UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING CÔTE D’IVOIRE FIELD ASSESSMENT REPORT

FEBRUARYUNDERSTANDING 2020 THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | COTE D’IVOIRE 1

This document was made possible by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the West Biodiversity and Climate Change (WA BiCC) program. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of its authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. For more information on the West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change program, contact: USAID/West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change Tetra Tech 2nd Labone Link, North Labone Accra, Tel: +233(0)302 788 600 Email: www.tetratech.com/intdev Website: www.wabicc.org

Stephen Kelleher Chief of Party Accra, Ghana Tel: + 233 (0) 302 788 600 Email: [email protected]

Vaneska Litz Project Manager Burlington, Vermont Tel.: +1 802 495 0577 Email: [email protected]

Citation: Ministry of Water and Forests, 2020. Understanding Threats to West African Biodiversity and Linkages to Wildlife Trafficking: Côte d’Ivoire Field Assessment Report. Edited by Balinga M. and Stroud A. in 2020. Cover photo: Aerial shot of the Cavally forest in Côte d’Ivoire. Credit: WA BiCC

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE i TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents ...... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... v Acronyms and abbreviations ...... vi I.0 Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Background information on Côte d'Ivoire ...... 1 1.2 Objectives of the assessment ...... 5 1.3 Methodology and scope of the assessment ...... 6 2.0 Assessment of wildlife trafficking at markets and entry points ...... 7 2.1 A Visit to Markets in Adjamé, Cocody de Saint-Jean and Yopougon ...... 7 2.2 Abidjan international airport ...... 8 Customs……………...... 9 Airport police………...... 9 Airport safety………...... 9 Airport Water and Forestry Inspection Service ...... 10 Airport Anti-trafficking Unit (CAAT) ...... 10 2.3 SEAPORT: the Autonomous Port of Abidjan ...... 11 Customs……………...... 12 Port safety……………...... 13 2.4 Noé land border crossing ...... 14 Customs……………...... 14 Police………………… ...... 15 Water and Forestry Ministry ...... 15 3.0 Overview of wildlife law enforcement ...... 16 3.1 Proactive enforcement as a deterrent to wildlife trafficking ...... 16 3.1.1 Enforcement priority ...... 16 3.1.2 Serious crime ……………………………………………………………………...16 3.1.3 National enforcement strategy ...... 17 3.1.4 National cooperation ...... 17 3.1.5 International cooperation ...... 19 3.1.6 Strategic risk management ...... 19 3.1.7 Proactive investigations ...... 19 3.1.8 Staffing, recruitment and law enforcement training ...... 19 3.2 Detection of wildlife trafficking by law enforcement agencies ...... 20 3.2.1 Targeted enforcement presence ...... 20 3.2.2 Joint supportive operations ...... 20

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE ii 3.2.3 Border control staff ...... 21 3.2.4 Border control equipment ...... 22 3.2.5 Inspection and seizure powers ...... 22 3.2.6 Disposal of confiscated wildlife specimens ...... 22 3.3 Wildlife trafficking thoroughly investigated using an intelligence-led approach ...... 24 3.3.1 Investigative capacity ...... 24 3.3.2 Information management ...... 24 3.3.3 Intelligence analysis ...... 24 3.3.4 Intelligence-led investigations ...... 24 3.3.5 Follow-up investigations ...... 25 3.4 Specialized investigative techniques used to combat wildlife trafficking ...... 25 3.4.1 Use of specialized investigative techniques ...... 25 3.4.2 Forensic technology ...... 25 3.4.3 Financial investigations ...... 25 3.4.4 Use of criminal law ...... 26 3.4.5 Case file preparation ...... 26 3.4.6 Case clearance rate and administrative penalties ...... 28 3.4.7 Prosecutorial capacity ...... 28 3.4.8 Prosecution guidelines ...... 28 3.4.9 Available penalties ...... 28 4.0 Conclusions and recommendations ...... 30 4.1 Trafficking routes and seizures ...... 30 4.2 Challenges raised by participants ...... 33 4.3 KEY recommendations ...... 33 Annex 1: Schedule of the assessment ...... 39 Annex 2: List of Participants Interviewed ...... 40

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE iii List of tables Table 1. Summary of commercial trade in wild specimens from Côte d'Ivoire between 2000 and 2017 according to the CITES Trade Database List of Figures Figure 1. Map of trade routes used for the export of wild specimens from Côte d'Ivoire (all purposes combined) between 2000 and 2017 List of photos Photo 1: Côte d'Ivoire and neighboring countries Photo 2: Communes of Abidjan Photo 3: Abidjan Photo 4. Reptile leather belts and handbags, a crocodile leather handbag and an ostrich leather handbag for sale at Saint-Jean market. Photo 5. Pangolin and other bush meats for sale in Yopougon Market; wildlife products and wooden craftwork for sale in Cocody Saint-Jean market Photo 6: Felix-Houphouët Boigny International Airport in Abidjan and the CAAT office at Abidjan International Airport Photo 7. Port of Abidjan, container terminal Photo 8. Signs at Noé land border crossing; road sign indicating the customs scanner Photo 9. Scanners at Noé border post Photo 10. Scanner at the port of Abidjan; Scanning office at Noé land border post Photo 11. Tusks and carved objects and bags of pangolin scales at UCT Photo 12. kept in deplorable conditions at Abidjan National Zoo Photo 13: Documents and pictures of seized items (UCT) Photo14: Educational posters (Noé) Photo15: Baby chimpanzee from the Traoré case Photo 16. Special jackets for concealing objects Photo 17. Seized ivory objects

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In concluding this study to assess wildlife-related crime in Côte d'Ivoire and the need for a coordinated response to the situation, we would first like to thank Côte d'Ivoire’s Ministry of Water and Forests for its support in this exercise. We thank Mrs. Salimata Koné, Director of Wildlife and Cynegetic Resources at the Ministry of Water and Forests (MINEF), CITES Management Authority for Côte d'Ivoire. This report would not have been possible without their hard work, support, and tireless efforts with their field team to organize and conduct evaluations, conduct interviews and validate the report and findings at the national level. This field team consisted of the following officers from the Directorate of Wildlife and Cynegetic Resources: • Felix Ouassa Kouassi, Chief of Service for Livestock; • Loua Constant Gasson, Chief of Service at the Abidjan Airport; • Aristide Koné, Chief of Service for Wildlife Protection. We would also like to express our deep gratitude to the customs officers, police and water and forest officers working in the land, air, and seaports of Abidjan and Noé, as well as to all the others who participated in the assessments and provided us with valuable information about their activities. Finally, we would like to thank the many other individuals and organizations who helped WA BiCC to produce this report to the highest standards. WA BiCC staff would also like to express their thanks and gratitude to all those who have invested their time, efforts, and valuable reflections in improving our organization's understanding of the current threats to West African biodiversity and links to wildlife trafficking.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE v ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

ACB-CI Action for the Conservation of Biological Diversity in Côte d'Ivoire AIRCOP Airport Communication Project AMISTAD Action for the Mobilization of Development Aid Initiatives and Strategies ANAC National Civil Aviation Authority ASYCUDA Automated Customs Data System CAAT Airport Anti-Trafficking Unit CEM Conservation of Marine Species CENTIF National Financial Information Processing Unit CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora EAGLE Eco-activists for governance and law enforcement ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States GDP Gross Domestic Product ICCAT International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna MINEF Ministry of Water and Forests NCB INTERPOL National Central Bureau OIPR Ivorian Parks and Reserves Authority SYDAM Automated Customs Clearance System UCT Transnational Organized Crime Unit UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNTOC United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime USAID United States International Development Agency WA BiCC West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change Program WCF Wild Chimpanzee Foundation WCO World Customs Organization

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE vi I.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON CÔTE D'IVOIRE Socio-economic and environmental context Côte d'Ivoire (officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire) is located on the southern coast of West Africa along the Gulf of . The total area of Côte d'Ivoire stands at 322,463 km2, of which 318,003 km2 is land and 4,460 km2 is water. The country shares borders with and Guinea to the west, and to the north, Ghana to the east and the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean) to the south. Côte d'Ivoire's total land borders extend over 3,458 km. The border with Liberia extends over 778 km, that with Guinea over 816 km, that with Mali over 559 km, that with Burkina Faso over 545 km, that with Ghana over 720 km and its coast stretches over 515 km. In 2011, land use in Côte d'Ivoire was distributed as follows: 64.8 % agricultural land, 32.7 % forest and 2.5 % for other lands. Protected areas currently represent 17% of the national territory and are managed in a decentralized manner. The main environmental concerns in Côte d'Ivoire are currently deforestation (due to logging) and water pollution (caused by wastewater and industrial, mining and agricultural effluents). The main direct and indirect threats to the country’s biodiversity relate to climate change, invasive alien species, infectious diseases, overexploitation of biological resources (e.g. poaching, overfishing), habitat destruction (e.g. agriculture, logging, urban development, pollution) and structural causes (e.g. poverty, perceived lack of importance of biodiversity, low conceptual and operational capacity). Deforestation is a primary driver of biodiversity loss and species extinction in Côte d'Ivoire. Since 1960, 26 species of vascular plants have disappeared or are very rarely found, and other 70 species are threatened with extinction or have become rare. In terms of wildlife, 82 species in Côte d'Ivoire are listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, including 1 amphibian species, 59 species and 22 species of mammal. A number of insect species are also in danger of extinction, including the royal Goliath beetle (Golathus regius), which is particularly coveted by collectors. The only endangered terrestrial mollusks are snails that are collected for their high commercial value on national and international markets. Côte d'Ivoire also uses 1,500 plant species for medicinal purposes. The laws and regulations in force in Côte d'Ivoire restrict, and sometimes prohibit, trade in bush meat and live wild animals as well as hunting (Order No. 003/SEPN/CAB of 20 February 1974, Article 02 of Order No. 621 AGRI/EFC of 29 May 1967 regulating the destination of hunting products, Decree No. 66- 425 of 15 September 1966 regulating the traffic, circulation, import and exploitation of trophies of protected and spectacular animals). However, there are still sizeable illegal markets in the country, and there exists a significant trafficking and illegal trade in certain bird species (for example, Francolinus bicalacarus, Numida melecegris, Trenon australis).

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 1 The current population of Côte d'Ivoire is estimated at 26,275 million inhabitants with a population growth rate of 2.3% and an average age of only 19.9 years. In 2017, Côte d'Ivoire's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at US$38.4 billion, and GDP per capita at current prices at US$1,538. Côte d'Ivoire's export products include cocoa, coffee, wood, oil, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, and fish. Côte d'Ivoire's exports were valued at $11.74 billion in 2017 and its main trading partners were the Netherlands, the United States, France, Belgium, Germany, Burkina Faso, India and Mali. Côte d'Ivoire's main trading partners for imports, valued at $9.447 billion in 2017 and consisting mainly of fuel, capital goods and food, were , France, China and the United States.

