The UK has announced a new strategy which will provide an additional £44.5m to combat the global illegal wildlife trade over the next six years.
The announcement was made by UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) ahead of an upcoming Illegal Wildlife Trade conference to be held in London in October.
The additional funding will support measures the government has already announced, including a comprehensive ban on the trading of ivory products, and will accompany a raft of additional legislation which supports the UK’s commitment to fight the illegal wildlife trade as part of the 2014 London Declaration.
What new measures is the UK proposing to combat the illegal trade of wildlife?
The UK government has set a number of ambitious targets in order to make progress in its efforts to tackle illegal wildlife trading and conserve the animals and environments affected. In particular, the UK aims to reduce the illegal killing of African elephants for ivory by one third by 2020, and by a further half by 2024.
In order to facilitate this, the UK will work alongside its global partners and encourage them to commit to bans on ivory trading, similar to the country’s own regulations which were adopted in April. Beyond this, Defra’s contribution of £4.5m will fund 14 new projects aimed at strengthening enforcement and criminal justice, and providing alternative livelihoods for poachers.
What has the government said about the effort?
In announcing the new measures, Johnson welcomed the potential impact they could have on protecting animals and dismantling the criminal organisations which benefit from the illegal trade of wildlife. He also championed the UK’s role as a world leader in this effort.
Johnson said: “The UK will be at the vanguard of global efforts to defeat the illegal wildlife trade in 2018 and we will bring world leaders together for talks in October to find a solution. We cannot simply sit back and watch as more endangered species are wiped out by criminal kingpins and corrupt middlemen who are robbing local communities in Africa and Asia of sustainable livelihoods.”
