Remarks by Ambassador Michelle D. Gavin

Remarks by Ambassador Michelle D. Gavin A Celebration of Community-based Environmental Achievements in Botswana Mogonye Village October 22, 2013 As prepared for delivery Acknowledgements

 I am delighted to be here today to participate in the opening of this important initiative. Let me

first recognize our host, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and

Tourism, Neil Fitt, as well as all of our distinguished guests in attendance.

 I would like to thank the Government of Botswana for their hospitality and their leadership on an

issue that’s not just locally important, it’s globally important: wildlife poaching and trafficking.

I also want to express my admiration for all of you here today – in one way or another, you are

working day in and day out to stop some very sophisticated transnational criminal networks, and

1 to protect resources that are essential for economic growth, fundamental to biodiversity, and

often inextricable from the culture and history of the regions where they are found.

 There is incredible experience and expertise here in this room, and we have great expectations

for what you can accomplish in the next several days.

 Wildlife trafficking is a multi-billion dollar illicit business that is decimating Africa’s iconic

animal populations. Well-armed, well-organized, and increasingly sophisticated networks of

poachers and criminals exploit porous borders and weak institutions to profit from trade in

illegally taken wildlife.

 Many species – most notably elephants and rhinos – now face the risk of major decline or even

extinction. The big cats are likewise under growing threat.

2  However critical the situation has become, wildlife crime is not a new phenomenon. The

decision to organize this meeting stemmed from our conviction that the nature of wildlife

trafficking has changed.

 Always a critical conservation issue, wildlife trafficking has now become an issue of economic

development, of health, of rule of law, and of national security.

 Tourism, including eco-tourism, is playing an increasingly important role in Africa’s economic

development: international tourist arrivals to Africa increased even during the recent global

economic crisis, resulting in billions of dollars of revenue to governments and local economies.

3  Equitably distributed, these ecotourism profits can empower and enrich thousands of rural

communities across Africa.

 But poaching threatens the revenue African countries earn from tourism, revenue that many

communities in Africa are dependent on. Botswana’s statistics provide a measure of what is at

stake. In 2012, ecotourism generated eight billion pula – almost a billion dollars – in revenue,

and supported almost 50,000 jobs in Botswana.

 By 2022, tourism-related revenues in Botswana are projected to almost double to 15 billion pula

– but that will happen only if the country’s rich biodiversity is preserved.

4  Wildlife trafficking also poses a public health risk. Approximately 75 percent of emerging

infectious diseases – such as SARS, avian influenza, and the Ebola virus – are of animal origin.

 The illegal trade in live animals and their parts, such as elephant tusks, rhino horns, or lion

bones, bypasses public health controls and puts human populations at risk of disease.

 And most crucially, poaching and wildlife trafficking have become stability and security issues.

5  We are seeing clear instances of this in Central Africa. Militant groups including al-Shabab in

Somalia, the Janjaweed in Sudan and the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, have turned to

illegal ivory trafficking to finance weapons purchases, which they use in turn to sow terror and

instability.

 But it’s not just about what kinds of activity can be funded with illicit profits. The very act of

wildlife trafficking erodes the rule of law. It undermines the capacity of the state to control and

protect its borders. It invites insidious corruption, and pries open space for other illicit activities.

It operates in fundamental opposition to the sound governance that is essential for peace and

prosperous growth.

6  For all of these reasons, the U.S. government has elevated wildlife crime from an environmental

issue to a foreign policy priority. My government is working with the international community

to combat the illegal trade in wildlife and promote conservation through a four-pillar strategy

that includes: 1) diplomatic outreach; 2) public diplomacy; 3) training; and, 4) partnerships.

 The United States is engaging diplomatically to raise the profile of the growing global wildlife

trafficking challenge. We are active in CITES (SIGHT-ease), the International Union for the

Conservation of Nature, and with other multilateral bodies. We also work with organizations

7 such as Interpol, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Customs Organization, and the

World Bank in the fight against wildlife crime.

 Our efforts with foreign governments, international organizations, NGOs and the private sector

seek to reduce demand and strengthen wildlife conservation, as well as build enforcement and

institutional capabilities.

 Earlier this year, my government co-sponsored a resolution adopted at the 2013 UN Commission

on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice that encourages UN member states to classify wildlife

trafficking a “serious” crime, paving the way for more serious penalties for wildlife crime.

 In Asian consumer nations, we are supporting public diplomacy initiatives designed to raise

awareness about wildlife trafficking, including demand reduction campaigns. This includes

8 public outreach to discourage consumption, highlight the environmental costs of purchased

exotic items, and underscore the criminal consequences of consuming illegally trafficked wildlife

products.