Côte d'Ivoire is divided into 12 districts: Bas-Sassandra, Comoé, Denguele, Goh-Djiboua, Lakes, Lagoons, Mountains, Sassandra-Marahoue, Savannah, Bandama Valley, Woroba and Zanzan, as well as 2 autonomous districts: Abidjan and Yamoussoukro.

Photo 1: Côte d'Ivoire and neighboring countries Photo 2: Communes of Abidjan

The political capital of Côte d'Ivoire is Yamoussoukro located in the center of the country, while its economic capital and largest city is the coastal city of Abidjan in the south. Abidjan is the economic center not only of Côte d'Ivoire, but of the entire the sub region, mainly because of the activities related to its deep-water port. Abidjan has 10 communes: Plateau (central business district), Cocody (site of the National University of Côte d'Ivoire), Port Bouët (site of Abidjan International Airport), Treichville (site of the Autonomous Port of Abidjan), Adjamé, Yopougon, Koumassi, Marcory, Abobo and Attécoubé.

Photo 3: Abidjan

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 2 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora trade context The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) came into force in Côte d'Ivoire in 1995. The country is currently listed under category 3 of the CITES National Legislation Project, which means that its legislation is generally considered not to meet the requirements for effective implementation of CITES. It has therefore been identified as a country in need of specific legislation regarding CITES. Its revised legislative plan was submitted in May 2018, and comments on the draft legislation submitted to the CITES Secretariat were submitted in September 2018. A Small-Scale Financing Agreement with the CITES Secretariat is currently in place. A review of commercial transactions involving wild specimens of CITES-listed species indicates that most Côte d'Ivoire's legal commercial exports were live bird species listed in Appendices II and III prior to 2005. Between 2000 and 2005, international trade in wild specimens of CITES-listed species from Côte d'Ivoire for commercial purposes mainly consisted of grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) and Timneh's grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus timneh), which are now listed in CITES Appendix I; several species of Passeriformes, which are now unlisted; and, as of 2005, timber, sawn wood and veneer from tree species listed in Appendices II and III (see Table 1 below, which shows the most traded species in orange). In addition to live and timber, Côte d'Ivoire has also exported reptile leather products and some mammal skins for commercial purposes. All reported exports of bird and mammal specimens, and most reptile specimens from Côte d'Ivoire occurred between 2000 and 2005. The only exports outside this period were re-exports of leather products made from American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) (according to the CITES database, Côte d'Ivoire issued permits in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014). Exports of wild American mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) timber were also reported for Côte d'Ivoire in 2009 and 2013, even though this tree species is not local to the country and is not found there even as an introduced species.

Table 1. Summary of commercial trade in wild specimens from Côte d'Ivoire between 2000 and 2017 according to the CITES Trade Database Purpose Code: T (Commercial Trade) - Source Code: W (Wild specimens) Data compiled using highest trade data reported by either the importer or the exporter

CITES Commercialized Class Scientific Name Common Name Status Parts MAMMALS Civettictis civetta African civet III 1 skin Panthera leo Lion II 1 skin Philantomba monticola Blue duiker II 1 skin BIRDS Agapornis pullarius Red-headed love bird II 136 live specimens astrild Common waxbill III* 300 live specimens Estrilda caerulescens Lavender waxbill III* 400 live specimens Estrilda melpoda Orange-cheeked waxbill III* 950 live specimens Estrilda troglodytes Black-rumped waxbill III* 600 live specimens Euplectes hordeaceus Black-winged Red III* 200 live specimens Bishop Gyps africanus White-backed vulture II 62 live specimens

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 3 CITES Commercialized Class Scientific Name Common Name Status Parts Gyps rueppellii Rueppell’s griffon vulture II 60 live specimens Lagonosticta rubricata African firefinch III* 700 live specimens Musophaga violacea Violet Touraco III* 70 live specimens Oena capensis Namaqua dove III* 500 live specimens Poicephalus gulielmi Red-fronted parrot II 755 live specimens Poicephalus robustus Cape parrot II 845 live specimens Poicephalus senegalus parrot II 1 379 live specimens Psittacus erithacus Grey Parrot II** 11 403 live specimens Psittacus erithacus timneh Timneh Parrot II** 14 732 live specimens Pyrenestes ostrinus Black-bellied III* 160 live specimens seedcracker Serinus leucopygius White-rumped seedeater III* 2 600 live specimens Serinus mozambicus Yellow-fronted canary III* 3 600 live specimens Tauraco persa Guinea Touraco II 10 live specimens Trigonoceps occipitalis White-headed vulture II 80 live specimens Turtur tympanistria Tambourine dove III* 300 live specimens Uraeginthus bengalus Red-cheeked cordon- III* 300 live specimens bleu orientalis Sahel paradise whydah III* 200 live specimens REPTILES Alligator mississippiensis American alligator II 78 leather products (small) Kinixys belliana Bell’s hinge-back II 200 live specimens tortoise Kinixys homeana Home’s hinge-back II 250 live specimens tortoise Python sebae African rock python II 1 leather product (small) Varanus niloticus Nile monitor II 5 live specimens PLANTS Cedrela odorata Spanish cedar III 1 104 m3 of wood; 569 m3 of sawn wood Pericopsis elata Afrormosia II 15 sculptures; 65 m3 of sawn wood; 8,052 m2 of veneer Swietenia macrophylla Mahogany II 123 m3 of wood * This species was listed in Appendix III at the time of export but is no longer listed under CITES. ** This species was included in Appendix II at the time of export, but is now listed in Appendix I. The levels of trade in specimens reported for Côte d'Ivoire from 2000 to 2017 in the CITES Trade Database indicate that live birds accounted for most of the export trade during this period (all sources and uses). Live bird specimens were reported to be either taken from the wild or bred in captivity (although the country did not register any breeding facility under CITES), and 99% of such exports were for commercial purposes. Psittaciformes (parrot-like birds) made up nearly 98% of all live bird specimens exported, with 95% of this trade occurring between 2001-2005, and only 5% during the period 2006-2017. Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) and Timneh grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus timneh) together account for

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 4 58% of all live birds exported by Côte d'Ivoire. The CITES database indicates that 150 live captive-bred grey parrots were exported from Côte d'Ivoire to Kuwait in 2017. The CITES Focal Point did not provide a permit for such an export and does not recognize this. In terms of flora, Côte d'Ivoire exports wood products from tree species, mainly Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata) and afrormosia (Pericopsis elata), in the form of sawn timber, construction timber, plywood and veneer, as well as live specimens, roots, stems and leaves from artificially propagated wild cycads and orchids. A graphic representation of trade routes used for reported legal international trade in wild specimens of CITES species from Côte d'Ivoire during the period 2000–2017 is provided below.

Figure 1. Map of trade routes used for the export of wild specimens from Côte d'Ivoire (all purposes combined) between 2000 and 2017

Source: CITES Trade Database. Graphic representation produced using TradeMapper.

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSESSMENT This assessment had two complementary objectives: . Objective 1: To assess the status and effectiveness of the implementation of existing legal frameworks and policies in order to identify loopholes that limit the ability to fight wildlife-related crime in West Africa. As part of this objective, the project team will first analyze policies around the environment, forest management, and combatting illegal trade in wildlife. They will then implement them to understand their strengths and flaws and recommend options for enhanced effectiveness; and . Objective 2: to analyze the impact, perceived or evidence-based, of wildlife-related crime on biodiversity in West Africa, and to highlight potential activities to strengthen capacity and mitigate threats. As part of this objective, the project team focused on the overall understanding of wildlife trafficking (targeted species, sources, traffickers involved, possible linkage to other illegal trafficking) by conducting data collection activities. Information gathered during the data collection phase will be used to develop potential recommendations for future mitigation and capacity- building programming throughout the region.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 5 1.3 METHODOLOGY AND SCOPE OF THE ASSESSMENT The mission to Côte d'Ivoire took place between 17 and 22 June 2019, and was coordinated by Ms. Salimata Koné, Director of Wildlife and Hunting Resources in the Ministry of Water and Forests (MINEF). The evaluation was conducted in Abidjan, at the international airport and seaport as well as Noé land border post on the border with Ghana. Interviews were conducted with officers from the Water and Forests Department (in charge of wildlife and forests), Customs and other law enforcement agencies (judicial authorities, INTERPOL, police and security), and various NGOs such as the EAGLE Network, Action for the Mobilization of Development Aid Initiatives and Strategies (AMISTAD), and Action for Conservation of Biological Diversity in Côte d'Ivoire (ACB-CI). A full list of interviewees and the timetable for the evaluation can be found in Annexes I and II (see pages 35 and 36). The evaluation team collected qualitative and quantitative data during the interviews. The quantitative data were recorded using smartphones and will be compiled in a comparative study of all the West African countries evaluated in the second phase of the mission. Members of the assessment team were as follows: . Charles MacKay, MK Wildlife Consultancy (customs expert) . Sean O'Regan, Freeland-Africa (anti-fraud expert) . Aurora Luongo, Born Free USA . Salimata Koné, MINEF, CITES Management Authority for Côte d'Ivoire . Felix Ouassa Kouassi, MINEF . Loua Constant Gasson, MINEF, Abidjan Airport . Aristide Koné, MINEF.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 6 2.0 ASSESSMENT OF WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING AT MARKETS AND ENTRY POINTS

2.1 A VISIT TO MARKETS IN ADJAMÉ, COCODY DE SAINT-JEAN AND YOPOUGON There are several local markets in urban areas and towns outside Abidjan and Yamoussoukro. In Abidjan, Adjamé is a popular market on Boulevard Nangui-Abrogoua, while Saint-Jean market in the Cocody district is a craft market, and Yopougon market is known for its selection of bushmeat. The two main markets in Yamoussoukro are the housing market and Kossou market. The team visited local markets in the greater Abidjan area, including Adjamé market, Cocody Saint-Jean (N'Goan Aka Mathias) market and Yopougon market. The four-storey Cocody Saint-Jean craft market appears to target the tourist trade. Nothing of interest in relation to wildlife was seen on open display, except for a pair of tusks that proved to be fake on closer examination. Products made from reptile skin, such as belts and handbags made from crocodile, African rock python, lizard and ostrich skin were on display (Photo 4).

