Elevating Wildlife Protection Frontiers: TRAFFIC & China Academy of Customs Administration Launch 2025 Tech-Driven Training to Combat wildlife trafficking

This training workshop aimed to holistically advance frontline customs and anti-smuggling officers’ capabilities and strategic vision in cross-border management and enforcement of endangered terrestrial/aquatic wildlife, flora, and timber; precision inspection at ports of entry; rapid identification of challenging species; efficient investigation of complex cases; international law enforcement cooperation; and countering emerging crimes (e.g., cybercrime, money laundering).

At the opening ceremony, Mr. Shoujun WANG (Deputy Chief of CACA), Mr. Feng YIN (Chief Engineer, China Wildlife Conservation Association), and Ms. Ling XU (Director, TRAFFIC China) delivered addresses, acknowledging past successes and envisioning future innovations in wildlife regulation and enforcement.

Ling XU said:

Since 2023, TRAFFIC and the CACA have co-hosted this specialized training for three consecutive years, establishing a stable and efficient cooperation framework. This edition reflects our deepening commitment to wildlife conservation. Through continuously optimized curricula and pedagogy, the workshop has become a critical capacity-building platform for China’s customs and anti-smuggling systems, bolstering border security and ecological protection.”

This workshop achieved significant breakthroughs in content design and participation, marked by the first-time inclusion of critical emerging topics—aquatic species product regulation, cryptocurrency-based money laundering countermeasures, and evidence-chain development for smuggling-financing nexus crimes—while proactively addressing trade-based money laundering and other cutting-edge challenges; furthermore, its technological dimension featured experts in AI-based image recognition exploring the integration of artificial intelligence and big data analytics into customs enforcement frameworks, substantially enhancing inspection efficiency and targeting accuracy.

The intensive three-day training attracted 138 frontline officers nationwide. The keynote session on "Trade-Based Money Laundering: Customs Enforcement Priorities" (afternoon of 29 May) drew over 300 online participants – including customs officers and financial sector professionals – demonstrating the workshop’s extensive impact.

Post-training assessments showed 85% mastery of core knowledge among participants. All attendees reported substantially improved professional competencies in wildlife regulation and enforcement. Recommendations included expanding case studies and practical simulations for future workshops.

This initiative received strong expert support from Anti-Smuggling Bureau of China Customs,Department of Wildlife Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration , China Wildlife Conservation Association, Nanjing Customs DistrictChinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Peking University, Wuhan University, Nanjing Police College and Guangzhou Lawyers Association.

With illegal wildlife trade evolving rapidly, TRAFFIC and CACA will further deepen strategic cooperation. A specialized "Endangered Timber Regulation" workshop is scheduled for July-August 2025. Moving forward, both parties will institutionalize regular training aligned with emerging enforcement needs, continuously refine curricula with technology integration and field exercises, and enhance frontline officers’ species identification, inspection, and end-to-end enforcement capabilities.