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UN Chronicle - Volume 51, Issue 2, 2014
Volume 51, Issue 2, 2014
A must-read for every concerned world citizen, the United Nations Chronicle is a quarterly, easy-to-read report on the work of the United Nations and its agencies. Produced by the United Nations Department of Public Information, every issue covers a wide range of United Nations related activities: from fighting the drug war to fighting racial discrimination, from relief and development to nuclear disarmament, terrorism, and the worldwide environmental crisis.
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The illegal commercial bushmeat trade in Central and West Africa
Author: United NationsAll of the great apes of Africa, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas are endangered by human population growth, habitat destruction, illegal trafficking of apes for entertainment, private zoos and hunting. Bushmeat trade is the commercial hunting and selling of wild animals for food. It is very different from subsistence hunting, which comprises killing animals for food for a family or village. Once money is involved, anything goes. Even mothers with babies are shot which is, of course, tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden egg. It is not sustainable. In the Congo Basin and elsewhere in Central and West Africa this is one of the most serious threats to chimpanzees and other endangered animals, which will result in ever more species becoming endangered.
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UNEP: Putting a stop to global environmental crime has become an imperative
Author: United NationsThe illegal trade in wildlife and timber has escalated rapidly and globally, and now encompasses a wide range of flora and fauna across all continents, including terrestrial and aquatic animals, forests and other plants and their products. Overall global environmental crime, which is worth up to US $213 billion a year, is helping finance criminal, militia and terrorist groups, threatening the security and sustainable development of many nations.
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ICCWC: Global collaboration to fight wildlife and forest crime
Author: United NationsBlighting vulnerable nations, wildlife and forest crime has become a serious transnational threat to the security, stability and economy of entire countries and regions. The United Nations General Assembly and Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice have voiced grave concern over the indiscriminate plunder of natural resources and national heritage.
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How wildlife and forest crime undermines development and ravages global biodiversity
Author: United NationsIn September 2013, poachers in Zimbabwe poured deadly cyanide into a watering hole frequented by a large elephant herd. The results were catastrophic for the local wildlife. Over 300 elephants, lions, vultures, painted dogs and hyenas were killed. The tragedy in Zimbabwe is a dismally familiar story. Throughout the world, wildlife is trapped, gunned down, poisoned, and slaughtered, while forests are stripped of their trees. The pace of this destruction is driving some species to the brink of oblivion.
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Strengthening front-line action to combat wildlife and forest crimes
Author: United NationsThe world has been confronted by illegal wildlife trade for decades, but the recent spike in the scale and change in the nature of this illicit activity have markedly exacerbated the severity of its impacts. These far-reaching consequences are particularly evident for the illegal ivory trade—a crime that has not only had a devastating impact on African elephants, but also threatens people and their livelihoods, economies and, in some cases, national and regional security. Fortunately, the international community is awakening to the serious nature of wildlife crime and is determined to work together to end this illicit trade.
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A comprehensive approach to combating the criminal networks behind environmental crime
Author: United NationsWildlife crime is a serious and growing international problem which transcends physical, political and ideological borders. The illegal exploitation of the world’s wild flora and fauna can affect a nation’s economy and security. A significant proportion of wildlife crime is carried out by organized criminal networks, which are drawn by the low risk and high profits. The same routes used to smuggle wildlife across countries and continents are often used by these criminal networks to smuggle weapons, drugs and people.
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Fighting wildlife crime to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity
Author: United NationsNow a US $213 billion industry, environmental and natural resource crimes such as poaching, illegal logging and wildlife trafficking are growing every year, putting natural resources and biodiversity at risk. This is not just a tragedy for people who love animals or care about the environment. When elephants are slaughtered for their ivory and trees are illegally logged, ecosystems break down. The world’s poorest often bear the brunt of the fallout. That is where and why the World Bank comes into the picture.
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Building worldwide expertise to detect and seize illegally traded wildlife
Author: United NationsThe effective monitoring and control of transboundary movements is a key component of wildlife protection. In most countries, this task falls upon Customs which is at the forefront of efforts to counter wildlife trafficking and ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is practiced legally by implementing the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as well as relevant national legislation.
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The London Declaration’s role in the fight against wildlife trade
Author: United NationsIllegal wildlife trade feeds corruption, undermines stability in fragile states and threatens iconic species to the point of extinction. It is a $19 billion business that fuels criminals and terrorists. United Kingdom Foreign Secretary William Hague recognized the need to galvanize the international community to take action on illegal wildlife trade and secure political commitment at the highest levels of government. In February 2014, 42 countries met in London and signed the Declaration on Illegal Wildlife Trade, where they made a collective commitment to end this scourge, help communities that suffer from its side effects and protect endangered species.
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IFAW: Will China say no to wildlife trade?
Author: United NationsKilling elephants for their ivory, slaughtering tigers for their pelts and bones, and fatally hacking the horns off rhinos have reached epidemic proportions in recent years.
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Fighting wildlife trade in Kenya
Author: United NationsPoaching is a persistent global problem with a profound effect on the East African region. The international demand for ivory and rhino horn is fuelling catastrophic declines in the elephant and rhino populations in Kenya, Tanzania and throughout Africa. As is the case for many countries in Africa, in Kenya wildlife crime has evolved over time and presents new challenges to wildlife conservation. Kenya’s estimated 33,000 elephants and 1,010 rhinos, in addition to a mosaic of other wildlife, are concentrated not only in national parks, but scattered throughout the country across officially protected areas, private ranches, county council territories, and both communal and private lands.
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Tiger, tiger running out?
Author: United NationsAccording to the National Tiger Conservation Authority, at the turn of the 20th century, India was home to 40,000 tigers. Today their number in the wild does not exceed 4,000. This story echoes that of other animals, such as one-horned rhinos whose population declined to fewer than 2,400 in India. The fate of some domesticated species is equally worrisome. For example, the camel population has decreased from 600,000 to 250,000 in the past few decades due to wanton slaughter for meat. The situation is akin to a “silent holocaust,” which, continuing at the same pace, will leave India with no more than 10,000 camels.
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