Photo 4. Reptile leather belts and handbags, a crocodile leather handbag and an ostrich leather handbag for sale at Saint-Jean market. The second market visited by the team was Yopougon, which extends over many streets and has a central area where most of the bushmeat is sold. A variety of animals were found there, including mongoose, cane rat, antelope, bat, varan, pangolin and monkey. The traders seemed suspicious of the evaluation team, and two of them tried to hide their pangolins under their tables. They were certainly aware that they were not supposed to sell them. Three stalls were selling pangolin meat, four sold primates and another

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 7 stall selling pangolin was discovered along the road from the market. All the pangolins offered for sale were without scales. The last market, Adjamé, was the largest of the three. Like Yopougon, it covers a huge area. The team focused on the central local market for food products, which featured numerous stalls selling meat and fish. No bushmeat of any kind was observed, although one vendor apparently sells bushmeat there but was not present that day. There were also hundreds of stands outside the central areas of these two markets, spread over a large area that was too big for the evaluation team to monitor.

Photo 5. Pangolin and other bush meats for sale in Yopougon Market; wildlife products and wooden craftwork for sale in Cocody Saint-Jean market

2.2 ABIDJAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT In 2013, Côte d'Ivoire had a total of 27 airports, 7 with paved runways and 20 with unpaved runways. The country has only one international airport located in Abidjan: Félix-Houphouët Boigny International Airport, also known as Port Bouët airport or Abidjan International Airport, which accounts for 90% of its air traffic and serves as a main hub for West Africa. Abidjan International Airport is the main hub for the national airline Air Côte d'Ivoire and is used by 25 other airlines (22 passenger and 3 cargo airlines). In 2017, Abidjan International Airport handled 2,070 million passengers, compared to 1,829 million in 2016. In 2018, it remained in this trend by recording 2,187,868 passengers and 24,794 freight convoys. Abidjan International Airport is managed by a private Ivorian company called Aeria. The airport infrastructure has increased significantly since the post-election crisis ended in 2011, and a new cargo terminal was completed in 2017. The main air cargo carriers flying to Abidjan International Airport are Air France Cargo, Air Ghana, Cargolux, Ethiopian Airlines Cargo and DHL. In 2015, annual cargo traffic of registered air carriers amounted to 4,719,120 metric tons. The team visited Abidjan International Airport and conducted onsite interviews with five agencies: the police, customs, the airport anti-trafficking unit, security (Avisecure), and the Water and Forests Department. Due to time constraints, the team could only have a brief security overview.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 8 Customs The evaluation team met Captain Kouassi Koko Dah, Head of the General Supervision Subdivision to discuss Customs at Abidjan International Airport. Mr. Dah had recently participated in the 2018 WA BiCC training of trainers’ workshop in , along with Lt. Gasson Loua Constant. He has some experience with CITES, mainly through operations with Madagascar authorities and the World Customs Organization (WCO)/INTERPOL Operation Thunderball but had not received any formal training before the Benin workshop. Mr. Dah and Mr. Gasson are currently replicating the training they received for the benefit of senior staff of the Abidjan International Airport, which means they will be better informed than Customs officers elsewhere. They recently seized geese that they discovered had been imported from using a false permit and said they would not have noticed this kind of illegal trade without the training. They also keep in contact with fellow trainees from the workshop and use WhatsApp to share information. Customs officials have a very close working relationship with the MINEF, but do not hand over all the ivory they seize to this department. There are 12 customs officers working in the passenger area of Abidjan International Airport, which has a throughput of about 3,000 passengers per day. Their main priority areas are revenue collection and customs duties. Customs officials generally regard CITES as a low priority, although it is given higher priority at the airport. Passenger targeting is mainly done locally by the anti-trafficking unit based at the airport (CAAT, see below), which works with Customs. All passengers arriving from abroad have their luggage scanned by Customs as they pass through the controls. Customs also works closely with the security services (Avisécure), collaborating in areas such as controls on gold and precious stones, but not wildlife. In the cargo area of Abidjan International Airport, cargo is targeted with the same automated clearance system used by other West African countries, which includes CITES in the risk profile. Customs officials will be provided with cargo scanners that will mainly be used to scan imports and exports; this will also allow them to check transshipments.

Airport police The police representative interviewed at Abidjan International Airport was Commissioner Niam Kobenan. The police have little to do with illegal wildlife and do not make arrests for these types of offences, but they do share information with other agencies and refer to MINEF if they receive information or see wildlife specimens. Apart from attending meetings where wildlife trafficking is discussed, Commissioner Kobenan has not received any kind of training on the subject.

Airport safety The primary function of the Abidjan International Airport security team is ensuring the health and safety of everyone in the airport. When the evaluation team met with Head of Operations and Procedures, Florent Gagni, it became clear that security staff know very little about wildlife trafficking. They have been trained to recognize weapons, bombs, precious stones, etc., but know nothing about wildlife specimens. They need training and should know what specimens look like, especially when they are scanned. Mr Gagni wanted to know more about the role played by Water and Forestry officers, and what they look for. He also said it would be good to receive information on what happens when specimens are found. If MINEF wants to provide training for the airport security staff, the request must go through the National Civil Aviation Authority, which first needs approval from the Director of Security.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 9 Airport Water and Forestry Inspection Service The Water and Forestry Ministry (MINEF) Airport Inspection Unit has two arms: The Inspection Service, which deals with the identification of specimens, and the Program and Communication Service, which deals with passenger awareness. The Inspection Service was established in January 2018 and works with Customs, police, security and other services. They check timber passing through cargo, but do not have scanners. They used to be allowed to monitor the security scanners for outgoing baggage but were stopped from doing this in 2018. The interviewee said that without scanners, staff can only screen 10 in every 400 passengers. In addition, they know that much of the wildlife smuggling is done by Asians, but these passengers are very unhappy when they are targeted, which means that without scanners, there will be a lot of smuggling. He showed the team a box full of crocodile skin bags and belts, ivory and a hippopotamus tooth, all of which had been seized this year. Water and Forestry officers seem to have a difficult relationship with Avisecure.

Airport Anti-trafficking Unit (CAAT) Airport anti-trafficking units (CAATs) have been established in 22 airports as part of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) AIRCOP project to combat drug trafficking. There are 12 CAATs in West Africa (including Abidjan International Airport), and several others in Latin America. The evaluation team was told that their scope had been expanded to include all other types of trafficking, including wildlife trafficking. The CAAT in Côte d'Ivoire is a multi-agency unit composed of 40 officers from the Police, the Water and Forests Department, Customs and the Gendarmerie. The unit establishes offences, arrests traffickers and suspects, initiates proceedings and places offenders at the disposal of the Transnational Organized Crime Unit (UCT) or the agency responsible for the product concerned. To assist them in their work, CAAT officers have access to a range of databases, including those of the WCO, INTERPOL, Supercop Brazil, the gendarmerie and all airline databases. There are eight dedicated officers who are cleared to access all these systems, following rigorous tests administered by the Canadian police (polygraph tests, etc.). The other officers make interventions and work closely with the other agencies concerned. Every day, they receive passenger lists from the airlines, which are entered into specific automated software that enables them to conduct an initial screening of potentially suspect passengers. They then contact the airline that the passenger is travelling with, which gives them all their details. CAAT covers both passengers and cargo at the airport, collaborates with the EAGLE Network organization, and also works closely with the UCT (see below) as they conduct their investigations.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 10

Photo 6: Felix-Houphouët Boigny International Airport in Abidjan and the CAAT office at Abidjan International Airport

2.3 SEAPORT: THE AUTONOMOUS PORT OF ABIDJAN Côte d'Ivoire has two main seaports, the Autonomous Port of Abidjan and the Port of San-Pédro. The port of Abidjan sits at the crossroads of the major European, Asian and North American shipping lines. It is the most important deep-water port and largest container port in West Africa as well as the second largest port in Africa. The Autonomous Port of Abidjan is a key commercial, fishing, transit and transshipment port for West and Central Africa. It is a major contributor to the economy of Côte d'Ivoire, and the transit point for most of the foreign trade from neighboring landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and . The port has also become an important industrial and manufacturing center. Traffic through this port accounts for 90% of Côte d'Ivoire's customs revenue and 60% of its total revenue. 70% of Côte d'Ivoire's GDP is derived from the port and 65% of the country's industrial entities use it. Some 21.476 million tons of traffic passed through the port in 2013, and about 24 million tons in 2018. The port of Abidjan includes a container terminal, a fishing terminal, a fruit terminal, a grain terminal, a bagging terminal and a conventional terminal, a mining terminal, an oil terminal, a ro-ro terminal and ship repair yards. The evaluation team held a meeting in the port of Abidjan that was attended by representatives of all the main agencies that work there. This was useful in terms of demonstrating the cooperation between the different entities but limited the opportunity to question each of them in more detail. However, the team did meet directly with representatives from MINEF, Customs and the Port Authority security service. The group meeting was chaired by the Port Commander, Colonel Emmanuel-Désiré Coffi Yao, who summarized the different agencies’ roles and explained the overall management role played by the Port Authority.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 11

Photo 7. Port of Abidjan, container terminal. Water and Forestry Ministry The representatives of MINEF interviewed by the evaluation team were Lieutenant Koudou Éliane Gnahouré and his assistant Lieutenant Konan Dorgelès. MINEF’s Port Inspection Service is based at the port, although their offices are 20 minutes from the main area. The service works with Customs to inspect timber convoys, timber in containers and some bulk shipments, but it only deals with exports and issues provisional specifications to Customs for clearance purposes. Staff do not have access to ships and their inspections are done before the wood arrives at the port in their designated area. They do not have scanners and cannot use the Customs scanner, but they are able to review the results of scans. It can take up to a month from the time documents are signed to the time containers are loaded onto the ships The team were told that staff would like to have better synergy with Customs officials in the port, and access to their scanner.

Customs The evaluation team discussed Customs with the Port Commander, Colonel Yao Coffi. Customs is responsible for all movements of goods in the port, both export and import. All controls on what goes up and down directly from the ships are carried out by a private company, Control Union, which is itself monitored by Customs. There are two Customs services, a general one and a special one that deals with scanning operations. As in other West African countries, Customs supervises the loading of export containers at the exporter's or shipping company's premises. Each container is sealed, and a report completed by the officer supervising the loading, which is then included in the customs declaration. The seals are checked, and containers scanned at the port when the convoy arrives there for export. Perishable goods such as coffee or cocoa are not scanned. Another section deals with non-scanned consignments, which are cleared through customs or inspected, depending on the risk. Customs officials look for anything illegal, but their highest priority is collecting revenue and customs duties. Customs officials at the port are less well-informed than those at the airport as none of them have been trained on CITES. It seems that the national training school mainly focuses on revenue collection and customs duties and gives little training on CITES. Colonel Coffi admitted that there is regrettably little synergy between Customs officials and Water and Forestry officials and said he would like to improve this. There was a parallel discussion

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 12 after the meeting between Customs and the Water and Forestry representative, which hopefully started this process of rapprochement.

