Strengthen national capacities to combat wildlife crime and raise awareness about the problem in Europe and North Africa

Introduction

Strengthen national capacities to combat wildlife crime and raise awareness about the problem in Europe and North Africa.

Wildlife Crime Overview

Wildlife crime is one of the most pressing conservation issues of today. The mortality caused by wildlife crime leads to population decline of numerous threatened species and even regional extinctions. It has also become a serious threat to the security, political stability, economy, natural resources, and cultural heritage of many countries and regions.

Approach to Combat Wildlife Crime

The nature of wildlife crime requires a holistic, multi-sector approach, strengthened through partnerships and collaboration with:

• Governmental organizations
• Intergovernmental organizations
• Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
• Academia

These entities are encouraged to enter dialogue with national enforcement authorities and combine their efforts to tackle wildlife crime.

WildLIFECrimeAcademy Project

The WildLIFECrimeAcademy project provides the necessary conditions for improvement of law enforcement efficiency in combating wildlife crime in the target countries of the project within a sustainable framework. This is based on the exchange of knowledge and best practice experiences.

Focus Areas

The project focuses on:

1. Developing basic operational capacities of the relevant governmental authorities for combating wildlife crime.
2. Delivering specialized training to all links along the chain of custody responsible for investigating and prosecuting wildlife crime incidents.

Best Practices and Implementation

These activities of the WildLIFECrimeAcademy project are based on best practice examples developed by the relevant environmental services in Spain. They have already been adapted and implemented by the Coordinating Beneficiary in other regions of Europe through the LIFE programme to great effect.

Project Goals

The project is dedicated to achieving a significant reduction of the mortality of threatened wildlife species and biodiversity in general. This will be accomplished by improving the necessary preconditions for efficient investigation and prosecution of wildlife crime cases in the target countries of the project.