Wildlife Alliance

For Immediate Release

Series of Major Wildlife Trade Interdictions in Southeast Asia Give Hope for Region’s Biodiversity

March 19, 2008 

(Bangkok, March 19, 2008) – Five major seizures in recent weeks is evidence of heightened wildlife law enforcement in Southeast Asia and has put wildlife smugglers on notice – illegal exploitation of ASEAN’s natural resources and biodiversity will not be tolerated.  The ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) recognizes and supports these important actions.

Indonesian officials, fresh from an intensive three week ASEAN-WEN Network Investigation Course in Bogor, West Java, led the way with major busts that will send a clear message to other wildlife traffickers in the region.

On March 3rd, Indonesian Police intercepted a shipment of 3,500 Green Turtles eggs being smuggled by motor boat on a river in Derawan Island, East Kalimantan. Responding to a tip-off, a police officer and trainee from the ASEAN-WEN trianing course made the seizure. The Green Turtle is listed on the IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species and is protected under CITES Appendix I.

On March 10th, Indonesian Customs then stopped the transport of 23,000 dried seahorses destined for South Korea at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. The seizure was made just days after Soekarno-Hatta Airport Customs staff had completed the ASEAN-WEN investigations training. The seahorses are protected under Indonesian law.

Other ASEAN-WEN member countries have also made recent major seizures:

On March 6th,  Viet Nam Customs intercepted 17 tons pangolins being smuggled from Indonesia to China, just a week after seizing a then-record 7 tons of pangolins. The protected animals were found in a container at Haiphong Port, 100kms east of Hanoi.

On March 10th, a special law enforcement team from the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources raided pet shops in Pasay City’s Cartimar market, confiscating 94 protected species including eagles, squirrels, turtles, lizards and snakes.

On March 14th, Thai Authorities detained a Russian man at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport, when they found 20 live baby slow loris packed in cardboard boxes in his baggage, as well as 25 fly river turtles and 30 small monitor lizards, all protected species.

The increasing number of major seizures in Southeast Asia reflects heightened enforcement capacity and vigilance. ASEAN-WEN has been organizing trainings and seminars to increase the knowledge and capacity of customs and police throughout the region.

Illegal wildlife trade is one of the most lucrative criminal activities in Southeast Asia, robbing nations of their precious natural resources and biodiversity. ASEAN-WEN is addressing this problem by helping member countries establish national wildlife crime taskforces, increase enforcement capacity against wildlife crime, and boost inter-agency and international cooperation to stop the illegal cross-border trade.

Other information about ASEAN-WEN:

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 Viet Nam. The United States and China are also cooperating with ASEAN-WEN. Under ASEAN-WEN management, 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.

For more information, see the ASEAN-WEN web site (www.asean-wen.org) or write to the ASEAN-WEN Program Coordination Unit at pcu@asean-wen.org

 ####

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.