Port safety The evaluation team met with Major Alfred Latte to discuss security. His main responsibility is the safety and security of goods and people in the port. They ensure the security of the terminal for cruise ships entering during the day as well as that of the container terminal. They carry out two types of controls: (1) Checking that customs declarations have been made - manifest checked to see if it is in the customs computer and if the seal is intact; (2) Making sure that the container will embark and has a reserved space on a ship. The evaluation team first visited the pre-screening area, where two Port Authority security units work. One unit deals specifically with coffee and cocoa, which are not scanned, while the other operates the scanner and covers other perishable goods. They also deal with goods that are cleared at the port and then re-exported to a buyer in another country. These units have an automated authorization system set up by the Risk Management Department, which mainly focuses on revenue and has no profiles for wildlife. The security service has a specialist examination unit that carries out physical checks on selected containers. Staff have not received any training on CITES. Staff in the port scanning area explained that not all containers are scanned. When container trucks arrive, a last-minute decision is made as to whether they will be scanned, based on the established risk profile and the type of goods being shipped. The scanning officers were trained in China and have not received any CITES training. They have not found any specimens of ivory or other prohibited wildlife, although they have found buffalo horns. Before they acquired the scanners, they heard about a seizure of ivory in Malaysia or Vietnam in a container described as containing soybeans that had transited through their port.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 13 2.4 NOÉ LAND BORDER CROSSING Côte d'Ivoire shares a land border with five countries: Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Liberia and Guinea. Each of these borders has at least one official land border post manned by customs and police officers and other agencies. The borders with Ghana (Noé and Niable), Burkina Faso (Laleraba) and Mali (Pogo) are the busiest and best equipped, and the roads there are in good condition. The borders with Liberia (Pekan Houli, Gbeunta) and Guinea (Sirana, Gbapleu) are not used as frequently because the roads have only been partly upgraded and may be impassable in bad weather. Border clearance procedures in Côte d'Ivoire generally take up to 2-3 working days to clear trucks and their cargo, which may be inspected by customs officials if they feel it is necessary. The evaluation team visited a border post located 1km east of the town of Noé (Comoé district), on the land border with Ghana in south-eastern Côte d'Ivoire. The town is about 325km south-east of Yamoussoukro and 125km east of Abidjan; it takes about 2 hours to travel from there to Abidjan by car, and 3.5 hours by truck. Noé is the main border crossing point between Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, and is twinned with Elubo, which Photo 8. Signs at Noé land border crossing; road sign indicating the customs scanner is one of Ghana's three main land border crossings. The evaluation team organized an initial courtesy meeting to explain its mission to Mr. Traoré Brahima, the representative of the regional government and sub-prefect of Noé. Mr. Brahima subsequently made the introductory and closing speeches at the main meeting, which was attended by 24 people (mainly from Customs, MINE, the police and the gendarmerie).

Customs The evaluation team met head of the customs scanner service, Captain Kouamé Ouattara, to discuss customs procedures in Noé. He explained that the main form of control is the scanning procedure, which is carried out on all truks. Particular attention is paid to those going in and out of Nigeria because of the high risk of smuggling. Customs officials looks for items that are not on the manifest, and any lorries carrying suspicious containers are taken to the border crossing for inspection. Customs officials use the SYDAM automated customs clearance system for goods (formerly known as ASYCUDA), which is used by most countries within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Anything new or doubtful is recorded on a PVS and sent to the risk analysis department in Abidjan. They have 3-member team based there who are in regular contact with colleagues in Nigeria, Benin, and other countries. The police have access to I-24/7, which enables them to easily obtain information.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 14 There are 100 customs agents based in Noé. The Commander gave the evaluation team a tour of the scanning facility and operations room. Customs is responsible for the scanner, which can be operated by any administrative official provided they are supervised by a customs officer. Customs officials have no other tools to help them apart from the scanner, nor do they have access to sniffer dogs. Customs officials do not generally screen passengers but will conduct searches if they see anything suspicious. The different agencies work together when checking buses, and cover about 14 buses every day. They use their intuition to target suspicious vehicles, and once stopped an empty bus from Nigeria that had cannabis hidden in it, which they handed over to the police.

Photo 9. Scanners at Noé border post

Police The evaluation team interviewed Noé's Deputy Police Commissioner, Captain Silué Souleymane, who is responsible for immigration and public security. There are 70 police officers based in Noé. They look for prohibited items that may be entering Côte d'Ivoire and work in collaboration with other agencies, passing on any finds to the relevant body (for example, wildlife is sent to MINEF). Like customs officials, the police have not received any training on CITES, which should be provided. Intelligence is vital to police work, given the volume of goods crossing the border and the difficulty of preventing smuggling on the long porous border with Ghana. Security along the border is being tightened with cameras that will be controlled from Noé. The police have access to I -24/7 and receive information from the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) office in Abidjan, but there is no legal basis for their collaboration.

Water and Forestry Ministry The evaluation team interviewed Lieutenant N'Guetta Miezou Parfait to discuss the Water and Forestry service’s work in Noé. Additional staff are sometimes sent to assist the six officers based at the border post, who have been there for less than a year. Their main role is to control the import and export of forest products, check documents related to forest products, and monitor the forest area. They have never intercepted a CITES certificate.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 15 3.0 OVERVIEW OF WILDLIFE LAW ENFORCEMENT

3.1 PROACTIVE ENFORCEMENT AS A DETERRENT TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING

3.1.1 Enforcement priority The fight against wildlife trafficking in Côte d'Ivoire is generally considered a medium or high priority, depending on the law enforcement agency concerned. Water and Forestry Service is the main law enforcement agency and all cases are referred to it. Customs which considers wildlife trafficking a medium priority refer all their cases to the Waters and Forests Department, which has officers based at all border posts in Côte d'Ivoire. Cases requiring investigation, arrest and prosecution are referred to the unit that tackles transnational organized crime, the UCT, which has identified wildlife trafficking as a priority, and to MINEF. None of the law enforcement agencies has a memorandum of understanding recognizing wildlife trafficking as a priority. Most information is provided by EAGLE Network, which has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ivorian Ministry of Water and Forests. The title of this MoU translates as ‘Collaboration agreement on combatting wildlife crime across the country’. EAGLE Network therefore works in close collaboration with MINEF and the UCT. Its priority is combatting the trafficking of endangered species. When questioned by the evaluation team, its members noted the weakness of Ivorian wildlife law, and said that if the law says a person cannot own an animal, it should mean what it says and make no exceptions. , ACB- CI, another NGO interviewed by the evaluation team also stated that Côte d'Ivoire needs stronger legislation because people keep protected species as pets and even receive certificates of ownership. When Mr. Degrace N'da and Mr. Loua Samo Michel Tia who are responsible for marine turtles in the Ministry of Environment were interviewed by the evaluation team. They explained that Côte d'Ivoire has legislation on marine turtles, but it is difficult to enforce and the country lacks the resources to implement it. There is a problem with fishermen returning with sea turtles in their nets. In 2015-2016, the Ministry of Fisheries organized capacity building on by-catch to raise awareness on the law. Fishermen are currently told to put any sea turtles they catch back into the water, but the authorities do not know if they comply with this directive. Due to the unit’s lack of resources, the NGO Conservation des Espèces Marines (CEM) has taken the lead in protecting marine turtle sites and awareness-raising to protect marine turtle eggs. The two entities coordinate their work. During the interview with UCT officers, reference was made to a case where 75 ivory tusks transported in air cargo were seized in Dubai after the Emirates airline informed INTERPOL.

3.1.2 Serious crime Although Ivorian law enforcement agencies recognize wildlife trafficking as a transnational organized crime (hence the inclusion of Water and Forestry staff in the UCT and CAAT units), it is not considered a

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 16 serious offence. The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) defines serious offences as conduct constituting an offence punishable by a prison term of at least four years. Penalties under current Ivorian legislation are too lenient to meet this definition, meaning that the current Wildlife law is not a sufficient deterrent to offenders. This may change when the new law currently being drafted is adopted, but the evaluation team was not informed of the new penalties envisaged. During his interview with the evaluation team, investigating judge Mr. François N'Guessan said that the designated prosecutor decides how offenders arrested for wildlife offences will be prosecuted. If the case requires no further investigation, a decision will be made to prosecute the offender and the case will be assigned to an investigating judge who is responsible for the investigation or case in question. The maximum sentence for a wildlife offence is one year. Mr. N'Guessan believes this should be reviewed as it is insufficient. He gave the example of Vietnamese and Chinese nationals arrested for trafficking ivory concealed in timber, who were detained in Côte d'Ivoire for 18 months pending trial and had to be released immediately after being convicted and sentenced to the maximum 12 months of imprisonment. Judges have not received any CITES awareness training.

3.1.3 National enforcement strategy Côte d'Ivoire does not have a national strategy and/or action plan to combat wildlife trafficking. This is currently dealt with on an ad hoc basis as information or intelligence is received, usually from EAGLE Network.

3.1.4 National cooperation Cooperation and collaboration between the different Ivorian agencies appear to be very good at the local level at the ports, airports and land borders where services meet regularly to discuss all aspects of law enforcement, including wildlife trafficking. However, there are no formal structures bringing these agencies together at the national level to help them cooperate on efforts to combat wildlife trafficking, nor is there a Memorandum of Understanding between different agencies. The UCT has only been operational since 2017. It was created by decree and reports to the Ministry of the Interior. There is a steering committee composed of senior officials from the various agencies that provide staff for the unit and oversee its work – the police, the gendarmerie, the maritime police, Customs, and MINEF – and report to an advisory committee of ministers. The UCT’s mission is to combat various forms of transnational crime and money laundering, including offences related to drugs, human trafficking, protected species, environmental crime, illegal gold mining and smuggling. The unit is composed of 100 officers representing several agencies, and includes 40 police officers, 30 gendarmes, 10 maritime police, 10 customs officials and 10 water and forestry officers. The UCT has a Reporting and Planning Committee where senior officials from all the enforcement units that make up the unit meet to review and plan future activities. As MINEF is represented on this committee, its remit includes wildlife trafficking. UCT members who were interviewed said that their relationship with INTERPOL has improved recently, but they still need access to I-24/7. They also explained that UCT relies on synergy with the EAGLE Network and MINEF to investigate wildlife crimes. EAGLE does the undercover work and provides the information they need to pursue investigations with MINEF. They have dismantled numerous trafficking organizations, including those responsible for a seized

