WCC 2020 Res 040 - Progress Report

Capacity building
IFAW organised a workshop to enhance capacity of Civil Society organisations to tackle wildlife crime in Bangkok, Thailand (Oct 2022). The workshop included an overview of current practices relating to wildlife cybercrime in Great Mekong region and Malaysia and provided open-source intelligence techniques (OSINT) training. This was the first workshop to focus on wildlife cybercrime in Great Mekong Region and Malaysia and attracted more than 40 attendees, representing 16 domestic and international organisations from Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China.

In collaboration with SEPRONA (Spanish Guardia Civil), IFAW co-organized and co-funded a one-week pre-operational wildlife cybercrime training in Madrid in May 2023. There were 38 participants from the EMPACT and Jaguar Network and a few Civil Society representatives who received in-depth training on detection and monitoring of environmental crimes on the internet using open-source intelligence techniques (OSINT).

Education/Communication/Raising awareness
At the 33rd Interpol Wildlife Crime Working Group meeting in December 2022, IFAW presented recent trends and modus operandi of wildlife cybercrime, showcasing approaches to support law enforcement.

Policy influencing/advocacy
In partnership with Costa Rica CITES Management Authority, IFAW organised a wildlife cybercrime side-event at CITES CoP19 (Nov 2022): "Creating a coordinated approach to combat wildlife crime linked to the internet". The event included participation of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (China), the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (India) and the Coalition to end wildlife trafficking. The side event showcased the coordinated efforts to combat internet wildlife crime and the need for a holistic approach, as well as demonstrating implementation of CITES decisions

Scientific/technical activities
In partnership with Pro Wildlife and the Humane Society International, IFAW published a report which showcased how the EU is a main hub and destination for stolen wildlife from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania, including via cyber-enabled wildlife trafficking.

Other
Together with WWF and TRAFFIC, IFAW continues to support the growth of the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online, to strengthen the capacity building and user education of online technology companies, preventing illegal wildlife trade online and cooperating with law enforcement departments to combat wildlife crime. Since the beginning of the Coalition, China internet companies have removed 12.27 million listings and posts of endangered and threatened species from their online platforms.