LUSAKA AGREEMENT ON ILLEGAL INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC IN AFRICAN WILDLIFE ENTERS INTO FORCE
Press Release
ENV/DEV/389
HE/943
LUSAKA AGREEMENT ON ILLEGAL INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC IN AFRICAN WILDLIFE ENTERS INTO FORCE
19961211 NAIROBI, 10 December (UNEP) -- The ground-breaking Lusaka Agreement on Cooperative Enforcement Operations Directed at Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora enters into force today, having obtained the necessary four ratifications and accessions of Lesotho, Zambia, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania. In addition, Kenya and the Congo are in the final process of ratifying the Agreement.Concluded under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Lusaka Agreement aims at reducing and ultimately eliminating illegal international trafficking in African wildlife. Interpol estimates put the total world-wide illegal trade at $5 billion annually, second only in monetary value to narcotics. The effects of this have been particularly devastating for Africa. The past 35 years have seen the loss of 97 per cent of Africa's rhinoceros species and, in many countries, over 90 per cent of the elephant population.
The Agreement will reinforce implementation of the Biodiversity Convention and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora as well.
Under the Agreement, a task force will be formed to combat the international syndicates smuggling wildlife in the region. The task force will investigate violations of national laws pertaining to illegal trade in all wildlife and disseminate information on activities relating to them.
Each party will also designate or establish a national bureau responsible for liaison with the task force. At least one officer from each national bureau will be seconded to the task force headquarters. Under the agreed rules, these seconded field officers, commanded by the task force director, will carry out cross-border operations in close cooperation with national bureaus and be responsible for facilitating closer cooperation between them. A task force intelligence officer will gather and analyse information using a centralized database.
The first Governing Council of the Parties to the Agreement will be held before March 1997. The Council will, among other things, launch the task force and determine its location. So far, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia have offered to host it.
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There has been world-wide interest in the Agreement. Not only did the Wild Fauna and Flora Convention body and Interpol participate in the negotiations, they have also pledged support in its implementation. Financial support has been given to the process leading up to the forging of the Agreement and its aftermath by the Governments of Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom and the United States.
For further information, please contact: Donald Kaniaru, UNEP, Nairobi (phone: 254-2-62-3507, fax: 254-2-23-0198, e-mail: kaniarud@unep.org); or Jim Sniffen, UNEP Information Officer, New York (phone: 212-963-8094, fax: 212- 963-7341, e-mail: sniffenj@un.org).
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