President Obama is launching a new initiative to combat Africa’s illegal wildlife trade crisis, which will include $10 million “specifically earmarked” for addressing the issue.
According to The Washington Post, “Obama will convene a Cabinet-level task force composed of the State, Interior and Justice departments that will be charged with devising a national strategy to curb the illegal trade of wildlife across the globe.” The initiative will kick off in Tanzania.
WWF welcomed the news, calling it “groundbreaking” and posting the following statement from President Obama:
Poaching and trafficking is threatening Africa’s wildlife. Today I issued a new Executive Order to better organize U.S. government efforts in this fight so that we can cooperate with the Tanzanian government and others. This includes an additional millions of dollars to help countries across the regions to build their capacity to meet this challenge.
The Executive Order includes:
- A $10 million pledge to improve protection for threatened wildlife populations in key African countries.
- A Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking to develop a national strategy within six months to fight wildlife crime, which will receive recommendations from an Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking of independent experts.
- A review of the federal government’s Transnational Organized Crime Strategy to consider adding wildlife trafficking to the list of crimes it covers, elevating it to the same level as arms, drug and human trafficking.
The entire world has a stake in making sure we preserve Africa’s beauty for future generations.
Demand for wildlife parts comes mainly from Asia, with China’s appetite wiping out elephants, pangolins, and other threatened African species. Meanwhile, Vietnam is a major destination for rhino horns sourced in Africa.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said that the issue of demand reduction had been brought up by the President in meetings with China.
I know its come up at the president and the Secretary of State level with the Chinese. A lot of these syndicates are based in China.
Grant Harris, the senior director for Africa for the National Security Council, noted that the issue of wildlife trafficking figured prominently in former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s policy.
And even before his appointment as current Secretary of State, John Kerry elevated the wildlife trafficking crisis to a high level. On May 24th, 2012, he presided over the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Hearing, which examined the connection between global insecurity and a surging ivory and rhino horn trade.
Under President Obama’s timely initiative, the US seems poised for an active role in fighting the global wildlife trafficking crisis.
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Rhishja Cota
I am the founder of Annamiticus and I have been researching and writing about wildlife trafficking issues since 2009. I also founded World Pangolin Day in 2012. I am the author of USAID Wildlife Asia's Pangolin Species Identification Guide: A Rapid Assessment Tool for Field and Desk. I co-facilitated and was a presenter at the USAID Wildlife Asia Pangolin Care Workshop. At the 4th Regional Dialogue on Combating Trafficking of Wild Fauna and Flora, I facilitated the species roundtables on pangolins. I have trekked with forest rangers in Cambodia, journeyed to the streets of Hanoi to research the illegal wildlife trade, and to the rainforests of Sumatra and Java to document the world’s rarest rhinos. At CITES meetings, I collaborate with colleagues from around the world to lobby in favor of protecting endangered species. I hosted the Behind the Schemes podcast and am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine. I enjoy music, desert gardening, herping, reading, creating, and walking with my dogs. Check out my t-shirts and stickers at snoots + teefers.