Page 12 - An Illusion of Complicity: Terrorism and the Illegal Ivory Trade in East Africa

Tom Maguire and Cathy Haenlein xi

• The sophisticated OCGs that drive the ivory trade mean that East African governments
must move beyond a focus on seizures. To have real impact, investigations should
focus upwards, on the high-level individuals and networks directing the trade. Such a
focus will require broader evidence gathering in investigations, proactive intelligence-
sharing along the value chain and the strengthening of anti-money-laundering and
anti-corruption legislation. This could be facilitated by the creation of a new, dedicated
regional wildlife-crime cell

• The current bias towards militarised anti-poaching operations in source areas in East
Africa needs to be addressed. Community-engagement and development programmes
must complement aggressive front-line activities by increasingly well-equipped rangers
and other actors

• Beyond East Africa, broader measures must continue to target the onward transit and
destination stages of the supply chain. Efforts to map the financial and logistics networks
that support the trade should be prioritised. In so doing, these efforts should engage the
private sector, with all its resources, in disrupting the illegal trade. In consumer states,
vital demand reduction and public awareness campaigns must be further supported.

UK-Specific Actions

The UK government has established itself as a policy leader on the IWT – and the illegal ivory
trade as an important component of this. The government now has an opportunity to deepen this
engagement. The report makes the following specific recommendations for how it could do so:

• The UK government can maintain its leadership on the IWT by building on its
broader National Security Strategy to counter threats such as organised crime and
corruption overseas

• The UK government should capitalise on its position as a permanent member of the
Security Council, its strong bilateral relationships and its longstanding support to
governments in East Africa, to drive forward the international agenda in the fight
against the IWT

• At the early stages of the trade, the UK government should continue to address the
bias towards militarised approaches by also promoting soft-security and development
activities. The London Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade promisingly featured
community engagement as one of its four core strands. This must now translate into
action; the UK must ensure that innovative community-focused projects are supported
through the Challenge Fund

• The UK government should support a focus on the transit and end stages of the value
chain. Positive British initiatives include work with the transport industry and high-
level engagement with the Chinese government – feeding into the latter’s landmark
commitment to phase out its legal ivory market. The UK government must support
these initiatives – and apply pressure to ensure that China’s commitment is met in
the near future.