TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature

Latest News from the TRAFFIC Network  en Français

Tuesday
01Dec2009

Rhino poaching surges in Asia, Africa

The illicit trade in rhino horn is being driven by demand from Asia, with Viet Nam hearvily implicated Click photo to enlarge © Martin Harvey / WWF-Canon   Geneva, Switzerland, 1 December 2009—Rhino poaching worldwide is on the rise, according to a new report by TRAFFIC and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
 
The trade is being driven by Asian demand for horns and is made worse by increasingly sophisticated poachers, who now are using veterinary drugs, poison, cross bows and high caliber weapons to kill rhinos, the report states.

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Monday
30Nov2009

CITES study visit to Italy

A CITES study tour to Italy included a visit to Fiumicino Airport (Rome), where the use of wildlife detector dogs was demonstrated Click photo to enlarge © Irinel Surugiu / Romanian Customs   Milan, Italy, 30 November 2009—10 participants from three South-East European countries—Croatia, Romania and Serbia—took part in a CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) study visit this month hosted by the Italian CITES Enforcement Authority, Corpo Forestale dello Stato (CFS), and TRAFFIC.

Participants included officers from CITES enforcement authorities such as Customs, police and environmental inspection, who came to learn about the practices employed and experiences of CITES enforcement in Italy.

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Monday
23Nov2009

Congo Basin partners discuss conservation and sustainable forestry management

en Français

Denis Koulagna, Secretary General of MINFOF meets Roland Melisch and Germain Ngandjui of TRAFFIC at the TRAFFIC stand in the “Information Market” where 30 exhibitors from across the region were able to share their experiences, data and information Click on photo to enlarge © Eva Paule MOUZONG / TRAFFIC  Yaoundé, Cameroon, 23 November 2009—More than 300 experts representing the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) * gathered in Yaoundé this month for the 6th Plenary Meeting to discuss conservation and sustainable management of forest resources in the Congo Basin.

HE Emmanuel Bizot, Minister for Water, Forests, Fisheries and Hunting of the Central African Republic and current President of COMIFAC stressed the importance of the meeting and reminded participants that CBFP’s role was to “conduct consultations with partners to maintain the operational capability of COMIFAC (the Central African Forests Commission).”

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Monday
23Nov2009

Improving Viet Nam’s CITES Enforcement

Participants from Ha Noi Police at the first of two CITES training workshops being held in Viet Nam Click photo to enlarge © Ha Noi Environmental Police   Ha Noi, Viet Nam, 23 November—More than two dozen of Viet Nam’s Environmental Police will gather this week in Ha Noi for four days of training on wildlife trade enforcement.

The training, led by German CITES experts, will focus on the regulations, implementation and enforcement of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), the primary agreement regulating international trade in wildlife and wildlife products.

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Friday
20Nov2009

Bangkok learns about environmental crime

The public unveiling of the information boards Click photo to enlarge © TRAFFIC   Bangkok, Thailand, 20 November 2009—Information boards highlighting the five most prominent crimes committed against the environment are on display at a popular mall in the heart of Bangkok’s shopping district, thanks to a collaboration between the Asian Regional Partners Forum on Combating Environmental Crime (ARPEC), which includes TRAFFIC, and Bangkok’s Emporium Shopping Complex.

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