Wildlife Law Enforcement Networking in
Southeast Asia – Experiences from ASEAN-WEN
Second Meeting of the
South Asia Experts Group on Illegal Wildlife Trade
January 29 – 30, 2011, Paro, Bhutan

 A regional INTER-GOVERNMENTAL law enforcement network
 A proactive response to Southeast Asia’s alarming levels of wildlife trafficking
 Countries share information and learn from each other’s best practices.
A response to combat organized illegal transnational wildlife crime with interregional and cross-border cooperation between law enforcement agencies.

ASEAN Regional Action Plan on
Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora
2005 – 2010 (May 2005)
Objective 2: To promote networking amongst relevant law enforcement authorities in
ASEAN countries to curb illegal trade in wild fauna and flora.

• Establishment of inter-agency committees at national levels to ensure coordination and collaboration between law enforcement officials on trade in wild fauna and flora;
• Facilitating exchange of law enforcement information regarding trade in wild fauna and flora, and coordination of regional participation
• Promotion of collaborative capacitybuilding efforts for improved law enforcement

ASEAN
Wildlife
Enforcement
Network
Customs
Police
CITES Authorities
Prosecutors
Specialized Governmental
Wildlife Law Enforcement
Organizations
Other Relevant National
Law Enforcement Agencies

Chairman of ASEAN-WEN
NGOs
Program Coordination Unit
(PCU)
ASEAN SEC.
CITES
INTERPOL
Other countries
Focal
Point
Thailand
Focal
Point
Malaysia
Focal
Point
Singapore
Focal
Point
Indonesia
Focal
Point
Cambodia
Focal
Point
Vietnam
Focal
Point
Brunei
Focal
Point
Laos
Focal
Point
Myanmar Philippines
Task
Force
Task
Force
Task
Force
Task
Force
Task
Force
Task
Force
Task
Force
Task
Force
Task
Force
Task
Force

Achievements – Wildlife Enforcement Actions
ASEAN-WEN Action Updates
445 Wildlife Enforcement Actions from 2006 up to September 2010
 over 76,350 live animals have been rescued
 Over 107,616 animal parts and derivates have been recovered, around 336,911 kgs.
 496 arrests made across the region
 over US$ 54.4 million of estimated black market value of seized contraband

Wildlife Trade Regulation Course
Species Identification
Enforcement Ranger Training
On-the-Job Training
Judiciary Workshops
Investigation Training

13

National CITES Committee
Secretariat,
Biodiversity & Forest Management
Division, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
Malaysian Wildlife Enforcement Network
(MyWEN)
CITES Management
Authorities
Royal Malaysian
Customs
Royal Malaysian
Police
Anti-Smuggling
Unit

ASEAN-WEN and other international liaisons
Director General
Forestry Administration
National Liaisons
CITES Management Authority
Cambodia
Forestry Administration
MAFF
Fisheries Administration
MAFF
General Department of Natural
Conservation and Protection, MoE
Investigation Anti-smuggling Section,
General Department of Customs and
Excise
Central Research Office,
Royal Gendarmerie Khmer
Anti-Economic Crime Police
Department, National Police
Other relevant Departments
(Ministry of Justice, etc.)
Executive Director
Legal Director
Data Collection Officer and
Coordination Officer
Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team
(WRRT)
Press
Cambodia-WEN
Support Group,
Donors and
NGOs

Customs
Department
Forest
Department
Police Forces
Attorney
General
Directorate of
Trade
TASK FORCE established 4.7.2007
Progress of Border
Areas and National
Races Department
Judicial
Department
General
Administrative

Tip-off
AVA
(designated CITES
MA of Singapore)
ICA
(Immigration and
Checkpoints Authority:
Coastal, Ports,
Airport, Air Cargo,
Checkpoints) and
Singapore Customs
Information exchange
Tip-off
SPF
(Special Police Force:
Airport Police,
Police Coast Guard)

