{{As Tanzania gears up for the second phase of the anti-poaching campaign Operesheni Tokomeza Ujangili, it has been urged to create National Environment Security Task Forces (NESTs) inclusive of NGOs.}}
Interpol makes the recommendation to all East African countries in the recently released report titled Elephant Poaching and Ivory Trafficking in East Africa: Assessment for an Effective Law Enforcement Response.
According to the report, NESTs should rope in police, prosecutors, customs, environmental agencies, other specialised agencies and–where appropriate–non-governmental organisations and inter-governmental partners.
The big question has been how it is that the authorities have failed to track the contraband until it makes its way to the international markets. In November 2012, Hong Kong authorities seized $1.4 million worth of smuggled ivory in a container from Tanzania. The 569 tusks were found buried under hundreds of bags of sunflower seeds.
Blame was directed then at customs officials at the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), police and inspectors from the ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) for being unable to tackle the rampant ivory smuggling at the port of Dar es Salaam.
Some of the smuggled ivory is reportedly stolen from stocks held by the ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism in Dar es Salaam. Interpol also extended the olive branch by inviting investigative requests from East African countries.
“East African elephant range countries should request Interpol’s investigative support teams to assist with evidence collection and analysis pertaining to elephant poaching and ivory seizures,” the report reads in part.
Mr David Higgins, the head of Interpol’s Environmental Security unit that produced the report, said during the launch of the document on Tuesday in Nairobi that Interpol’s global databases and network provide a unique platform to support these activities and coordinate a multinational response from law enforcement worldwide.
“If we are to target those individuals behind the killing of thousands of elephants every year, who are making millions at the cost of our wildlife with comparatively little risk,” he said, “we must address each and every stage of this criminal activity in a cohesive manner.”
According to the report, 18 large-scale seizures (over 500 kilograms) accounted for 41.6 tonnes of illicit ivory in 2013. Like other reports before it, it also indicates that a significant portion of ivory reaching international markets, especially in Asia, is derived from elephant populations in Tanzania.
The report reads in part: “The majority of large-scale ivory seizures have occurred in maritime ports.
The ivory is hidden in shipping containers, and it is usually concealed by other lawful goods. By these methods, East African ivory originating primarily from Tanzania has been transported directly to Asian maritime transit hub.”
According to a report released last September by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (Unodc), 37 per cent of the illicit ivory consignments seized globally between 2009 and 2011 originated from Tanzania.
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