ASEAN-WEN: Cooperating across borders to combat the illegal wildlife trade

February 10th kicked off a two-week intensive training course designed to boost the capacity of 40 forest rangers from the Mekong region to protect forest reserves from poaching, illegal logging and other threats.

Rangers from Thailand and Lao PDR participated in the course organized by the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) and hosted by Thailand's Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation at the Nature Protection Training Center in Khao Yai National Park.

Training covered courses in navigation, patrolling operations and procedures, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, securing, arresting and searching suspects, and crime scene processing.

"We are pleased that Lao PDR has accepted our invitation for 20 of its rangers to join this training and learn about forest protection methods used in Thailand," said Mr. Wattana Wettayaprasit, Director of Wild Flora and Fauna Protection Division for Thailand's Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

The ASEAN-WEN also arranged for forest rangers and officials from India's Assam and Uttarakhand States to travel to Thailand to observe the training, underscoring the need for international cooperation to fight an international and highly organized criminal trade in wildlife.

From February 8-11, the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network conducted wildlife trafficking assessments and on-the-job training at six points along the Thai-Malay border.

In addition to stopping wildlife crime, police and customs officials in Thailand and Malaysia will be able to apply the advanced investigation techniques they have learned to crack down on other types of transborder crime.

The Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team is on course to become the official operational arm in Cambodia for the regional ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network.  

A former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent recently conducted two major raids and taught advanced investigative methods to the 12 member team, helping them further stem the illegal wildlife trade in Cambodia.