INTRODUCTION TO TRAFFIC EAST/SOUTHERN AFRICA

Presentation to the Embassy of Finland

June 10th, 2014

Some history

TRAFFIC was established in the UK in1976 by IUCN’s Species Survival Commission to monitor illegal wildlife trade.

TRAFFIC originally stood for TRADE RECORDS ANALYSIS OF FLORA AND FAUNA IN COMMERCE (today, only TRAFFIC is used)

In the mid 1990s it became the joint wildlife trade monitoring programme of IUCN and WWF

TRAFFIC has over offices in the Americas, throughout Europe, Africa, East and Southeast Asia, and Australia with approximately 120 staff dedicated to working only on the trade in wild animals and plants

It has MoUs with the World Customs Organization and the CITES Secretariat (TRAFFIC also manages the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) on behalf of CITES)

TRAFFIC in Africa TRAFFIC has been working in Africa

since the 1980s.

There are two regional offices: East/Southern Africa hosted by IUCN in Pretoria, South Africa and a Central Africa office hosted by IUCN in Yaoundé, Cameroon

The East/Southern Africa regional office has staff and consultants in South Africa (Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Pretoria), Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. It also has an East Africa Programme office with a geographical remit from Eritrea to Mozambique

The East Africa Programme office is currently based in Dar es Salaam where it is hosted by WWF Tanzania.

TRAFFIC in East Africa The EA office in TZ has 5 staff: one

programme officer dedicated to working on illegal and unsustainable trade in timber; a finance/admin officer; two project assistants; and an East Africa Coordinator.

A senior programme officer dedicated to addressing issues such as the illegal trade in large mammals, understanding trade dynamics, and strengthening wildlife law enforcement will join the team in the coming weeks.

East Africa’s projects address TRAFFIC’s programmatic themes of Flagships; Timber; Medicinal and Aromatic Plants; Wild Animals for Meat and Medicine; Wild Animals for Pets and Fashion; and Marine

Shanny Pelle, Finance/Admin Officer

Jumapili Chenga, Programme Officer - timber trade focal point

Allen Mgaza, Project Assistant

Julie Thomson, East Africa Coordinator

Majaliwa Chamuya, Project Assistant - Communications

FLAGSHIPS - some of the issues

Elephant populations in East Africa plummeting due to demand of ivory in China

• The greater Selous ecosystem was estimated to hold over 70,000 elephants in 2007 (down from the first census in 1976 which estimated 109,000 elephants), but an aerial count in 2013 found only slightly more than 13,000 elephants,

Rhino populations on verge of extinction in Tanzania due to poaching driven by demand in Viet Nam primarily and China secondarily

• the eastern black rhino (Diceros bicornis michaeli), the most endangered of the remaining three subspecies. Currently the only surviving wild populations of D. b. michaeli are in Kenya, (approximately 635 individuals in 16 areas), and northern Tanzania (approximately 70 individuals in three areas)

• since the start of 2014, 442 rhinos have been poached in South Africa and 123 suspected poachers arrested

Flagships continued

Wildlife law enforcement personnel inadequately trained and equipment initially provided not maintained

No central database of activities to improve coordination and synergies

Sensitization of judiciary and strengthening of wildlife laws

National (ie., Zanzibar) and regional cooperation (esp. MZ) lacking

Environmental education curriculum nonexistent; training expensive

Elvis, a 24 year old Tanzanian identifies one of the major problems in his country as the lack of opportunity for Tanzanians to obtain the education necessary to manage their own natural resources. He has undertaken a ride to Europe and back to raise awareness about the lack of educational opportunities and therefore lack of upward mobility afforded to Tanzanian citizens. He is also raising funds so that he and others can attend MWEKA.

FLAGSHIPS More innovative involvement of local communities

Example from African People & Wildlife Fund: “…collaboration with the Maasai resulted in the invention of “Living Walls”… Those Living Walls are protecting over 25,000 head of livestock and have significantly reduced lion-livestock conflicts and the retaliatory killing of lions.”

Example from PAMS Foundation: Poor relations between community members and protected area authorities as one of the problems leading to community participation in commercial poaching. The chilli fences have also created a business opportunity: After the first year the REP gave the villagers chilli seeds to grow. Now REP buys chilli peppers from them and set up a market so chillies can be sold as a cash crop.”

FLAGSHIPS Wildlife regulation training at airports and production of standard training materials for use in East Africa

Sniffer dog trial Mombasa port and production of training materials

Assessment of illegal wildlife trade in KE and TZ that includes mapping trade flows, key drivers, training needs, etc.

