The document summarizes the work of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) and its efforts to combat illegal wildlife trade. CITES is an international agreement with 183 parties that regulates international trade in over 38,000 species of plants and animals. It aims to ensure this trade is legal and sustainable. CITES also plays an important role in addressing wildlife crime by setting rules that criminal networks involved in illegal wildlife trade seek to circumvent. Recent CITES conferences and decisions focused on combating emerging threats like internet-linked wildlife crime, and established task forces on issues like illegal trade in tree species, big cats, pangolins, and more. CITES recognizes successful enforcement requires international

1. Ben JANSE VAN RENSBURG
Chief, Enforcement Unit
CITES Secretariat
Session 3.1.
The nexus of illegal trade and
environmental crime – state of play
OECD Workshop on Regional Trade Agreements
and the Environment
11 June 2021

2. What is CITES?
The Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

3. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
• Multilateral Environmental Agreement
• Adopted in Washington, D.C. on 3 March 1973
• Entered in force - 1 July 1975
• 183 Parties
• +38,000 listed species of animals and plants.

4. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
CITES:
• sets the rules for international
trade in wildlife.
• Its purpose is to ensure that
this trade is legal, sustainable,
and traceable.

5. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
• Effective implementation
and enforcement of CITES
supports conservation,
sustainable use, livelihoods
and development.
• CITES plays an important
role in preventing and
addressing wildlife crime.
• It sets the rules that
criminals involved in wildlife
crime seek to circumvent.

6. CoP18 - The World Wildlife Conference
17-28 August 2019
Geneva, Switzerland

7. New Resolution on Designation and role of
Management Authorities (Res. Conf. 18.6)
• URGES Management Authorities and enforcement
authorities to cooperate closely in the fight against
illegal trafficking (includes Customs
Administrations)
• Management Authorities to:
– establish mechanisms for coordination and
communication between government agencies
with a role in the implementation and
enforcement of the Convention (includes
Customs Administrations)

8. Wildlife crime linked to the Internet
• Parties should inform the Secretariat on:
– changes that pertain to wildlife crime linked to the Internet made to their
national legislation, as well as of any other relevant domestic measures;
– websites adhering to codes of conduct to address
and prevent illegal trade in wildlife;
– best practice models that pertain to regulation of
online marketplaces and social media platforms;
– scientific research on the correlations between use
of the Internet and the rate of wildlife crime; and
– trends in wildlife crime linked to the Internet identified, including any
changes in trade routes and methods of shipment that have been
observed.

9. CITES Parties that provided annual illegal trade reports (AITR)
from 2016-July 2018
Approximately 42,500 seizures records in total, involving 1,900 speices

10. Tools developed in response to CITES Decisions
An electronic directory of laboratories that conform to a defined
minimum standard for conducting wildlife forensic testing

11. West and Central Africa Threat assessment
• The two sub-regions are heavily targeted by
organized crime groups.
• A number of Decisions and recommendations to
support and strengthen CITES implementation
and enforcement in West and Central Africa.
• Work on this is ongoing

12. Task Forces to be established
• Task Force on illegal trade in CITES-listed tree
species to develop strategies to combat illegal
trade, including measures to promote and
further strengthen international cooperation
• CITES Big Cats Task Force, focusing on big cat
species from Africa, Asia and Latin America to
address issues related to illegal trade in these
species.

13. Studies on big cats
• The Secretariat to commission a study
on illegal trade in jaguars (Panthera
onca)
• Further research and analysis on
the legal and illegal trade in lions
and other big cats

14. Pangolins
• Report on:
i) the national conservation status of pangolin
species;
ii) legal and illegal trade in pangolins;
iii) stocks of specimens of pangolins and
stockpile management, and
iv) enforcement issues.
• Develop conversion parameters for all pangolin species,
that will enable the reliable determination of the number
of animals associated with any quantity of pangolin
scales seized.

15. Other species specific CoP18 decisions
related to enforcement
• Elephants
• Helmeted hornbill
• Marine turtles
• Rhinoceroses
• Totoaba
• Tortoises and freshwater turtles
• Queen conch
• West African vultures
• Eels
• Etc…

16. Tacling wildlife crime through a holistic approach
• Involvement of organized crime groups has changed the
dynamics of combatting wildlife crime.
• The task of tackling wildlife crime is complex.
• No country or region can fight wildlife crime alone.
• This was also recognized by the establishment of the
International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime
(ICCWC).

17. ICCWC: coordinated action to
combat wildlife crime
International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime
Coordinated action to
combat wildlife crime

18. Capacity Building Activities :
ICCWC Products available to Parties

19. The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime

20. The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime
https://cites.org/eng/prog/iccwc_new.php

21. Thank you – Merci – Gracias
www.cites.org
http://cites.org/eng/prog/iccwc.php
Ben JANSE VAN RENSBURG
Chief, Enforcement Unit
CITES Secretariat
barend.vanrensburg@un.org