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 17 consignment of 3 tons of pangolin scales. In another case, the UCT made arrests with the help of the United States, the EAGLE Network and MINEF after ivory that had transited through Côte d'Ivoire was seized in Vietnam and Cambodia. During her interview with the evaluation team, the Director of Wildlife and Hunting, Ms. Salimata Koné, explained that the Ministry of Water and Forestry is divided into two directorates, Wildlife and Forestry, and Water Resources. Abidjan is the focal point, but there are also regional services with technical management units (regional directorates), forestry posts in villages and forest cantons, and district offices in the towns. There are directorates with specific roles, such as the Forest Police Directorate which fights against general fraud, and the Special Surveillance and Intervention Brigade (BSSI) which strengthens law enforcement. All in-depth investigations are referred to them. MINEF is the CITES management body for Côte d'Ivoire, and Ms. Salimata Koné is responsible for signing all permits. The only authorized imports of live animals are for the zoo. No other permits for live animals have been issued since 2015, so any permits presented at entry and exit points would be falsified. Colonel Georges Kouadio of the Inland Fisheries Unit of the Fisheries Directorate (Ministry of Animal and Fishery Resources) said that they work in close cooperation with MINEF and discuss CITES. MINEF’s Forest Police Directorate records the information it receives in its database, which can only be accessed by Ministry staff. UNODC and other organizations sometimes request and receive information. The Forest Police work closely with EAGLE Network, which has signed a ministerial-level Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate this collaboration. There is a platform for collaboration between the control agencies, which include the police, the army, the gendarmerie, Customs and MINEF. They hold regular monthly meetings. Each region has a security platform involving these agencies which meets every Monday to discuss various issues. For example, Water and Forestry officials can ask for help in dealing with large- scale fraud. Ms. Salimata Koné also noted that these agencies collaborate with Customs officials, informing them of CITES notifications so that they can help implement them. She said they have been working on closer collaboration with other agencies and that the situation has improved, but that enforcement efforts are hindered by a gap in the law that makes it unclear who is responsible for what. For example, failure to specify who has custody of seized wildlife products has led to some units having problems turning their seizures over to MINEF. Some Water and Forestry officers have the status of judicial police officers, particularly in forestry matters, but they can only apply wildlife laws and cannot bring other charges used by the police. Those who have this status are only trained on wildlife law, not on other laws. Colonel François N'goran Djè of the Ivorian Parks and Reserves Authority (OIPR) explained that although OIPR is technically under the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, the parks and reserves were managed by MINEF until 2002. The OIPR still maintains close relations with MINEF, including for operational tasks such as monitoring poaching in national parks, and they still collaborate and share information. OIPR's mandate is to manage all 14 parks and reserves in Côte d’Ivoire. Its main management functions include (i) Management; (ii) Monitoring and protection; (iii) Ecological monitoring and research; (iv) Participatory management and support to local populations; (v) Information, education and communication; and (vi) Ecotourism. The monitoring and protection program is a management component that helps deal with poaching and all other forms of aggression related to wild species. ACB-CI, an NGO that focuses on forestry issues, said it collaborates with the OIPR and works with local communities. It noted that there are problems with Ivorian chiefs offering Ghanaians financial incentives

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 18 to cross into Côte d'Ivoire and cut timber, and the bush meat trade is an ongoing problem because it is difficult for rural people to find alternative livelihoods.

3.1.5 International cooperation International cooperation between national law enforcement agencies responsible for combatting wildlife crime occasionally takes place on an ad hoc basis as operations are planned or investigations carried out. The Ivorian law enforcement agencies are not aware of any formal agreements between countries. The main channel of international communication is usually INTERPOL, but the management authority also has this role as it seeks information on CITES-related matters from other management agencies. There have not been any multi-jurisdictional cross-border investigations involving Côte d'Ivoire, and law enforcement officers would need suitable training to initiate such investigations.

3.1.6 Strategic risk management Ideally, risk management practices could be coordinated activities that directly control risks, identify high- risk activities, locations and persons, and target operational planning and the impact of anti-trafficking measures. In addition to helping identify the most sensitive hotspots to manage these risks effectively, risk management also helps identify activities that require a higher level of control. Ivorian law enforcement agencies sometimes use strategic risk management practices but are constrained by their lack of knowledge and information. The CAAT at the Abidjan International Airport uses risk analyses to target all types of trafficking, including wildlife. It also uses profiles established by the automated cargo clearance system, although these are probably limited to specimens requiring permits, and to revenue collection purposes.

3.1.7 Proactive investigations Proactive investigations are sometimes used to target the main threats associated with wildlife trafficking in Côte d'Ivoire and to pre-identify priority targets, groups and individuals. The EAGLE network sometimes assists UCT and the Water and Forestry Service with their investigations, while the CAAT at Abidjan International Airport targets identified suspects or suspect cargo. Ivorian government officials do not have sufficient knowledge and skills in this area to conduct effective investigations on their own. EAGLE Network told the evaluation team that it provides intelligence to facilitate the arrest traffickers and identify targets. It aims to go beyond poaching and identify and prosecute the ‘bosses’ who mastermind illegal activities. The NGO AMISTAD, which was also interviewed by the evaluation team, indicated that it passes any information it receives on wildlife trafficking on to EAGLE Network.

3.1.8 Staffing, recruitment and law enforcement training The Ivorian agencies responsible for enforcing wildlife trafficking laws lack staff, experience and specialists in the administrative investigations needed to carry out the required activities. There is a general shortage of staff and/or expertise, and some law enforcement agencies are reportedly severely understaffed as they lack the capacity to recruit additional staff. None of the training schools for new recruits cover wildlife

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 19 trafficking. The only places with officers who have received some form of training on wildlife trafficking or CITES are Abidjan International Airport and the Wildlife Directorate. UCT interviewees suggested that a Water and Forestry officer should work in the INTERPOL office. Colonel François N'goran Djè of OIPR said that the agency has a mobile brigade of rangers who receive basic Water and Forestry training, and specialist anti-poaching training delivered by a former Belgian army officer and the National Gendarmerie’s Intervention Unit. Nevertheless, this unit still needs additional training and equipment. It should also be noted that some of the forestry officers have been trained at the South African Wildlife College in South Africa. Mr. Georges Kouadio of the Inland Fisheries Unit at the Fisheries Directorate said that there are 300 designated landing points where fish are brought into Côte d'Ivoire, with about 3 officers based at each point. They are all trained, but not in CITES, and although CITES is one of their objectives they do not deal with it. CITES training has been provided, but only for decision-makers, and the information has not been further disseminated. They have a good monitoring system for fisheries in their waters, and enforcement activities are supported by the navy. All foreign vessels authorized to fish in their waters are required to land their fish, apart from European Union vessels and a few others that have agreements allowing them to take their catch straight to their own ports. Inspectors from the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) often monitor foreign vessels. Veterinarians based in ports check the manifests, size and quantities of fish landed. Small quantities of sharks caught accidentally by tuna fishing boats are allowed, but there are no data on CITES species that are caught because they are not collected and are not considered important.

3.2 DETECTION OF WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

3.2.1 Targeted enforcement presence In Côte d'Ivoire, the main locations used by traffickers are targeted by law enforcement authorities, and although wildlife is not a top priority, Water and Forestry officers are present to support efforts. Like all other West African countries, Côte d'Ivoire also has porous borders, and while some have adequate facilities and equipment to combat trafficking, most do not. Colonel François Ngoran Djè of OIPR said that all Water and Forestry officers operating within the national parks are qualified as judicial police officers and regularly carry out patrols. If an offender is arrested inside a park, these officers draw up a report and take the case to court for prosecution; if someone kills an animal in a park, he is prosecuted. One of their main priorities is maintaining good relations with the local communities that provide intelligence about poaching.

3.2.2 Joint supportive operations A multi-disciplinary law enforcement operation involves officers from all the relevant law enforcement agencies, such as the police, customs and the wildlife regulatory authority. Operations may be sub-national, national or international in scope and are conducted once every two years. Multidisciplinary wildlife law enforcement operations are conducted in Côte d'Ivoire on an ad hoc and infrequent basis at the national level, and rarely at the international level. When EAGLE Network is

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 20 involved and has conducted investigation, the Water and Forests Service, the police and INTERPOL then work on the operation, if necessary. The Water and Forests Service has tried to involve the INTERPOL NCB in national multi-agency exercises such as those organized by INTERPOL and the WCO, but no such exercises have been undertaken since 2012 as there is no budget for them. When the evaluation team interviewed Colonel Camara Souleymane and Captain François Nita of INTERPOL, Colonel Souleymane explained that the INTERPOL NCB office in Abidjan is responsible for liaising with the various Ivorian law enforcement agencies involved in combating wildlife crime, and for facilitating collaboration and information sharing between Côte d'Ivoire and other countries. NCB’s wildlife section is part of INTERPOL's specialized Wildlife Crime Directorate based in Lyon, France. The Colonel said that a National Environmental Security Support Group had yet to be established, but that INTERPOL would be very happy to participate in it when this happens. INTERPOL's NCB appears to be very active in coordinating anti-wildlife trafficking initiatives with other Ivorian law enforcement agencies and allows police to have access to I-24/7 to share information with Customs as well as Water and Forestry officers.

3.2.3 Border control staff This indicator assesses the extent to which ports of entry and exit are staffed with law enforcement officers who are knowledgeable and trained in wildlife crime detection and response. Except for Abidjan International Airport, most law enforcement agencies at border posts in Côte d'Ivoire are not trained to detect and deal with wildlife trafficking, although they recognize the importance of stopping it. Two officers at the airport completed the training of trainers in Benin and are now training other Customs officers. Consideration should be given to training more trainers across the country. All

Photo 10. Scanner at the port of Abidjan; Scanning office at Noé land border post UCT officers work in Abidjan and rely on other services to follow up when a case is out of town, so they do not need to be there in person. When the evaluation team interviewed Colonel Camara Souleymane of INTERPOL, he noted that the national law enforcement network functions well, and that the main concerns and problems relating to wildlife trafficking occur at the 25 border posts and along porous borders. Only 5 or 6 of those border crossings tackle international wildlife trafficking. Officers from INTERPOL NCBs often travel to different

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 21 border crossings and meet with law enforcement agencies. INTERPOL staff have indicated that they would be interested in participating with other Ivorian law enforcement agencies in training on wildlife trafficking investigations.

3.2.4 Border control equipment In Côte d'Ivoire, with the exception of Abidjan International Airport, the port of Abidjan, and the Noé border post which are all equipped with scanners, there is no equipment to assist law enforcement in detecting wildlife crime in other parts of the country. No sniffer dogs are trained in Côte d'Ivoire to detect wildlife specimens, and there are no resources such as species identification guides, posters or other tools to assist them. An example of this arose during the interview with MINEF’s Marine Turtles Unit, when the interviewee said that the unit needs more outreach materials such as brochures and posters, and more funds to conduct outreach activities in Côte d'Ivoire.

