INTRODUCTION TO
TRAFFIC EAST/SOUTHERN AFRICA
Presentation to the Embassy of Finland
June 10th, 2014
Some history
 TRAFFIC was established in the UK in1976 by IUCN’s Species Survival Commission
to monitor illegal wildlife trade.
 TRAFFIC originally stood for TRADE RECORDS ANALYSIS OF FLORA AND FAUNA IN
COMMERCE (today, only TRAFFIC is used)
 In the mid 1990s it became the joint wildlife trade monitoring programme of
IUCN and WWF
 TRAFFIC has over offices in the Americas, throughout Europe, Africa, East and
Southeast Asia, and Australia with approximately 120 staff dedicated to working
only on the trade in wild animals and plants
 It has MoUs with the World Customs Organization and the CITES Secretariat
(TRAFFIC also manages the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) on behalf
of CITES)
TRAFFIC in Africa
 TRAFFIC has been working in Africa
since the 1980s.
 There are two regional offices:
East/Southern Africa hosted by IUCN in
Pretoria, South Africa and a Central
Africa office hosted by IUCN in
Yaoundé, Cameroon
 The East/Southern Africa regional office
has staff and consultants in South Africa
(Cape Town, Johannesburg, and
Pretoria), Madagascar, Mozambique,
Namibia, and Zimbabwe. It also has an
East Africa Programme office with a
geographical remit from Eritrea to
Mozambique
 The East Africa Programme office is
currently based in Dar es Salaam where
it is hosted by WWF Tanzania.
TRAFFIC in East Africa
 The EA office in TZ has 5 staff: one
programme officer dedicated to
working on illegal and unsustainable
trade in timber; a finance/admin
officer; two project assistants; and
an East Africa Coordinator.
 A senior programme officer
dedicated to addressing issues such
as the illegal trade in large
mammals, understanding trade
dynamics, and strengthening wildlife
law enforcement will join the team
in the coming weeks.
 East Africa’s projects address
TRAFFIC’s programmatic themes of
Flagships; Timber; Medicinal and
Aromatic Plants; Wild Animals for
Meat and Medicine; Wild Animals
for Pets and Fashion; and Marine
Allen Mgaza, Project
Assistant
Jumapili Chenga,
Programme Officer timber trade focal point
Shanny Pelle,
Finance/Admin Officer
Julie Thomson, East Africa
Coordinator
Majaliwa Chamuya, Project
Assistant - Communications
FLAGSHIPS - some of the issues
 Elephant populations in East Africa plummeting due to
demand of ivory in China
•
The greater Selous ecosystem was estimated to hold over
70,000 elephants in 2007 (down from the first census in 1976
which estimated 109,000 elephants), but an aerial count in
2013 found only slightly more than 13,000 elephants,
 Rhino populations on verge of extinction in Tanzania due
to poaching driven by demand in Viet Nam primarily and
China secondarily
•
the eastern black rhino (Diceros bicornis michaeli), the most
endangered of the remaining three subspecies. Currently the
only surviving wild populations of D. b. michaeli are in Kenya,
(approximately 635 individuals in 16 areas), and northern
Tanzania (approximately 70 individuals in three areas)
•
since the start of 2014, 442 rhinos have been poached in South
Africa and 123 suspected poachers arrested
Flagships continued
 Wildlife law enforcement personnel
inadequately trained and equipment
initially provided not maintained
 No central database of activities to
improve coordination and synergies
 Sensitization of judiciary and
strengthening of wildlife laws
 National (ie., Zanzibar) and regional
cooperation (esp. MZ) lacking
 Environmental education curriculum
nonexistent; training expensive
Elvis, a 24 year old Tanzanian identifies one of
the major problems in his country as the lack of
opportunity for Tanzanians to obtain the
education necessary to manage their own
natural resources. He has undertaken a ride to
Europe and back to raise awareness about the
lack of educational opportunities and therefore
lack of upward mobility afforded to Tanzanian
citizens. He is also raising funds so that he and
others can attend MWEKA.
FLAGSHIPS
 More innovative involvement of local communities
Example from African People & Wildlife Fund: “…collaboration with the Maasai
resulted in the invention of “Living Walls”… Those Living Walls are protecting over
25,000 head of livestock and have significantly reduced lion-livestock conflicts and
the retaliatory killing of lions.”
Example from PAMS Foundation: Poor relations between community members and
protected area authorities as one of the problems leading to community
participation in commercial poaching. The chilli fences have also created a business
opportunity: After the first year the REP gave the villagers chilli seeds to grow. Now
REP buys chilli peppers from them and set up a market so chillies can be sold as a
cash crop.”
FLAGSHIPS
 Wildlife regulation training at airports and
production of standard training materials
for use in East Africa
 Sniffer dog trial Mombasa port and
production of training materials
 Assessment of illegal wildlife trade in KE
and TZ that includes mapping trade flows,
key drivers, training needs, etc.
