Porous borders. Lack of awareness. Commit to change.
Certain phrases kept resonating at a high-level stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, March 27, 2019, that convened government agencies and their private sector and civil society partners intent on combatting wildlife crime in Nigeria and along its borders. Wildlife crime, which includes trafficking and illegal trade in endangered and protected plant and animal species, is increasingly becoming a critical issue of national and regional security and is of great global concern. The meeting – “Nigeria Stakeholders’ CITES Meeting,” aimed to reach an agreement on how the various regulatory and enforcement agencies and their partners can more effectively work together to combat wildlife crime. Another objective was also to build consensus on modalities for ensuring compliance with regulations on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as Nigeria is a party to the Convention.
Nigeria is increasingly becoming a transit hub for wildlife traffickers. A number of seizures made in Asia have been traced back to Nigeria. Earlier this year, customs officials in Vietnam seized a container filled with 1.4 tonnes of pangolin scales from Nigeria. These scales may not have originated in Nigeria, however, since wildlife traffickers from East and Central Africa appear to be increasingly using West African routes including Nigeria to transport their goods to Asia and other parts of the world as pressure increases in East and Southern Africa. Nonetheless, while Nigeria is mostly seen as a transit point, it is also often a source point in some instances.
The West African country with close to 200 million people is also home to a rich presence of wildlife species currently identified including over 274 mammals, 941 birds, 109 amphibians, 135 reptiles and 5209 species of flowering plants. These species of plants and animals are very often the target of poachers and traffickers. The prevalence of wildlife trafficking in Nigeria is compounded by a myriad of issues including porous entry and exit points and insufficient manpower, equipment and training for the effective inspection of vehicles, ships and all manner of goods and luggage that cross its extensive border every day. There is also the issue of ineffective coordination among stakeholders, and the lack of awareness of CITES regulations in general.
The lack of awareness was one of the main findings of a Biodiversity Threats Assessment that focussed on combating wildlife trafficking conducted by the USAID-funded West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change (WA BiCC) Program. The overall lack of awareness on all levels about CITES and wildlife trafficking overall was also the main finding in a Masters’ thesis written by John Timothy Daniel while undertaking a CITES’ Master’s Degree Program, sponsored by WA BiCC. John is now serving as the CITES Focal Point for Nigeria. These and other issues were the reason why all stakeholders came together around the same table to discuss solutions on CITES enforcement gaps in Nigeria, as well as agreements on how to work together to reduce wildlife crime in the country. From the airlines, which unwittingly are used for wildlife trafficking, to immigration officials, everyone gained valuable insights on how to more effectively address the issues raised.
Participants included representatives from the National Environmental Standard and Regulatory Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Nigeria Immigration Service, Interpol, US Embassy/Nigeria, Nigerian Conservation Foundation, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), National Park Service, Nigeria Postal Service, Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Federal Ministry of Trade, Nigeria CITES Management Authority (Federal Ministry of Environment), Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, National Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research, Lufthansa Airlines and West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change (WA BiCC), among others. This meeting was in line with continuous efforts by the Nigerian CITES Management Authority to hold quarterly meetings with relevant stakeholders for addressing wildlife crime.
Three groups were established to deliberate and make practical suggestions and recommendations to address the three key areas identified: 1) CITES enforcement in the country 2) Handling of seizures and 3) Investigations and prosecutions. Some of the key recommendations from the groups were: the recognition of importers and exporters as relevant stakeholders; the need to harmonize the laws and regulations with international standards, and; the use of modern technologies like WildScan and AFRICATWIX. Additional recommendations were the need for proper recognition of each stakeholder roles and responsibilities, e.g. ensuring that customs officials properly hand over seized illegal wildlife to the National Environmental Standard and Regulatory Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in the presence of the Management Authority, one NGO, and Interpol. Also mentioned was the importance of setting time frame for the disposal of confiscated items and how to prevent these seizures from getting back into the wrong hands through corrupt means.
Mr. Andrew David Adejo, Director, Forestry, proposed the establishment of a committee to define guidelines for seizures and disposals and linking up with WA BiCC on the planned Training of Trainers Workshop for the Nigerian Customs Service. Stakeholders also agreed on the need to employ tools such as WildScan, and the establishment of a task force for enforcement. Moving forward, these recommendations will be taken into consideration, harmonized and used to develop a National Strategy towards the goal of combating and eliminating Wildlife Crime. The green colour in Nigeria’s flag signifies natural wealth, and these stakeholders are committed to keeping this natural wealth of rich biodiversity intact, within and beyond its borders.