3.2.5 Inspection and seizure powers All the relevant services in Côte d'Ivoire have the powers of inspection, seizure and confiscation required to carry out their law enforcement duties effectively.

3.2.6 Disposal of confiscated wildlife specimens Côte d'Ivoire only has a few basic systems and procedures for the management, storage, verification and use of confiscated wildlife specimens. MINEF has a small secure facility where seized parts and products can be kept, but it is not an appropriate space for large seizures. The UCT has large amounts of seized

Photo 11. Tusks and carved objects and bags of pangolin scales at UCT.

elephant ivory and pangolin scales in its offices but has nowhere to store them securely. The evaluation

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 22 team was shown piles of seized ivory items (tusks, carvings, etc.) kept in a corridor in the Director’s office, and bags of seized pangolin scales stacked inside their yard. These are not appropriate locations for such items, and the situation urgently needs to be resolved. Côte d'Ivoire does not have a rescue center where law enforcement agencies can take live specimens of seized animals. The evaluation team visited Abidjan National Zoo, which is currently used to house live animals confiscated in Côte d'Ivoire because there are no wildlife sanctuaries in the country. During her interview with the assessment team, Ms. Salimata Koné of MINEF explained that the only permits she has signed for the import of live specimens into Côte d'Ivoire are for the zoo. Most of the imported animals that are detected and seized are sent to Abidjan National Zoo. She mentioned that a lot of ostriches are trafficked in in the region, especially from Senegal and Mali, and that live parakeets are smuggled from Lebanon. Captive breeding of wildlife specimens is not very well documented, and although the authorities want practitioners to be registered, most are not. The evaluation team decided to visit Abidjan National Zoo to assess its capacity to rehabilitate seized live specimens in suitable conditions. It was made clear to the evaluation team that the zoo operates on a tight budget and has insufficient funds to feed the animals properly. The team were unable to speak to any zoo employees but having observed the conditions there they deemed it totally unsuitable to keep live animals seized by the authorities. Chimpanzees were kept in small cages with little or nothing to keep them occupied, and parrots, including the seized grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) were kept together in a small circular aviary accessible to the public from all sides. The evaluation team is of the opinion that the zoo is not an appropriate animal welfare center in the short or long term, that it should not be used as a rescue center, and that an alternative facility/solution be sought. The evaluation team interviewed members of AMISTAD, an NGO whose main involvement in the fight against Photo 12. Animals kept in deplorable wildlife trafficking is through education, including conditions at Abidjan National Zoo.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 23 education on bushmeat and protected species that are eaten. AMISTAD indicated that it intends to create a sanctuary to rehabilitate and show protected species to local people. It expects to find a place and have the capacity to take care of all these animals, protected or not, by the end of the year. When it finds people with protected species, it tries to find somewhere to keep them, although this can be difficult, as it discovered when it was given 11 crocodiles.

3.3 WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED USING AN INTELLIGENCE-LED APPROACH

3.3.1 Investigative capacity Ivorian law enforcement agencies tend to be reactive rather than proactive in tackling wildlife crime. Investigations are most often initiated in response to the NGO EAGLE Network alerting the Water and Forestry authorities, UCT, INTERPOL, etc. of the need to act. The UCT has the power to investigate wildlife crime cases alongside the Water and Forestry authorities and is willing to do this but lacks the necessary competence and requires more training in this area. Some UCT officers have received specific training on CITES in Ghana and the United States.

3.3.2 Information management Côte d'Ivoire needs to develop national procedures and systems for capturing and consolidating information on wildlife trafficking in a secure national database that covers poaching, seizures, criminal activities and associations, social networks, smuggling routes and methods, prosecutions and convictions. The UCT has a database, but it is still relatively new and does not contain much information. UCT staff would appreciate training on the management of information on wildlife trafficking. Those who were interviewed said that they investigate offences from the initial phase through to court, and that they need access to INTERPOL's I-24/7 for real-time information, which they do not have at present. They are trying to create their own network and have received training to help them do this, but currently they have created one through WhatsApp.

3.3.3 Intelligence analysis Not all information on wildlife crime is systematically verified and analyzed by Ivorian law enforcement agencies, which are more reactive than proactive in the fight against wildlife crime. Several services mentioned that EAGLE Network sometimes provides operational intelligence gathered during its undercover work and investigations. The UCT uses the DITT (Direction de l'Informatique et des Traces Technologiques) to gather and analyze information on wildlife trafficking for intelligence purposes.

3.3.4 Intelligence-led investigations Intelligence is information that is requested, collected, compiled and analyzed in order to anticipate, prevent or monitor criminal activities, and disseminated to guide and support effective law enforcement actions, investigations and prosecutions. Intelligence-led investigations in Côte d'Ivoire are conducted by law enforcement agencies, and sometimes prompted by alerts from EAGLE Network. Information is fragmented and held by different services. There

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 24 is no central database for wildlife information and intelligence, and this kind of information is not analyzed because enforcement agencies lack the necessary expertise to do so. During their interview with the evaluation team, Colonel François N'Goran Djè (Technical Director of OIPR) and Major Blandine Malan (OIPR Monitoring and Planning Unit) mentioned that the OIPR has a network of informants. Only one officer knows the informants’ identity and works with them to obtain information, using a reward system of cash payments for verified information. When the evaluation team interviewed Mr. Degrace N'Da and Mr. Loua Samo Michel Tia, who are responsible for sea turtles, they said that they receive information about poaching, and that people bring them pieces of sea turtles they have found. Strong demand for sea turtles (for domestic consumption rather than export) has led to a decline in their numbers. Whole shells can be found on sale in markets in Côte d'Ivoire.

3.3.5 Follow-up investigations Follow-up investigations may include acting on information and evidence found on seized computers, cell phones and documents. Where necessary, this includes liaising with authorities in the countries of origin, transit and destination, to share or request information. Ivorian law enforcement agencies have different opinions on this issue. Some say that there are follow-up investigations, while others maintain that little or nothing is done in this respect. When EAGLE Network conducts investigations, it ensures that computers, telephones and documents are closely examined, and that investigations are conducted overseas when necessary.

3.4 SPECIALIZED INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES USED TO COMBAT WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING

3.4.1 Use of specialized investigative techniques Most Ivorian law enforcement agencies said that they do not use specialized investigative techniques such as monitoring national and international deliveries, tracking devices or undercover operations to combat wildlife trafficking. However, it is highly likely that EAGLE Network has undertaken undercover operations in conjunction with the UCT.

3.4.2 Forensic technology The police in Côte d'Ivoire have standard forensic laboratories and computer facilities to check telephones, computers, digital fingerprints, etc. They do not deal with wildlife specimens, so UCT uses external contacts such as EAGLE Network and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to do this work. Agencies have limited knowledge of how to collect wildlife evidence and would like training in this area. The Wildlife Directorate has received only one ivory fingerprinting kit from the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

3.4.3 Financial investigations A financial investigation is an inquiry into a person's financial affairs or the finances of a business or limited liability company. A financial investigation can determine where money comes from, how it is moved and

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 25 used, and may include techniques such as net worth analysis. Financial investigations can lead to the confiscation of assets and possibly prosecution for tax evasion and duty avoidance. Côte d'Ivoire has a law that allows for the seizure of property, which is mandatory for narcotic drugs but not for wildlife offences. Property may be seized if there is evidence of money laundering. In addition to the National Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CENTIF), there is a unit for the recovery and management of illicit assets whose powers are laid down by Decree No. 2014-220 of 16 April 2014, determining the powers, organization and functioning of the body responsible for the recovery and management of illicit assets. Judicial institutions therefore have the power to seize illicit assets, and prosecutors or judges will consider this in serious cases. There was one case where a large sum of money was seized from a Vietnamese national, but it eventually had to be returned.

3.4.4 Use of criminal law CENTIF, which reports to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, oversees financial intelligence in Côte d'Ivoire. It was established in December 2007 and has a mandate to collect and analyze financial information on individuals and organizations in order to detect and prevent money-laundering offences involving serious crimes. CENTIF's powers should be used more extensively to facilitate thorough financial investigations, "follow the money", and possibly lead to the State confiscating property held by poachers and mid-level traffickers. Law enforcement agencies in Côte d'Ivoire should collaborate with the Financial Investigation Unit when investigating wildlife trafficking, but do not currently do so. The main international instrument against transnational organized crime is the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, adopted by General Assembly resolution 55/25 of 15 November 2000. Ivorian law enforcement agencies do not currently use this Convention to combat wildlife trafficking.

3.4.5 Case file preparation Some members of staff in Côte d'Ivoire have received intensive training on case preparation and testimony. UCT officers are responsible for handling cases from inception to prosecution and have successfully prosecuted several wildlife trafficking cases with ass istance from EAGLE Network.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 26 Photo 13: Documents and pictures of seized items (UCT) Photo14: Educational posters (Noé)

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 27 3.4.6 Case clearance rate and administrative penalties The UCT stated that 3 of the 10 cases it investigated had been referred to a court for prosecution, representing a rate of 30 per cent. None of the cases were subject to administrative sanctions by UCT.

3.4.7 Prosecutorial capacity The prosecutors that deal with wildlife offences in Côte d'Ivoire have not received specific training on CITES but are made aware of it through the cases they handle. The judge who was interviewed said that judges have not been trained either, and that while they are experienced in prosecuting cases, they need training in order to understand the gravity of such cases and sentence offenders accordingly – although their powers would be limited by the light penalties provided for by the legislature. The evaluation team interviewed the Deputy Public Prosecutor at the Prosecutor's Office in Abidjan, Mr. Kouassi Hamien, who stated that MINEF contacts him when it investigates a case, and he then acts as prosecutor during the investigation.

3.4.8 Prosecution guidelines The UCT is not aware of any clearly defined guidelines for the prosecution of wildlife crime.

