Criminal gangs are exploiting the global aviation network to transport illegal wildlife products around the world, putting at risk the survival of many endangered species and posing a major threat to public health. Earlier this year, the airline industry pledged to do what it could to fight this trade, by signing a declaration aimed at reducing illegal wildlife trafficking.
In March IATA signed the Buckingham Palace Declaration – a resolution developed by transport industry representatives in association with United for Wildlife; a campaign created by the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.
As well as urging governments to commit extra resources to addressing illegal trafficking, the resolution calls on airlines to increase awareness among staff, passengers and customers about the nature, scale and consequences of the illegal wildlife trade, to work alongside airports and freight forwarders to put pressure on enforcement agencies, and to consider adopting policies aimed at discouraging trafficking, such as ensuring incidents are reported and information is shared.
Tim Wittig, a senior wildlife trafficking analyst at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) – one of two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce – says the resolution sends a “powerful message” that airlines and other transport companies “will do everything they can to stop criminal networks from abusing their systems to traffic wildlife”.
“The agreement created mechanisms to help airlines and other transport companies more effectively identify and act on ‘red flags’ that may indicate suspect shipments, and better understand and mitigate against wildlife trends and patterns,” Wittig says. This will make it “extremely difficult for wildlife traffickers to use and abuse the world’s major airlines”, forcing them to use “less efficient and more costly means to transport their goods, which hits them right where it most hurts – their bottom line”, he adds.
Like narcotics, illegal wildlife products can be concealed within mis-labeled freight
BROKER/REX/Shutterstock
Wildlife trafficking is considered to be “the third or fourth largest illicit trade, roughly on par with human trafficking and illegal arms trafficking”, Wittig says. It involves almost every type of protected animal and animal by-product, from ivory, rhinoceros horn and big cat skins to live lizards, birds and turtles. The trade has far-reaching consequences not only to endangered wildlife, but also to human health.
“The environmental impact is devastating,” says Wittig. “Almost one-third of the world’s elephants have been killed illegally in the last 10 years, and for smaller species that supply the illegal live and exotic pet or food trade, for every live animal that makes it to market it can be assumed that probably about 10 more died in transit.
“There is also a major public health threat associated with the illegal wildlife trade, as these animals and their products are transported with no health controls and they can carry some of the world’s most deadly and costly diseases, such as Ebola and SARS – both of which originated in the illegal trade and transport of wildlife.”
While IATA signed the declaration on behalf of the industry as a whole, a number of individual airlines have also pledged their support. One of those is Emirates, which has painted the liveries of five of its Airbus A380s with the United for Wildlife logo and pictures of endangered animals in order to raise awareness of the issue.
The Dubai-based carrier says that in addition to its public awareness efforts, it is collaborating with international organisations “to train and better equip ground and cargo staff to detect and deal with illegal wildlife products in transit”. Emirates also made the decision to ban trophy shipments on its aircraft after finding that “the required paperwork for the movement of some wildlife products is often forged”.
On unveiling its most recently painted aircraft in Dubai in May, Emirates president Tim Clark – who is also a member of the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce – said: “The illegal wildlife trade has brought many of our planet’s most majestic animals to the brink of extinction.
“It is unthinkable that a generation from now, there may be no more rhinos, elephants or tigers to be found in the wild. The need for action is urgent, and both the demand and supply sides of the illegal wildlife trade have to be tackled.”
But tackling the problem is not easy. Traffickers have wised up to the security measures in place and often try to cheat the system, as Wittig explains. “Like narcotics, wildlife products are smuggled in cargo and air freight in fraudulently marked packages, as well as by people on passenger aircraft using a variety of clever concealments, such as specially-made vests or trousers that can transport valuable lizards and rare birds,” he says.
Recent examples cited by Wittig include a Chinese man who was intercepted in August at Johannesburg OR Tambo International airport, where he was attempting to smuggle a number of rhino horns and related ornaments on to a flight bound for Hong Kong. In July, several mislabelled packages were intercepted at Kuala Lumpur International airport (KLIA) and found to contain a large quantity of ivory destined for China and Thailand.
KLIA customs director Datuk Chik Omar Chik Lim told journalists at an August press conference in the Malaysian capital that the consignment had arrived on a Turkish Airlines flight from Kinshasa International airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, via Istanbul Ataturk, and had been fraudulently declared as containing items of baked clay.
“In general, major airline hubs are also major trafficking hubs, especially transcontinental hubs connecting Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas with one another,” says Wittig. “Until recently, wildlife trafficking has been seen as only a conservation or environmental protection issue. But law enforcement agencies all over the world are now taking notice that it is a major form of international organised crime.”
Former IATA director general Tony Tyler earlier this year acknowledged the chinks in the armour of the global air transport security network that traffickers are exploiting, and set out a number of ways in which airlines can help to make procedures more watertight.
In a speech at Buckingham Palace in March, when he signed the declaration on behalf of IATA, Tyler said: “The global air transport network is being exploited by wildlife traffickers. There are many examples of very sophisticated smugglers – some travel in groups on convoluted routes, others mis-describe shipments, some carry contraband on their body in ingenious ways.”
To help government enforcement authorities spot such activities, Tyler says awareness must be raised among travellers and airline staff, through training sessions to help employees identify and report suspicious activity. He adds that co-operation and collaboration across the air transport industry, as well as with conservation groups dedicated to tackling the illegal wildlife trade, is vital.
While the resolution is “no magic bullet”, it is an essential element in the global strategy to defeat wildlife trafficking, Wittig says. “The airlines are a critical component of that strategy and they continue to be an important ally in the fight against wildlife trafficking. I expect they will continue to do so, as hopefully more airlines sign up.”
Source: Flight International
