The United Kingdom government, through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for International Development and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs hosted the fourth Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference at the Evolution Centre in Battersea Park, London, on October 11 and 12.
This year’s conference recognized the illegal wildlife trade as a security issue, affecting people, as well as animals. It aimed to strengthen partnerships and build coalitions across borders and beyond the government.
It focused on three themes: tackling the illegal wildlife trade as a serious organized crime: strengthening end-to-end law enforcement and addressing associated corruption; building coalitions; engaging the private sector, nongovernment organizations and academia; harnessing technology and innovation; and closing markets for illegally traded wildlife, which will be discussed in plenary and break-out sessions.
British Ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce said, “The UK is committed and determined to combat illegal wildlife trade, as it is among the most serious crimes, with drugs, arms and human trafficking.”
The Philippine delegates to the conference were led by Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Ramirez-Sato said, “The Philippines is undertaking the bayanihan or whole-of-government approach to fast-track the approval of the Revised Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act [House Bill 8320], which I principally authored, and the executive order creating the National Anti-Wildlife Crime Council prepared by the DENR for signature of President Duterte.”
She added: “These efforts will highlight the Bayanihan of the different branches of the government and the private sector to achieve the twin objectives of combatting illegal wildlife trade and conserving Philippine biodiversity.”
The participation of Philippine delegates was expected to be translated into strong government support, including concrete action plans, policies and programs that will help address illegal wildlife trade and other related activities in the Philippines.
The participants shared and highlighted country initiatives and showcased best practices on enhanced law enforcement and effective collaborative action to combat illegal wildlife trade.
The conference brought together global leaders who were committed to take action on illegal wildlife trade to better protect the world’s most iconic species from the threat of extinction.
The illegal wildlife trade, as a mutual concern between the Philippine government and the UK, is expected to remain a priority area of support.