3.4.9 Available penalties Although Ivorian legislation provides for the criminal prosecution of wildlife crimes, all interviewees described the penalties as woefully inadequate and outdated, and said they are no deterrent to the people who commit such offences. As the maximum penalty is currently one year's imprisonment, wildlife trafficking cannot be considered a serious offence. When questioned by the evaluation team, members of AMISTAD said they believe that the increase in wildlife poaching in Côte d'Ivoire is due to the weakness of the law, which has no deterrent effect as the maximum fine of XOF 300,000 corresponds to the price of about 1 kg of ivory.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 28 A notable wildlife trafficking case in Côte d'Ivoire resulted in two men being sentenced to six months in prison. As part of the fight against the trafficking in protected species, INTERPOL's General Secretariat initiated an investigation into a suspected chimpanzee trafficking operation in Côte d'Ivoire with support from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). INTERPOL NCB in Abidjan and the Department of Wildlife and Hunting Resources (in the Ministry of Water and Forests) have been conducting various due diligence processes associated with this investigation since July 2016. On December 1st 2016, a team from INTERPOL NCB and the Department of Wildlife and Hunting Resources (MINEF), together with envoys from the BBC,

carried out a successful operation that resulted Photo15: Baby chimpanzee from the Traoré case in the seizure of three parrots and a baby chimpanzee, and the arrest of Mohamed Traoré and Ibrahima Traoré, who were trying to sell a baby chimpanzee to a BBC journalist posing as a representative of a wealthy Asian buyer. The two men were tried and convicted in June 2017 but were considered to have already served their sentences as they had been in prison since their arrest and were therefore free to go when the trial ended.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 29 4.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1 TRAFFICKING ROUTES AND SEIZURES Internet searches and data collected during the field mission indicate that Côte d'Ivoire and/or Ivorians were involved in the following cases of wildlife seizures and arrests: . April 2019: seizure of two 20-foot containers of West African veneer wood (Pterocarpus erinaceus) from central Côte d'Ivoire; . January 2019: Ivorian trafficker and trader, the self-proclaimed ‘top man’ in the Abidjan skin trade, was arrested in his shop for selling elephant body parts, serval skins, 2 leopard skins, 1 lion skin, 2 civet skins, 1 hyena skin, 1 python skin, 3 honey badger skins, 7 crocodile skins, 2 sea turtle shells, 1 horned ungulate skull, hippopotamus body parts and several live cobras; . October 2018: Seizure of 150 kg of pangolin scales in Côte d'Ivoire and two arrests (one offender is a well-known wildlife trafficker with links to Chinese traffickers, who uses local poachers to supply the Asian market and collaborates with Chinese and Vietnamese expatriates). . February 2018: seizure of 630 kg of bush meat (172 animals of 15 species) in Côte d'Ivoire; . November 2017: 2 traffickers arrested in Côte d'Ivoire for attempting to bribe the Ivorian Management Authority to issue CITES export permits for 3 live West African manatees (Trichechus senegalensis); this attempt was made after failed efforts to illegally export 2 of the manatees using a false permit from the Democratic Republic of Congo; . October 2017: 4 arrests in Côte d'Ivoire (2 Ivorians, including one customs officer at Abidjan International Airport, and 2 Guineans) for trafficking 53 elephant tails and 52 kg of ivory (2 elephant tusks and 100 objects made of elephant and warthog ivory) of Ivorian origin destined for Asia; . July 2017: The attempted sale of 3 tons of pangolin scales (64 bags) to a Chinese client in Côte d'Ivoire resulted in seizure of the goods and 8 arrests (Ivorians, Guineans, Burkinabe);

. June 2017: An Ivorian trafficker with 2 ivory tusks was arrested in Gabon; . June 2017: Two traffickers arrested in Côte d'Ivoire for trying to sell a live chimpanzee to an undercover BBC journalist posing as a representative of a wealthy Asian buyer; . May 2017: seizure of 6 tusks (41 kg) and 150 pieces of worked ivory (18 kg) in Côte d'Ivoire; . May 2017: Seizure of 300 kg of West African kosso wood (Pterocarpus erinaceus) in Côte d'Ivoire; . May 2017: seizure of 40 kg of raw ivory and 165 pieces of worked ivory, and arrest of 2 traffickers in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire;

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 30 . February 2017: 2 live chimpanzees from Côte d'Ivoire sold with a false CITES permit signed and stamped by Liberian National Parks; . February 2017: 20 tons of shrimp seized from a vessel stopped in Ivorian waters for various violations of fisheries regulations, including illegal transshipment of shrimp, crew without papers, etc. . February 2017: not a seizure, but proof in Côte d'Ivoire of the beheading of a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) to remove its ivory teeth; . 2017: 1 live baby chimpanzee from Côte d'Ivoire died in transit while in Istanbul, Turkey, en route to Nepal. . October 2016: 2 arrests in Guinea (1 Ivorian and 1 Guinean) for trying to sell 2 ivory statues (carved tusks); . July 2016: 3 arrests in a restaurant in Cotonou, Benin (1 Ivorian and 2 Guineans) for attempting to sell 180 pieces of carved ivory (10 kg) including necklaces, bracelets, pendants and combs; . September 2015: 1 arrest in Beijing (China) of a Chinese passenger returning from Côte d'Ivoire with 6 ivory tusks (15 kg) purchased from a Chinese expatriate in Côte d'Ivoire in their luggage. . February 2015: seizure of bush meat (2 pangolins, gazelle, agouti) in a restaurant in Côte d'Ivoire. . October 2014: seizure of 2,753 skins and animal parts (from East, Central and West Africa, including Côte d'Ivoire) in Dakar, Senegal, with 5 arrests; . July 2014: seizure of hundreds of kg of bush meat (smoked crocodile, hedgehog, agouti) in a village grocery store in Côte d'Ivoire; . June 2013: seizure of 190 dead squirrels, 59 brush-tailed porcupines (Atherurus africanus), 14 flying squirrels and 8 mongooses in Côte d'Ivoire. . January 2012 - September 2013: seizure of a total of 6,051 m³ of illegal timber, most likely African kosso wood (Pterocarpus erinaceus), and arrest of 74 individuals for illegal logging north of the 8th parallel, where all logging has been prohibited since 1982 in Côte d'Ivoire; . January 2012: Seizure of 30 containers of West African kosso wood (Pterocarpus erinaceus) at the ports of San Pedro and Abidjan, in which senior officials were involved. . January 1997: seizure of 42 grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus), 8 Senegalese parrots (Poicephalus senegalus), 1 Meyer parrot (Poicephalus meyeri) and 2 collared parakeets (Psittacula krameri) in transit in Côte d'Ivoire en route to Syria, with 9 arrests (Syrian nationals); . March 2018: Vietnamese international smuggler Tran Van Tu. Moussa Ouedraogo was arrested in San Pedro, Bardot district, by the UCT with technical assistance from EAGLE Network Côte d'Ivoire. He was responsible for hiding ivory in logs before they were loaded into containers for export to the Asian market. Between 28 September 2016 and 6 December 2017, the Vietnamese and Cambodian authorities seized nearly 1500kg of ivory which they said came from the port of San Pedro; . January 2018: seizure of 469kg of ivory and 578kg of pangolin scales. It was reported that the pangolin scales probably came from pangolins that had been poached and harvested in Côte

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 31 d'Ivoire, while the elephant tusks, which were destined for Vietnam, originated from countries in West, East and Central Africa; . April 2016: 26kg of ivory seized in Hong Kong from a passenger travelling from Abidjan via Dubai. The ivory was hidden in specially adapted jackets in the passenger’s luggage, as with a seizure reported during the field assessment in Nigeria. A table summarizing these seizures provided by the Ivorian authorities can be found in Annex 3.

Photo 16. Special jackets for concealing objects Photo 17. Seized ivory objects

The Ivorian authorities also provided a table summarizing the seizures (see Appendix 3). The wildlife trafficking routes listed below were identified based on these seizures and information gathered during the evaluation team's missions to Côte d'Ivoire and neighboring West African countries: . Ostriches: from Senegal and Mali to the . Parrots: taken from Côte d'Ivoire to Syria . Wood: taken from Côte d'Ivoire to Ghana . Pangolin scales: - from Côte d'Ivoire to Vietnam - from Côte d'Ivoire to China . Chimpanzees: from Côte d'Ivoire to Asia . Animal skins: from Côte d'Ivoire to Senegal . Warthog ivory: from Côte d'Ivoire to Asia . Elephant ivory and elephant tails - from Côte d'Ivoire to China (including Hong Kong) - from Côte d'Ivoire to Asia - from Africa to Vietnam, via Côte d'Ivoire

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 32 - from Africa to Cambodia, via Côte d'Ivoire . Bush meat: for the Ivorian domestic market

4.2 CHALLENGES RAISED BY PARTICIPANTS Challenges raised by stakeholders interviewed during the assessment are summarized below: . The issues of weaknesses in the current law, particularly the maximum penalties that can be imposed, was raised in each interview. Addressing this issue will be an obvious deterrent to wildlife trafficking which will become a serious offence. . Lack of knowledge: every service highlighted lack of knowledge about wildlife and CITES as a problem. The only exception to this is Abidjan International Airport, where staff are trained by two Water and Forestry and Customs officers who had attended a training of trainers’ session in Benin. . Lack of equipment and collaboration: lack of equipment such as scanners at most border crossing points was highlighted as a problem, as was the inability of Water and Forestry officers to access the scanners used by security officials at Abidjan International Airport and customs officials at the port of Abidjan. This seriously hampers their ability to target wildlife products.

4.3 KEY RECOMMENDATIONS The general observations and recommendations of the evaluation team are that illicit wildlife products both originate from and transit through Côte d'Ivoire. For a long time, the Ivorian authorities have not prioritized measures to protect wildlife and combat wildlife trafficking. The forestry police and other agencies responsible for the management, conservation and protection of wildlife are constrained by a lack of human, financial and material resources. The fact that those involved in the illegal trade and trafficking of protected species receive relatively light penalties indicates that the issue deserves more attention. Under the Wildlife Act, these penalties are limited to a fine of between 3,000 francs CFA and 300,000 francs CFA (€4.57 - €457) and imprisonment for 2-12 months. The legislation is being revised and maximum penalties will be substantially increased. In terms of law enforcement capacity, Côte d'Ivoire is in a better position than many other ECOWAS countries visited by the evaluation team. Although it still has some way to go to be effective in all areas, it has a proactive wildlife authority, a transnational investigation unit composed of several agencies within the UCT, which has already proven its willingness to tackle wildlife trafficking, and an equally effective unit composed of several agencies based at Abidjan International Airport. Both of these relatively new units which include Water and Forestry officers, have identified wildlife crime as one of their priorities, and have great potential to be at the heart of efforts to combat wildlife trafficking. Cooperation between services appears to be very good, judging by the large number of participants from each service at all the meetings attended by the evaluation team. MINEF has officers at all key entry points who can take up cases and assist with identification. Their main objective should be to pull all the elements at their disposal into a more coherent enforcement tool by developing a clear strategy on how to combat wildlife crime at both national and transnational levels.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 33 To address the challenges identified during this exercise, the evaluation team and participants from Côte d'Ivoire made the following main recommendations: 1. Develop a national strategy to tackle wildlife crime and link to the strategy developed at the regional level;

This strategy should cover poaching as well as trafficking and be validated by all key organizations, whose roles should be clearly defined, with designated focal points to deal with CITES wildlife issues. With the growing number of marine and freshwater species listed under CITES, it is important that fisheries are included in the national wildlife crime strategy, and all officers trained in CITES so that they can identify CITES-listed species. Fisheries officers also check frozen fish in markets for hygiene purposes and are a potential source of information on other species being sold. 2. Finalize in the near future the legal regulatory framework for Côte d'Ivoire;

