Wildlife Alliance

For Immediate Release

Asia’s Police Motivated to Fight Wildlife Crime at International Seminar

March 20, 2008 

Bangkok, March 20, 2008- Police officers from thirteen Asian countries and territories took part in an eye-opening seminar on wildlife crime at the Thai-US  International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Bangkok this week. The event was made possible by a groundbreaking partnership between governments in the region to fight wildlife crime called the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN).

Illegal wildlife trade is one of the biggest criminal activities in Southeast Asia, robbing nations of their precious natural resources and biodiversity. Despite this, many of the region’s law enforcement officers are still unfamiliar with wildlife crime and the most effective ways to detect and stop it. The ASEAN-WEN Support Program together with the Program Coordination Unit of ASEAN-WEN are working to change this, organizing trainings and seminars to increase wildlife law enforcement capacity throughout the region.

The ASEAN-WEN Seminar on Wildlife Crime at ILEA on March 17 was attended by 62 police officers from ASEAN and non-ASEAN countries, including Brunei, China, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Laos, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Speakers included:
• Special Agent Douglas Goessman, United States Fish & Wildlife Service
• Thai Government Liaison Officer Klairoong Poonpon, ASEAN-WEN Program Coordination Unit
• Professor Nantarika Chansue, Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Veterinary Science.
• Conservationist Steven Galster, ASEAN-WEN Support Program, PeunPa & Wildlife Alliance
• Biologist Dr. David Lawson, ASEAN-WEN Support Program
• Kuman Prachopjan, ex-poacher and current officer of PeunPa Foundation

Participants were able to question these experts about protected species, the specifics of the trade, and effective responses. They were also introduced to the newly established ASEAN-WEN Program Coordination Unit (PCU), which will facilitate cross-border cooperation against international wildlife crimes.

ILEA Director and Police Major General Thiravat Na Pombejara said the training was an important part of “changing the mindset of officers towards crimes of nature, so they are no longer seen as just small things.” As other speakers confirmed, the crime threatening Asia’s natural ecosystems is by no means small. Global illegal wildlife trade is a multi-billion dollar business, trailing only the black market trades in arms and drugs in overall value.

“These joint seminars are important because they inform and motivate law enforcement officers with the authority to stop wildlife crime on the ground.” said Steve Galster, Director of Field Operations for PeunPa and Wildlife Alliance in Thailand. “They also bring officers from different countries together to share information that can be crucial in investigating and busting cross border wildlife crime.” PeunPa and Wildlife Alliance, together with TRAFFIC, are implementing the ASEAN-WEN Support Program, which facilitated the seminar.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tassanee Vejpongsa                           Dr. David Lawson
Communications Officer                      TRAFFIC Southeast Asia
PeunPa and Wildlife Alliance                 Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok, Thailand                              Tel: +66-2-262-0529
Tel +66 81 8059317                            Email: dave@iucnt.org
Email: tassanee@peunpa.org
          
Additional Information:

ASEAN-WEN stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network.  It involves the law enforcement agencies of all ten ASEAN countries and facilitates cross-border collaboration in the fight against illegal wildlife trade in the region.  The network was first suggested at the 13th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) in October 2004, further developed by senior ASEAN environmental officials in October 2005, and launched by ASEAN member countries on December 1, 2005 at an official meeting in Bangkok.

ASEAN-WEN is the world’s largest wildlife law enforcement network, comprising enforcement officers from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The United States and China are also cooperating with ASEAN-WEN.

Under ASEAN-WEN, police, customs and environmental management agencies are forming national task forces and cross-border intelligence sharing links to successfully curtail the wildlife trade. The ASEAN-WEN Program Coordination Unit (PCU) has just been established inside the Thai Government.

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Wildlife Alliance is an international conservation organization whose mission is to protect and preserve wildlife, forests and oceans for future generations. Our field operations, formerly carried out under the name WildAid, train and equip park rangers to fight crimes against nature, and prevent poaching and illegal habitat destruction in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Russia and the Western Pacific through collaboration with governments and communities. We improve the management of protected areas, support sustainable development initiatives, and empower countries to enforce transboundary wildlife regulations. For more information, please visit wildlifealliance.org.