We must address marine wildlife trafficking to protect our oceans

On UN World Environment Day an important virtual side event was held in the leadup to the United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC) to highlight the importance of addressing marine wildlife trafficking. 

It also marked the fifth anniversary of the launch of one of the organisers, the Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime (EWC), which has been at the forefront of global efforts to strengthen international cooperation and the international legal framework for tackling wildlife trafficking. 

EWC advocates for a new global agreement on preventing and combatting wildlife trafficking taking the form of a new Protocol under the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC). There are three existing Protocols under this Convention, namely, against the trafficking in persons, migrant smuggling, and firearms trafficking – but there are currently no protocols on any environmental crimes. 

Marine species are wildlife 

EWC defines wildlife to include all wild fauna, flora and funga—animals, plants and fungi. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has identified nine crimes as environmental crimes, including fishing, timber and wildlife crimes. But EWC does not disaggregate them, rather it treats them all as wildlife crimes. This approach is based upon a fundamental logic. A wild fish swimming in the ocean is as much part of its ecosystem as a tree growing in a forest or an elephant migrating across the savanna.  They are all wildlife. 

And EWC encourages States to make it a criminal offence to import any wildlife, or wildlife product into a country if it has been acquired in contravention of the national laws of the source country. The reason for saying so is simple; it is not okay to steal a countries wildlife just because it is not one of the 40,000 species – out of the world’s 8.7 million species – that is listed under the international agreement known as CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild and Fauna and Flora), and this is of particular relevance to marine species. If a country has decided to protect its wildlife, then this should be respected by everyone, whether a particular species is listed under CITES or not, yet this is a serious blind spot in the current approach. 

Wind in the sails for a new global agreement on wildlife trafficking 

When EWC was launched in 2020, it got a lukewarm reception from some quarters, but things have changed significantly over the past five years, including through a resolution adopted by the UNTOC at CoP12 that has led to the establishment an intergovernmental expert group to explore the possibility, feasibility and merits of any additional protocol to the Convention on crimes that affect the environment, including on wildlife trafficking.

There is now some wind in the sails for taking bold steps to bring wildlife trafficking, and other crimes that affect the environment, within the international criminal law framework, which is exactly where they need to be. 

Yet, in many of these discussions and processes we see a gap – namely the omission of references to marine wildlife, including fish. We need to be sure that marine species are not left out of the discussion, and this is something EWC is striving to achieve. 

Illegal exploitation of marine wildlife, including fish, is different from unregulated or unreported exploitation. The trafficking of marine wildlife needs to be tackled through the international criminal law framework, along with all other wildlife crimes. 

How this is best achieved, is an open and ongoing discussion, including through the intergovernmental expert group established under the UNTOC referred to above.

A gap in the UNOC agenda

An outstanding panel of expert speakers who participated in the UNOC virtual side event on World Environment Day explained some of the current challenges and why the trafficking of marine wildlife must be included into the UNOC discussions and under the UN processes currently underway. 

They highlighted that the UNOC program overlooks one of the most profitable – and destructive – forms of transnational organized crime: trafficking in marine wildlife, including illegal fishing – worth up to USD 23 billion each year according to the FAO.

Key actions to be taken

There were seven key actions the expert speakers urged global leaders to take, namely:

• Marine species, including fish, should not be disaggregated from other wildlife. “A wild fish swimming in the ocean is as much part of its ecosystem as a tree growing in a forest or an elephant migrating across the savanna. They are all wildlife.” 

• The ‘I’ in IUU (illegal, unreported, unregulated) fishing needs to be brought under the international criminal law framework.  

• Marine wildlife trafficking needs to be brought fully into future UNOC agendas. 

• UN processes currently underway to consider the possibility, feasibility, and merits of any additional protocols to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) need to address the trafficking of marine wildlife. 

• States should include trafficking of marine wildlife within the scope of an additional Protocol to the UNTOC covering wildlife trafficking. 

• Parties to CITES need to be vigilant in fully and effectively implementing existing resolutions and decisions regarding currently listed marine species.

• States should respect nationally protected marine species not listed in CITES by making it a criminal offence to import any wildlife, or wildlife product into a country if it has been acquired in contravention of the national laws of the source country.   

The bottom line is that without closing these legal gaps, species, ecosystems, and coastal communities will keep paying a heavy price. EWC will strive for marine wildlife trafficking to be brought fully into future UNOC agendas and to be considered by the UN processes currently underway to consider the possibility, feasibility, and merits of any additional protocols to the UNTOC, including on wildlife trafficking.

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