3. Implement in all the law enforcement agencies sustainable capacity building programs (training of trainers) that deal with wildlife crime;

This should range from basic training for rangers ‘in the field’ and training on crime scene preservation for first responders, to modules focusing on methods for preserving the chain of custody of exhibits. The ongoing work at the Abidjan International Airport by staff who participated in the workshop in Benin shows that the training of trainers’ program is yielding results in Côte d'Ivoire. It needs to be expanded to ensure that there are sufficient trainers to cover all key border posts in Côte d'Ivoire. Capacity building is needed at all levels, with service-specific training and training that brings together the services that need to work together. Target agencies should include the police, INTERPOL Côte d'Ivoire NCB, Customs, prosecutors, and the port and airport authorities. Specialized training to enhance the intelligence and investigative capabilities of specialized units that have already been established, such as the UCT, CAAT and profilers covering the port and airport must target wildlife trafficking. UCT and CAAT have both expressed the desire to conduct more wildlife trafficking investigations and to target their work but are hampered by a lack of capacity to produce information and intelligence. Raising awareness among senior managers is also an important first step in ensuring that they understand the importance of the work for the country and buy into the program. Awareness and capacity building for prosecutors and the judiciary are also needed. There is good coordination between the different services engaged in combatting wildlife trafficking across Côte d'Ivoire. Law enforcement agencies are committed to making seizures and conducting investigations, but their capacity is limited by lack of training in wildlife law enforcement. 4. Encourage the Customs and Water and Forestry services to include a CITES module in their training program for new recruits;

The program could be supported by officers who have undergone training of trainers. The objective should be to make Côte d'Ivoire self-sufficient in CITES training once the program is completed.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 34 5. Place greater emphasis on entry and exit points, particularly in the airports and ports that traffickers use to smuggle wildlife products;

Provide high-level training for Customs officers posted at entry and exit points. There are many tasks they could perform, including: a. Liaising with front-line officers and keeping them up to date on the latest trends, helping with species identification, etc. b. Liaising with colleagues in the network and ensuring that new information is shared; c. Ensuring that detections proceed using the methodology agreed with stakeholders and acting as a liaison point in such cases; d. Keeping abreast of trends / patterns and keeping colleagues informed; e. Handling confiscated specimens according to agreed procedures.

6. Raise public awareness to ensure that people understand which species are protected and what the law is;

Currently, most people do not know that they are breaking the law when they buy or sell protected animals and their products. Public awareness should be a major part of the national wildlife strategy, and funding will be needed to develop resources such as posters, leaflets and other educational materials. Technical support may also be required to plan how best to raise public awareness. 7. Posters/flyers on protected species and prohibited wildlife products should be displayed in the arrival and departure halls of Abidjan International Airport;

An awareness program like the USAID-funded ROUTES program could be launched at West African airports. Airports should hold training workshops on wildlife trafficking awareness for customs officials as well as all airport and airline staff, with sessions on passenger and cargo profiling, identification of wildlife products and parts, concealment methods, permit fraud and trafficking routes. 8. Place greater emphasis on awareness-raising at land border crossings in Côte d'Ivoire;

One-day workshops on the identification of trafficked wildlife products and animal parts, methods of concealment, etc. should be organized, and posters/flyers strategically placed at border posts and hotel reception areas. Border posts could also have strategically placed billboards describing species whose hunting and trade are prohibited, for example: "TRAFFICKING IN WILDLIFE SPECIES IS ILLEGAL; OFFENDORS WILL BE PROSECUTED". Outreach materials should also be displayed at designated fish landing points as fishermen, fisheries staff and the general public know little about protected species. 9. A strategy on how to strengthen youth outreach in schools and how to finance the development of educational resources should be considered for Côte d'Ivoire;

10. Develop a protocol on how to deal with confiscated goods and their possible use/destruction.

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 35 The space currently used to store wildlife seizures is extremely small and cannot hold large quantities of specimens, meaning that large quantities of ivory tusks and pangolin scales are left unsecured at the UCT premises. A suitable secure facility where seized specimens can be stored is urgently needed. The duration that specimens are held before being used or destroyed should be minimized to free up space and ensure that high-value specimens are secured. The protocol for this should be transparent, cover all confiscations, including live animals, animal parts and by-products and plants (timber), and set out detailed arrangements for the use of specimens. An alternative venue for a rescue center is urgently needed. The evaluation team considers the Abidjan National Zoo as totally unsuitable for a wildlife shelter, but the authorities currently have no choice but to use it for confiscated live specimens. 11. Improve the equipment and means of detecting illegal products (scanners, protective equipment for officers during searches, sniffer dogs, etc.) and training for officers in charge of detection.

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http://en.reingex.com/Ports-West-Africa.shtml https://dlca.logcluster.org/display/public/DLCA/2.3.1+Border+Crossing+of+Noe http://trip-suggest.com/ivory-coast/ivory-coast-general/noe/ ; https://dlca.logcluster.org/display/public/DLCA/2.3.1+Border+Crossing+of+Noe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No%C3%A9,_Ivory_Coast https://www.easytrackghana.com/travel-information-ghana_border-crossings.php

https://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNTOC/Publications/TOC%20Convention/TOCeboo k-e.pdf https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/12036/31-1-seizures-prosecutions.pdf

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 37 http://www.eagle-enforcement.org/data/files/eagle-briefing-january-2019-public.pdf http://www.eagle-enforcement.org/data/files/eagle-briefing-october-2018-public.pdf http://www.robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_20.pdf https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/com/sc/70/E-SC70-30-01.pdf http://www.robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_19.pdf http://www.traffic.org/traffic-bulletin/TRAFFIC%20Bulletin%20292-seizures.pdf http://www.robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_17.pdf https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40431350 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-5e8c4bac-c236-4cd9-bacc-db96d733f6cf http://www.robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_16.pdf http://www.robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_16.pdf http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-5e8c4bac-c236-4cd9-bacc-db96d733f6cf http://www.eagle-enforcement.org/data/files/eagle-briefing-october-2016-public.pdf http://www.eagle-enforcement.org/data/files/eagle-briefing-july-2016-public.pdf http://www.robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_10.pdf http://www.robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_8.pdf http://www.eagle-enforcement.org/data/files/report-october-2014-public.pdf http://www.robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_6.pdf http://www.robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/ON-THE-TRAIL-1.pdf https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/com/pc/22/Inf/E-PC22-Inf-13_0.pdf www.traffic.org/traffic-bulletin/traffic_bulletin_seizures_1997-onwards.pdf

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 38 ANNEX 1: SCHEDULE OF THE ASSESSMENT

Monday, 17 June 2019 - Abidjan - Meeting with the General Directorate for Customs (Customs) - Meeting with the General Directorate for Forests and Wildlife

Tuesday, 18 June 2019 - Abidjan - Meeting with representatives of national fisheries - Meeting with the Transnational Organized Crime Unit (UCT) - Meeting with police at Abidjan International Airport - Meeting with Avisécure at Abidjan International Airport - Meeting with the Airport Anti-Trafficking Unit (CAAT-UCT) at Abidjan International Airport

Wednesday, 19 June 2019 - Abidjan - Meeting with Abidjan Port Authority at the Autonomous Port of Abidjan - Meeting with Customs at the Autonomous Port of Abidjan - Meeting with the Marine Turtle Unit of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development

Thursday, 20 June 2019 - Noé - Meeting with Customs/Police/Gendarmerie/Water and Forestry officials at Noé border post

Friday, 21 June 2019 - Abidjan - Meeting with the Ivorian Office of Parks and Reserves (OIPR) - Meeting with INTERPOL - Meeting with a judge and a prosecutor - Group meeting with the NGOs EAGLE Network, Action pour la Conservation de la Biodiversité en Côte d’Ivoire (ACB-CI) and AMISTAD.

Saturday, 22 June 2019 - Abidjan - Visit the following markets: Adjamé, Cocody Saint-Jean and Yopougon - Visit Abidjan National Zoo

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 39 ANNEX 2: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS INTERVIEWED

Title Name Email and Phone Number Cdt Salimata Koné 07368359 [email protected] Col. Oualou kollou B. 07584054 [email protected] Col. Houssou Kouamé 07933366 [email protected] Col. Augout Antoine 07052969 [email protected] Lt/Col. Kobon K. Simplice 08707151 [email protected] Lt. Doli Bi M. Carvalho 07657330 [email protected] Cdt. Diarra Madou Adama 07141442 [email protected] Kouadio Georges 05074833 [email protected] Aka Agnimel Roger 03000002 [email protected] N’guessan Roland Dorgelès 03323269 [email protected] Thio Kignelman 40200292 [email protected] Gnahoré Thimothée 02790830 [email protected] Bilé Kodjo René 02296841 [email protected] Col. Coffi Yao E. 46005666 [email protected] Lt/Col. Soro Kounantcho 07009484 [email protected] Cdt. Latte S. Alfred 46000626 [email protected] Guie Alexis 05999780 [email protected] Lt/Col. Eliane Koudou épouse Gnahoué 07522883 [email protected] Lt Konan Dorgelès 08643734 [email protected] Captain Soro Zana 60936907 [email protected] Cissé Naferima 74893910 [email protected] Traoré Brahima 07139161 [email protected] Col. Yao Kouassi Anatole 09125696 [email protected] Captain Ouattara Kouamé 07653774 [email protected] Adj Théodore Zamé 48732405 Gbedjé Metch Georges 08384440 Etien Etien Christophe 03897123 Silué Souleymane 02344749 [email protected] Yao Kra 03155102 [email protected] Mboussou Jean-Pierre 02847530 [email protected] N’Guetta Miezou Parfait 02805191 [email protected] Edi Seka Fiacre Aristide 57010816 [email protected] Kpalou Dénis Papin 07529704 [email protected] Konan François Michel 48924206 Kouallou Konan Serge Pacôme 01323862

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 40 Title Name Email and Phone Number Konan Kouadio Emock 03363384 [email protected] Lt Daouda El Hadj 02425164 Captain Bah Guey Herman 47701190 [email protected] Lt/Col Germain Pecadi 01418364 [email protected] Captain Kouman Jacques 07373667 [email protected] François N’goran Djé [email protected] Blandine Malan 01509362 [email protected] Brice Delagneau 01262488 [email protected] Marius Okrou 09159101 [email protected] Diorne Zausa 09961308 [email protected]

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 41

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 1

U.S. Agency for International Development 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20523 Tel: (202) 712-0000 Fax: (202) 216-3524 www.usaid.gov

UNDERSTANDING THREATS TO WEST AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY AND LINKAGES TO WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 2