 Outreach to Chinese business
communities in TZ, UG, and ET
 Raising awareness of IWT at Julius Nyerere
Airport – model for airports in the region
 Initiated collaboration with Zanzibar’s
Ministry of Agriculture and Natural
Resources
Example of poster designed for WWF/TRAFFIC/Wildlife Division
wildlife trade campaign in Tanzania
 Economic values of elephants to national
economies and local communities in
Tanzania, with case studies in Botswana
and Namibia
TIMBER - some issues
 Inadequate domestic and international timber trade controls (from false documentation,
certification and logging permits, use of bribes, etc.) resulting in significant losses of
government revenue – some examples:
•
TRAFFIC Bridging the Gap (2005) suggested 77% timber trade (in 2001-2002) was illegal for study
area covering the Coast, Lindi and Mtwara regions;
•
TRAFFIC Governance report (2007) stated 96% of timber trade illegal during mid 2004 for study
area (above) and 90% loss in tax revenue (= USD55 million per year);
•
TNRF/EAWS study in 2012 identified USD10 million in lost revenues due to uncontrolled cross-border
trade between KE and TZ
•
TRAFFIC study in 2013 identified USD4.2 million in lost revenues from 3 southern Districts due to illegal
and improper application of controls in the timber sector
 EIA (2013) reported 48% illegal logging for MZ
 IUCN Forest Programme reported that illegal logging in tropical countries (ie., Tanzania,
Cameroon) from 80% - 90%
 According to UNODC, for East, Central and West Africa, the net profits from dealing and
taxing unregulated, illicit or illegal charcoal combined is estimated at up to USD7.4 billion
or 2.8 times greater than the street value of drugs in the region.
 The overall size of the illicit charcoal export from Somalia has been estimated at USD
360-384 million per year.
TIMBER
Capacity building
of
government
checkpoint staff learning
to
identify species of
timber in trade
 Domestic consumption of timber in
Tanzania and Kenya and release of
assessment report of trade between MZ/TZ
 Understanding the market in China
 Held 1st and 2nd Timber Trade Stakeholder
Forum with plans to undertake in June
2015; first time Zanzibar was included
 Timber trade monitoring along Tanzania’s
coast from Kenya to Mozambique under
MMC
200
600
1000
Total number of seizures
Total
 Proposed: timber and wildlife trade flows
from western TZ; data credibility –
standardizing data collection
methodology; exploration of a Timber
Trade Information System (TTIS)
1st Timber Trade Stakeholders’ Forum
1996
2000
2004
Year
Example from ETIS
2008
MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS
 Issue: the harvest of East African sandalwood is illegal but the domestic trade
is legal and international trade is under CITES Appendix II
Photo credit: Keith Roberts
 Proposed: collaboration among KE, TZ and UG to understand and control the
trade
Confiscation of sandalwood in
northern TZ showing unsustainable
harvesting methods.
WILD ANIMALS FOR MEAT AND
MEDICINE
 Trade in pangolins for Traditional Chinese
Medicine market
 Giraffe – domestic trade for meat and medicine
WILD ANIMALS FOR PETS AND FASHION
 Proposed strengthening control of illegal trade of cheetahs to the Middle East
through capacity building of north African checkpoints
 Proposed improving quota setting and non-detriment findings of the CITES
Scientific Authority on live animal trade, specifically reptiles and live birds
MARINE
Mozambique near-shore shark harvest and trade
•
The Problem
•
•
Increasing, unregulated harvest of near-shore sharks in
Mozambique, targeted primarily for their fins, poses a distinct
threat to their population status, the broader ecosystem and the
livelihoods and food security of coastal communities in
Mozambique.
Project Outcomes
•
Key stakeholders in Mozambique are provided with
comprehensive information on harvest and trade dynamics for
sharks caught in at least five near-shore fisheries.
•
Policies and management measures for shark harvest and trade
in Mozambique have been developed by the government.
•
There is improved capacity for the regulation of shark products
in trade in Mozambique.
East African seafood trade flow analysis
 The Problem
 Many East African costal States are grappling with illegal,
unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and its effects on the
resources they are attempting to manage.
 The comparative analysis of trade and catch data is a cost
efficient mechanism for generating information useful in tackling
IUU fishing.
 Currently no governments in the region incorporate fisheries trade
data analysis into their monitoring, control and surveillance
systems.
 Project Outcomes
 National level capacity to analyse fisheries trade data and
effectively monitor and regulate fisheries trade will be increased in
at least two East African coastal States.
 Tools and guidelines on fisheries trade data analysis, fisheries trade
governance and risk assessment are developed.
Future projects
 Sharks: Extension of shark trade project methodology to other East African and Western
Indian Ocean costal States facing similar threats. Due to the fact that many species are
migratory, there is real need for the development of Regional Plan of Action on sharks.
 High Value near-shore species: Extension of shark trade project methodology to other
high value near-shore marine species such as sea cucumber and lobster.
 Sharks – CITES: Support to developing countries in the implementation (as of September
2014) of the CITES Appendix II listing of Oceanic Whitetip, Porbeagle and Hammerhead
Sharks and Manta spp.
Thank you!