National Board of CITES ASEAN-WEN
National Committee
Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives
Department of
Agriculture
Department of
Fishery
Plants
(Flora)
Aquatic Species
(Fauna)
Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment
Department of National
Parks, Wildlife and Plant
Conservation
Wild Animals
(Fauna)
Royal Thai Customs Royal Thai Police
18

 Establishment of Lao-
WEN (Coordination Unit for enforcement of wildlife and aquatic laws) and Lao Task Force on
September 15, 2010 by the
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestry
(Reference 1493)
19

Philippines Environmental Law Enforcement
Task Force (ELETF)
 Strengthened in October 2010 under
Environment Department
Memorandum Circular 2010-15 for:






Intelligence operations
Investigation and enforcement
Coordination with military, police, investigation bureau, and local government units
Coordination with Environmental
Ombudsman, Department of Justice,
Office of the Solicitor General and related agencies
Coordination and mobilization of
Environment and Natural Resources offices for investigation, ground operations and prosecution
Database management
20

Operational Sustainability through Strong Member Support
 Gathering Political Commitment
 Active Networking between
Members and with the Secretariat
 Intelligence and Information
Exchange
 Collaborative Operations and
Enforcement Activities
 Collaborative Capacity Building
21

Operational Sustainability through a Strong and
Fully Operational Secretariat
Brunei Lao PDR Cambodia Thailand Malaysia Singapore Indonesia Vietnam Myanmar Philippines
Program Coordination Unit
(PCU)
Senior Officer Capacity Building and Program Adviser
(Seconded/OJT Officers from
ASEAN-WEN Member Countries)
Assistant Senior Officer
Enforcement Officer Capacity Building Officer Communications Officer Finance Officer

Financial Sustainability of the Network and its
Secretariat
 Financial Sustainability:
 Institutionalized ASEAN
Support
 Member Country Support
 Institutional Partnerships and External Funding
23

 ASEAN Centre for
Biodiversity (ACB),
 ASEAN Senior Officials on
Environment (ASOEN),


ASEAN Senior Officials
Meeting on Transnational
Crimes (SOMTC),
ASEANAPOL
ASEAN S ENIOR O FFICIALS ON E NVIRONMENT
(ASOEN), ASEAN S ENIOR O FFICIALS M EETING
ON T RANSNATIONAL C RIMES (SOMTC)
ASEANAPOL – ASEAN A
SSOCIATION OF
C HIEFS OF P OLICE
24





International Organizations



CITES
INTERPOL
WCO
Other Regional Networks


Lusaka Agreement Task Force
(LATF)
SAWEN
Other Countries
 China
Other Relevant Organizations
25

Sustainable
Strong PCU
10 ASEAN Member Countries
Strong National Task Forces/
Wildlife Enforcement Networks
Police Customs CITES
Agencies
Other relevant wildlife enforcement agencies

Co-Regionalizing with other
WEN’s and other Countries
Localizing with its 10 ASEAN
Member Countries
Establishing national task forces/ national wildlife enforcement networks
Police Customs CITES
Agencies
Other relevant wildlife enforcement agencies
27

Strengthen regional mechanisms
Standardized and localized trainings and capacity building activities
Support for inter-agency, intercountry, and inter-region cooperation for capacity building and enforcement
Support for Policy and
Legal Reform
Public Awareness and
Information Campaigns
28

Let us bring the environmental leaders of Asia together to go beyond national and sub-regional efforts. Let us build upon the success of the
ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-
WEN) and reach out to all of Asia in this effort to develop a region wide effort to protect our endangered species… Looking ahead, we need to start exploring how to take ASEAN-WEN to a new level. We hope you will help us make it stronger and sustainable.
Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary General
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
29

30
ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN)
Program Coordination Unit c/o Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant
Conservation
Ground Floor, Piroj Suvanakorn Building
61 Phaholyothin Road, Chatuchak,
Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Tel/Fax. +662 940 63 81 pcu@asean-wen.org, www.asean-wen.org