The Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Mr John E. Scanlon, has awarded four CITES Secretary-General’s Certificates of Commendation for exemplary wildlife law enforcement efforts to China, Kenya and the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF). The Certificates were presented at an International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) event taking place as part of the 65th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee being held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 7-11 July.
China, Kenya and the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF) were awarded the certificates for collaborative efforts to take down an international criminal syndicate smuggling ivory from Kenya to China. The joint action occurred during Operation COBRA II – an international wildlife law enforcement operation involving 28 countries that took place in January 2014 – and resulted in the extradition of a Chinese national from Kenya to China and the arrest of more than 20 smugglers and domestic ivory traders in China implicated in the activities of the syndicate.
The certificates were presented to China’s National Inter-agencies CITES Enforcement Coordination Group on behalf of Chinese authorities, Kenya Wildlife Service on behalf of Kenyan Authorities and the Lusaka Agreement Task Force recognized the exemplary collaboration, including the daily exchange of real-time intelligence, which underpinned the joint investigation.
The fourth CITES Secretary-General’s Certificate of Commendation was awarded to Nepal in recognition of its exemplary efforts to combat wildlife crime. In 2011 no rhinoceroses, tigers, or elephants were illegally killed in Nepal, and in 2012 the country lost just one rhinoceros to poaching. The Certificate of Commendation was received by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation of Nepal on behalf of all national agencies involved in wildlife law enforcement, acknowledged the many innovative measures implemented by Nepal to combat wildlife crime.