Outreach to Chinese business communities in TZ, UG, and ET

Raising awareness of IWT at Julius Nyerere Airport – model for airports in the region

Initiated collaboration with Zanzibar’s Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Economic values of elephants to national economies and local communities in Tanzania, with case studies in Botswana and Namibia

Example of poster designed for WWF/TRAFFIC/Wildlife Division wildlife trade campaign in Tanzania

TIMBER - some issues Inadequate domestic and international timber trade controls (from false

documentation, certification and logging permits, use of bribes, etc.) resulting in significant losses of government revenue – some examples:

• TRAFFIC Bridging the Gap (2005) suggested 77% timber trade (in 2001-2002) was illegal for study area covering the Coast, Lindi and Mtwara regions;

• TRAFFIC Governance report (2007) stated 96% of timber trade illegal during mid 2004 for study area (above) and 90% loss in tax revenue (= USD55 million per year);

• TNRF/EAWS study in 2012 identified USD10 million in lost revenues due to uncontrolled cross-border trade between KE and TZ

• TRAFFIC study in 2013 identified USD4.2 million in lost revenues from 3 southern Districts due to illegal and improper application of controls in the timber sector

EIA (2013) reported 48% illegal logging for MZ

IUCN Forest Programme reported that illegal logging in tropical countries (ie., Tanzania, Cameroon) from 80% - 90% 

According to UNODC, for East, Central and West Africa, the net profits from dealing and taxing unregulated, illicit or illegal charcoal combined is estimated at up to USD7.4 billion or 2.8 times greater than the street value of drugs in the region.

The overall size of the illicit charcoal export from Somalia has been estimated at USD 360-384 million per year.

TIMBER

Domestic consumption of timber in Tanzania and Kenya and release of assessment report of trade between MZ/TZ

Understanding the market in China

Held 1st and 2nd Timber Trade Stakeholder Forum with plans to undertake in June 2015; first time Zanzibar was included

Timber trade monitoring along Tanzania’s coast from Kenya to Mozambique under MMC

Proposed: timber and wildlife trade flows from western TZ; data credibility – standardizing data collection methodology; exploration of a Timber Trade Information System (TTIS)

200

600

1000

Total number of seizures

Year

Total

1996 2000 2004 2008

Example from ETIS

Capacity building of government checkpoint staff - learning to identify species of timber in trade

1st Timber Trade Stakeholders’ Forum

MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS Issue: the harvest of East African sandalwood is illegal but the domestic

trade is legal and international trade is under CITES Appendix II

Proposed: collaboration among KE, TZ and UG to understand and control the trade

Confiscation of sandalwood in northern TZ showing unsustainable harvesting methods.

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WILD ANIMALS FOR MEAT AND MEDICINE

Trade in pangolins for Traditional Chinese Medicine market

Giraffe – domestic trade for meat and medicine

WILD ANIMALS FOR PETS AND FASHION Proposed strengthening control of illegal trade of cheetahs to the Middle East

through capacity building of north African checkpoints

Proposed improving quota setting and non-detriment findings of the CITES Scientific Authority on live animal trade, specifically reptiles and live birds

Mozambique near-shore shark harvest and trade

• The Problem

• Increasing, unregulated harvest of near-shore sharks in Mozambique, targeted primarily for their fins, poses a distinct threat to their population status, the broader ecosystem and the livelihoods and food security of coastal communities in Mozambique.

• Project Outcomes

• Key stakeholders in Mozambique are provided with comprehensive information on harvest and trade dynamics for sharks caught in at least five near-shore fisheries.

• Policies and management measures for shark harvest and trade in Mozambique have been developed by the government.

• There is improved capacity for the regulation of shark products in trade in Mozambique.

MARINE

East African seafood trade flow analysis

The Problem

Many East African costal States are grappling with illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and its effects on the resources they are attempting to manage.

The comparative analysis of trade and catch data is a cost efficient mechanism for generating information useful in tackling IUU fishing.

Currently no governments in the region incorporate fisheries trade data analysis into their monitoring, control and surveillance systems.

Project Outcomes

National level capacity to analyse fisheries trade data and effectively monitor and regulate fisheries trade will be increased in at least two East African coastal States.

Tools and guidelines on fisheries trade data analysis, fisheries trade governance and risk assessment are developed.

Future projects

Sharks: Extension of shark trade project methodology to other East African and Western Indian Ocean costal States facing similar threats. Due to the fact that many species are migratory, there is real need for the development of Regional Plan of Action on sharks.

High Value near-shore species: Extension of shark trade project methodology to other high value near-shore marine species such as sea cucumber and lobster.

Sharks – CITES: Support to developing countries in the implementation (as of September 2014) of the CITES Appendix II listing of Oceanic Whitetip, Porbeagle and Hammerhead Sharks and Manta spp.

Thank you!