instability.
No country is immune, and no one can tackle this problem alone.
The international community needs to come together, at the highest political level and through work on the ground, to stop this crime.
UNODC works with governments and partners such as the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime to help make legislation, criminal justice systems and international cooperation more effective in addressing this threat.
We have continued to intensify our engagement, and will soon launch the new Global Programme for Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime.
The Programme will deliver regional and national assistance to:
In June, we will be conducting a workshop hosted by the Government of Botswana on using financial investigation and anti-money laundering techniques to tackle trafficking of protected wild fauna and flora.
The workshop will bring together prosecutors, investigators, and officials from customs authorities and financial investigation units from 15 countries in Africa and Asia.
By engaging with a range of stakeholders, UNODC's Global Programme will also help strengthen data collection and analysis, support livelihoods, and raise awareness of the negative impact of this crime.
As I announced yesterday at the opening of the Crime Commission, UNODC is also launching a dedicated research and analysis initiative focusing on wildlife and forest crime to help inform responses to this global threat.
Because we know that law enforcement alone cannot eliminate this problem. We need to focus on education and public awareness, also to reduce demand for illicit wild fauna and flora.
Most importantly, efforts to stop wildlife and forest crime must go hand in hand with initiatives to promote sustainable livelihoods for communities in source countries, which are vulnerable to illicit markets precisely due to poverty and lack of economic opportunities.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Time is not on our side.
The rate of poaching is such that a number of iconic and lesser-known species risk being wiped out over the next decade. And we will all bear responsibility for those losses.
We must act, and act now.
I look forward to hearing from our speakers today about their experiences in the fight against this crime.
Thank you.