 We are also bringing together the people charged with combating wildlife crime. Last spring the

U.S. government hosted 13 national park and wildlife officials, field agents, and NGO leaders

from nine southern African countries as part of an International Visitor Leadership Program

exchange. (I believe at least one of the participants, Lawrence Munro, is with us here today.)

9  The group visited U.S national parks and forests, met with their counterpart U.S. wildlife

officials – they even took time to attend a baseball game – and were able to form productive

relationships, and share best practices and lessons learned. One participant from Kenya, on

noting the large number of visitors at America’s national parks commented: “Communities in

Africa are sitting on a gold mine, but don’t know the value.”

 In terms of our focus on training and partnerships I would like to highlight the following:

o The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides $10 million annually for wildlife protection

in Africa and Asia.

10 o The U.S. Agency for International Development supports over $12 million per year in

counter-wildlife trafficking activities. These include anti-poaching activities in Africa

and Asia, as well as demand reduction campaigns in Asia. USAID will also soon launch

a wildlife technology challenge that will promote the use of innovative technologies like

mobile phone applications and wildlife DNA analysis techniques to assist in combating

wildlife trafficking.

o Just outside Gaborone, in Otse, in partnership with the Government of Botswana, the

U.S. government supports the International Law Enforcement Academy, which has

trained 350 law enforcement officers in wildlife crime investigation since 2002. In the

last year, we have doubled the number of wildlife trafficking courses offered at ILEA.

11  And speaking directly to the theme of this gathering – regional partnerships – the United States

has invested $17 million since 2005 to support regional networks of wildlife enforcement

officials. We are working to establish a Global System of Regional Wildlife Enforcement

Networks – or “WENs” – to improve communication and strengthen response actions. Building

on existing WENs in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Central America, we are working with

partners to support the creation of new WENs in the Horn of Africa, and West Africa.

 My government is also funding a three-year program on transcontinental wildlife trafficking with

the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the wildlife trade monitoring network

TRAFFIC (several members of which are here with us today). This study will improve our

12 understanding of current trends in wildlife trafficking and identify priority smuggling hot spots

for law enforcement to target.

 And most recently, on July 1 in Tanzania, President Obama announced that the United States

would provide an additional $10 million in regional and bilateral training and technical

assistance to combat wildlife trafficking in Africa.

 Although we are proud to be part of the solution, we must admit that we are also part of the

problem: the United States is a destination and transit point for trafficked wildlife and wildlife

products.

13  In response, President Obama recently signed an Executive Order to enhance coordination of

U.S. government efforts to combat wildlife trafficking. The Order establishes an interagency

Presidential Task Force and Advisory Council, which includes representatives from NGOs,

charged with developing a National Strategy to deal with wildlife trafficking.

 The Task Force and Advisory Council are an explicit recognition that only through multi-agency

coordination and collaboration, like the kind that you will consider and debate here in coming

days, will it be possible to effectively combat wildlife trafficking.

 We appreciate the difficulties involved in combating wildlife trafficking because we are facing

those difficulties ourselves. And like all of you here today, we also savor the victories. Let me

share one such success with you.

14  The National Wildlife Property Repository in Denver, Colorado, in the shadow of the Rocky

Mountains, holds smuggled wildlife parts worth millions of dollars seized at U.S. seaports,

border crossings and airports.

 These range from leopard and tiger heads to bear claws and crocodile boots. The warehouse is

also stuffed with ivory that no longer fits on the shelves. Piles of tusks and boxes full of ivory

bracelets clutter the floor. In the very near future, six tons of this ivory will be crushed.

 Authorities plan to use the pulverized ivory to create a memorial to the thousands of elephants

killed by poachers worldwide.

15  You have an opportunity at this conference to chalk up another victory against wildlife

trafficking and the illegal poaching networks that engage in it. We know that the best weapon

we have against the scourge of international poaching and wildlife trafficking is each other.

 We know that wildlife traffickers and poachers have become better organized, that they are

better equipped, and that they operate in more sophisticated networks. They don’t let borders or

jurisdictional divides interrupt their operations. To defeat them, we must do the same.

16  We must organize ourselves better to confront the new, 21st century poaching threat. We must

forge more sophisticated partnerships with one another, partnerships that bring all of our

capacities to bear in the fight against wildlife trafficking. This means new partnerships among

agencies within governments; new partnerships among governments, NGOs, and the private

sector within our countries; and, new partnerships between governments, particularly among law

enforcement authorities.

 It is only with coordination between law enforcement authorities in source, transit, and

destination countries that we can expect to defeat the wildlife trafficking networks that are now

threatening Africa’s natural heritage, its economic development, and its security.

17  There is much to be done, and listening to me talk isn’t making it happen. Please know that you

have my utmost respect for the important work you do, and thank you for letting me join you

today.