14 Dec
2006 - Budapest, Hungary – Threatened species
will be at risk from a rise in illegal wildlife
trade entering Europe once Bulgaria and Romania
join the European Union, according to TRAFFIC,
the wildlife trade monitoring network.
A report released today by TRAFFIC
— Wildlife Trade in Central and Eastern Europe:
A review of CITES implementation in 15 countries
— acknowledges the efforts made by the ten countries
which acceded in May 2004 and the six countries,
including Bulgaria and Romania, that will join
the EU in the near future. However, the report
expresses concern over gaps in the legal systems
that hinder the implementation of the EU´s
regulations for controlling trade in protected
animals and plants.
“Inadequate laws, a lack of
trained enforcement officers and insufficiently
equipped authorities are the main reasons for
these loopholes in the EU’s eastern borders,”
said Katalin Kecse-Nagy, a programme officer at
TRAFFIC Europe and co-author of the report.
“Enforcement officers responsible
for wildlife trade controls in a number of the
countries under review have not been sufficiently
trained and often are unaware of techniques and
methods used by smugglers to import wild animals
or plants into the EU market illegally.”
Central and Eastern Europe is
home to a wide range of species that are rare
or extinct in Western Europe, including the brown
bear, wolf, saker falcon, sturgeons, and such
plants such as cyclamen and snowdrops.
The region has also traditionally
played an important “transit” role for wildlife
and wildlife products imported into the EU from
around the world. The region is an important re-exporter
of wildlife, such as live reptiles. Between 1996
and 2003, the 16 countries reviewed re-exported
more CITES-listed live reptiles than the rest
of the EU. In addition, a number of these countries
were also important exporters and re-exporters
of caviar, including Poland, Turkey, Bulgaria
and Romania.
The control of illegal wildlife
trade in the EU is particularly challenging as
systematic controls only take place at the external
borders. Once CITES-listed animal and plant species
enter the EU they can be moved relatively freely.
Between 2000 and 2004, countries such as Bulgaria
and Romania reported no or only a very few seizures
of wildlife products, while others reported relatively
high numbers of illegal trade coming through these
countries. Species most commonly seized by other
countries were threatened tortoises, exotic live
birds and caviar.
‘The few cases of illegal wildlife
trade detected in the acceding states indicate
enforcement gaps in what is soon to be the frontline
of the EU’s external borders,” said Kecse-Nagy.
“Controls of wildlife trade
into the EU are only as strong as its weakest
border points, and these are quickly exploited
by smugglers. The EU must ensure that all 27 EU
Member States have the relevant capacity and expertise
to tackle illegal wildlife trade.”
The report also noted the lack
of consultation and coordination between the different
agencies involved in controlling wildlife trade
in many of the countries reviewed.
“Existing EU Member States should
assist the new countries in capacity-building
and training initiatives to enhance their expertise
and knowledge on the relevant EU wildlife trade
regulations,” Kecse-Nagy added.
“This will also strengthen the
coordination and information exchange at the EU
level and will ensure that illegal trade in the
EU is addressed holistically. Such coordination
is urgently needed to tackle illegal wildlife
trade in an increasingly expanding EU market.”
TRAFFIC — a joint programme
of WWF and IUCN – The World Conservation Union
— is urging Bulgaria and Romania, which are set
to join the EU on 1 January 2007, to increase
their efforts to stem the illegal trade in wildlife,
and is urging current EU Member States to ensure
that the issue is addressed strategically at the
national and EU-wide level.
END NOTES:
• The TRAFFIC report — Wildlife
Trade in Central and Eastern Europe: A review
of CITES implementation in 15 countries — focuses
on the ten new EU Member States (Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia), and six
countries neighbouring the EU that are also preparing
for EU accession (Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro,
Rumania, Serbia and Turkey). In particular, it
provides an overview of the status of the implementation
and enforcement of EU Wildlife Trade Regulations
and CITES (Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). The
report was made possible with financial contributions
from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry,
Environment and Water Management of Austria, WWF-Austria,
WWF-Germany and WWF-Italy.
• CITES regulates international
trade in some 30,000 species of animals and plants
through a system of certificates and permits.
The EU jointly implements CITES through common
regulations (Council Regulation (EC) No. 338/97
and Commission Regulation (EC) 865/2006) that
are in some way stricter than CITES.Katalin Kecse-Nagy,
Programme Officer
