How Whistleblowers Can Save Endangered Species And Combat Global Pathogen Exposure
This article, originally published on Whistleblower Network News, discusses current efforts to combat wildlife trafficking and highlights how whistleblowers are essential for fighting global wildlife crime. Scott Hajost, an expert in wildlife crime, writes about how groups like the Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime seek to update wildlife trafficking laws, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, “which is caused by a pathogen that scientists believe came from animals in the wildlife trade.”
National Whistleblower Day 2021 will feature a panel discussion about wildlife whistleblowers, along with whistleblower experts, advocates, and lawmakers. RSVP for National Whistleblower Day 2021 here!
Here is an excerpt of Scott’s WNN article:
37,400 species are currently on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species, more than 28% of all species assessed by the organization. Many of these at-risk populations are being decimated by the illegal wildlife trade, which is often tied to organized crime and corruption in countries across the world.
At a time when we are facing a wildlife crisis more severe than ever before, there are new initiatives and efforts to tackle this gigantic problem. The Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime is trying to address and fix “serious gaps in international law” that threaten global efforts to root out the illegal wildlife trade. End Wildlife Crime seeks to add a new protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), which is the UN’s main tool to fight international crime. The new protocol’s working title is “Protocol against the Illicit Trafficking in Specimens of Wild Fauna and Flora” and would create specific obligations for parties to UNTOC to update laws and criminalize illicit wildlife trafficking.
. . .
While the proposals to supplement and amend these treaties merit serious consideration towards greater protection and regulation of the international wildlife trade, there are complementary tools that can be used to cut down on illegal or trade as well. Whistleblowers have emerged as an effective tool for beheading wildlife crime throughout the world. IUCN members recently adopted 4 resolutions that promoted incorporating whistleblowers in combating environmental crime, including wildlife trafficking. These resolutions cover multiple ways in which international whistleblowers can be encouraged to report wildlife crime violations, and then be protected and rewarded after they do so.
The illegal wildlife trade is so difficult to stop because it is transnational, or in other words, because it is decentralized. There is no one group running it, and this gives it the ability to restructure if individual governments make any headway against it. In considering the proposed protocol for UNTOC, whistleblowers should be incorporated into the framework as a decentralized way to attack the illegal wildlife trade from the inside.
…
