Illegal Wildlife Trade Review, Malawi A technical assessment undertaken on behalf of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife of Malawi Written by: Shelley Waterland1, Jonathan Vaughan2, Professor Erica Lyman3 and Dr Ivana Jurisic4 Supported by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH: German International Cooperation Date: May 2015 1 Illegal Wildlife Trade Consultant to the Born Free Foundation, UK – www.bornfree.org.uk 2 Director of Lilongwe Wildlife Trust, Malawi – www.lilongwewildlife.org 3 Associate at the International Environmental Law Project (Lewis & Clark Law School, USA) - https://law.lclark.edu/clinics/international_environmental_law_project/ 4 External consultant to GIZ, Malawi - http://www.giz.de/malawi List of Abbreviations ACB – Anti-Corruption Bureau AEAP – African Elephant Action Plan AEF – African Elephant Fund AMCEN – African Ministerial Conference on the Environment ASYCUD++ – Automated System for Customs Data BMZ – German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development CA – Community Association CBO – Community Based Organisation CCA – Community Conservation Area CEN – WCO Customs Enforcement Network CIA – Chileka International Airport CITES – Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora CoP – Conference of the Parties to CITES CRA – Conservation Research Africa CURE – Coordination Unit for the Rehabilitation of the Environment in Malawi DAS – Development Assistance Strategy DFID – Department for International Development DNPW – Department of National Parks and Wildlife DoF – Department of Forestry DoI – Department of Immigration DP – Development Partner DPP – Department of Public Prosecutions EC – European Commission EPI – Elephant Protection Initiative ESAAMLG – Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group ETIS – CITES Elephant Trade Information System FIU – Financial Intelligence Unit GTZ – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, now GIZ GIZ – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH GVNRC – Group Village Natural Resource Committee HWC – Human Wildlife Conflict IACCWC – Inter-Agency Committee on Combating Wildlife Crime ICAR – International Centre for Asset Recovery ICCWC – International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime ICEIDA – Icelandic International Development Agency ILEA – International Law Enforcement Academy IUCN – International Union for the Conservation of Nature IWT – Illegal Wildlife Trade IWTCF – Illegal Widlife Trade Challenge Fund JICA – Japan International Cooperation Agency KIA – Kamuzu International Airport LATF – Lusaka Agreement Task Force MA – CITES Management Authority MACRA – Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority MDF – Malawi Defence Force MGDS – Malawi Growth and Development Strategy MIKE – CITES Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants MLA – Mutual Legal Assistance MoU – Memorandum of Understanding MPC – Malawi Posts Corporation MPS – Malawi Police Service MPSC – Malawi Public Service Commission MRA – Malawi Revenue Authority NCB – INTERPOL National Central Bureau NDF – Non-Detriment Finding NEAP – National Elephant Action Plan NGO – Non-Governmental Organisation NIB – National Intelligence Bureau NPWA – National Parks and Wildlife Act PA – Protected Area PAC – Problem Animal Control PWAs – Parks and Wildlife Assistants REDD+ – Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation RILO – Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices RBM – Ranger Based Monitoring Systems RoP – Rules of Procedure RRU – Rapid Response Unit SA – CITES Scientific Authority SADC – Southern African Development Community SMART – Spatial Monitoring and Recording Tool SOCAM – The Society of Accountants in Malawi TFCA – Trans-frontier conservation area ToR – Terms of Reference UNCAC – United Nations Convention Against Corruption UNCTAD – United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNDP – United Nations Development Programme UNODC – United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNTOC – United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime UoB – University of Bristol USAID – United States International Agency for Development USFWS – United States Fisheries and Wildlife Service VNRC – Village Natural Resource Committee WAG – Wildlife Action Group WCIU – Wildlife Crime Investigations Unit WCN – World Conservation Union WCO – World Customs Organisation WFP – United Nations World Food Programme WENSA – Wildlife Enforcement Network of Southern Africa WERU – Wildlife Emergency Response Unit WESM – Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi WHO – World Health Organization WMAs – Wildlife Management Authorities WP – Wildlife Policy of Malawi (2000) WWF – Worldwide Fund for Nature Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 8 1.0 Background to the Illegal Wildlife Trade ........................................................................... 13 1.1 Illegal Wildlife Trade: A Global Wildlife Crisis ............................................................ 13 1.2 Illegal Wildlife Trade: A Transnational Organized Crime ........................................... 13 1.3 Illegal Wildlife Trade: A Multi-National and Multi-Agency Response ........................ 14 1.4 ICCWC Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit .................................................... 16 2.0 Illegal Wildlife Trade in Malawi ...................................................................................... 17 2.1 Malawi and the Poaching Crisis ................................................................................ 17 2.2 Malawi: An IWT Collection / Distribution and Transit Hub ......................................... 18 2.3 Malawi: A Soft Target for Wildlife Criminals .............................................................. 19 2.4 Current IWT in Malawi ............................................................................................... 19 3.0 Background to the Illegal Wildlife Trade Review ........................................................... 22 3.1 Statement of Need ..................................................................................................... 22 3.2 Scope and Objectives ................................................................................................ 22 3.3 Methodology and Approach ....................................................................................... 22 4.0 Inter-Agency Committee on Combating Wildlife Crime (IACCWC) ............................... 23 4.1 Overview of IACCWC ................................................................................................ 23 4.2 Inter-Agency Steering Committee on Combating Wildlife Crime .............................. 23 4.3 Functions of IACCWC................................................................................................ 23 4.4 Importance of IACCWC ............................................................................................. 24 4.5 Recommendations: IACCWC .................................................................................... 24 5.0. Wildlife Crime Data and Analysis .................................................................................. 28 5.1 Overview .................................................................................................................... 28 5.2 The Case of the Man with Three Names ................................................................... 29 5.3 Confidentiality ............................................................................................................ 29 5.4 Suppression of Data .................................................................................................. 29 5.5 Wildlife Crime Data and Statistics for Malawi ............................................................ 29 5.6 Recommendations: Wildlife Crime Data and Analysis .............................................. 42 6.0 Legislation ...................................................................................................................... 46 6.1 International Treaties and Agreements ..................................................................... 46 6.2 Extradition .................................................................................................................. 49 6.3 Recommendation: International Treaties and Extradition ......................................... 49 6.4 Domestic Wildlife Legislation ..................................................................................... 49 6.5 Recommendations: Domestic Wildlife Legislation ..................................................... 66 6.6 Other Domestic Legislation ....................................................................................... 73 6.7 Recommendations: Other Domestic Legislation ....................................................... 74 7.0 Enforcement .................................................................................................................. 75 7.1 International Enforcement - CITES ............................................................................ 75 7.2 Recommendations: CITES ........................................................................................ 77 7.3 Regional Wildlife Law Enforcement Networks ........................................................... 79 7.4 Recommendations: Regional Wildlife Law