Posted on 13 February
2014 | London, 13 February 2014 — Heads
of state, ministers and high level representatives
of 46 countries, including those most heavily
impacted by poaching and illegal trade of
wildlife, today committed to taking “decisive
and urgent action” to tackle the global
illegal wildlife trade.
The strongly worded
declaration was issued following two days
of closed-door negotiations hosted in London
by the UK government. Their Royal Highnesses,
Princes Charles, William and Harry also
participated in the event.
Measures agreed by countries
signing the declaration include action to
eradicate the market from illegal wildlife
products; agreement to strengthen law enforcement
efforts and ensure that effective legal
frameworks and deterrents are in place;
and moves to promote sustainable livelihoods
through positive engagement with local communities.
WWF and TRAFFIC welcome
the post-conference “London Declaration”
for recognising the significant scale and
detrimental economic, social and environmental
consequences of illegal wildlife trade,
including how poaching and trafficking are
increasingly controlled by organized criminal
networks that undermine the rule of law
and good governance and encourage corruption.
Heather Sohl, Chief
Species Advisor at WWF-UK, said:
“Governments signing
the London Declaration today sent a strong
message: Wildlife crime is a serious crime
and it must be stopped. This trafficking
devastates species populations, but also
takes the lives of rangers, impedes countries’
economic development and destabilises society
by driving corruption.
"This is a crisis,
not just at a national or regional scale,
but one that demands urgent global attention,
and so warrants high-level political support
through the appointment of a dedicated United
Nations Special Representative. It is down
to governments to stand by their commitments
now and put in place procedures and resources
to tackle the crime back in their homelands.”
Countries present at
today’s meeting include several whose elephant
populations are under severe poaching pressure,
such as the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Gabon, Kenya and Tanzania. Other countries
that represent major transit points for
ivory shipped from Africa to Asia were also
in attendance, including Togo, the Philippines
and Malaysia, and significantly, China,
the major market for illegal ivory.
Similarly, countries
at the centre of the rhino horn trade chain
were represented, including South Africa,
Mozambique and Viet Nam, as well as some
of those impacted by the illegal trade in
tiger parts: Indonesia, Myanmar, Russia
and China.
Also joining the meeting
were representatives from a number of intergovernmental
organizations with a significant role to
play in addressing the crisis, including
CITES (the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora), INTERPOL, the World Customs Organization,
various United Nations agencies, the African
Development Bank, the Global Environment
Facility and the World Bank. Several of
these organizations have the potential to
make resources available to implement the
declaration’s commitments.
“Today’s London Declaration
was a clear call to arms for countries to
play their part in bringing down the organized
criminal networks that are destroying the
world’s iconic wildlife and destabilizing
national and international security,” said
Steven Broad, executive director of TRAFFIC.
“Key to supporting those
efforts are the agreed actions targeting
the consumer end of the supply chain, where
reducing the demand for wildlife products
is an essential part of the process,” Broad
added.
“This degree of high
level attention to illegal wildlife trade
and unanimous call for action is unprecedented.
Our challenge now is to keep up the pressure
and help translate this attention into concerted
action to put the Declaration’s bold commitments
into action.”
+ More
Major victory in conservation
battle against oil company
Posted on 14 February
2014 | A major corporate social responsibility
agency today has announced an examination
of Soco International PLC for alleged violations
of human rights and environmental protections
related to the company’s operations in an
African World Heritage Site.
The move was triggered
by WWF’s complaint alleging that Soco has
breached the most respected global corporate
social responsibility standards in its pursuit
of oil in Virunga National Park, Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC). WWF’s case
has exposed “material and substantiated
issues meriting further examination,” a
United Kingdom Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) agency
said in its initial assessment published
today.
In the complaint, WWF
documented evidence of Soco’s alleged violations
of the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
including intimidation, threats and unlawful
detention of local activists, as well as
withholding critical information about environmental
and social risks from those likely to be
impacted by the company’s activities.
TAKE ACTION NOW! TELL SOCO TO LEAVE VIRUNGA
“Today WWF’s concerns
about Soco have been validated. This initial
judgement is a victory for conservation
and sends a strong warning to any company
that thinks it can get away with disregarding
international standards,” said Lasse Gustavsson,
WWF International Executive Director of
Conservation. “We urge governments and the
investment community to join us in telling
Soco to leave Virunga. If it fails to do
so, the company risks permanently damaging
its reputation and that of the industry
it represents.”
The United Kingdom,
Belgium and Germany have all objected to
Soco’s operations in Virunga, and more than
600,000 WWF supporters have signed a petition
against the company. Additionally, UNESCO
has called for the cancelation of the company’s
permit, and French oil giant Total has committed
publicly that it will not enter the World
Heritage Site.
WWF is the largest organization
ever to mount a case against a company using
the OECD guidelines complaint mechanism,
which applies to enterprises operating in
or from any of the 45 nations adhering to
the agreement. As part of its mandate to
promote responsible development abroad,
OECD has developed this transparent process
to hold multinational corporations accountable
for meeting their obligations.
“This decision sets
a precedent and opens up to the conservation
community a new avenue for safeguarding
the environment through OECD,” Gustavsson
said. “Working with governments and responsible
companies, we will be able to use this tool
to counter the pressures that are mounting
against some of the world’s most precious
places.”
Virunga is Africa’s
oldest national park and home to more varieties
of rare plants and animals than any other
protected area in the continent. Although
85 per cent of the park has been allocated
as oil concessions, Soco is the only company
moving forward with exploration.
“With responsible investment,
Virunga can have a prosperous future that
brings sustainable development to the area
and protects the natural resources that
nearby residents need,” said Gustavsson.
“Oil puts the park in peril, therefore we
are demanding that Soco withdraw immediately.”
