Lack of political will to halt poaching

RHINO horns. Ivory tusks. Pangolin scales. Drugs. Human body parts. The customs official at the international airport in Maputo in Mozambique was paid to turn a blind eye to the gruesome containers filled with illicit “products” on his watch.

“This guy, if we took him out – and you can take that in any way you want – it would have much more of an impact in terms of the syndicates’ ability to move these products,” said David Barske, the head of research at the Focus Africa Foundation, a nonprofit intelligence outfit probing rhino poaching in South Africa, showing an incriminating video of the customs agent.

He was speaking this week on the sidelines of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CoP17 wildlife summit in Sandton, on the role of intelligence in countering organised gangs fuelling poaching, smuggling and the illegal trading of rhino horn and other wildlife.

This week, the 183 signatories to Cites decided on the future on the world’s wildlife being decimated by a $23 billion transnational organised crime industry.

Barske’s colleague and chairman, Nigel Morgan, said intelligence was key to undermining organised syndicates at the heart of wildlife crime.

“Organised crime takes advantage of corruption, from the lowest level policeman to politicians and diplomats.”

This week, Cites launched its first Global Partnerships Co-ordination Forum. But Morgan believed there was a serious lack of political will.