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Tag: Illegal trafficking

  • IWT Challenge Fund: Fight against illegal wildlife trade gets boost in Guatemala, Mexico

    IWT Challenge Fund: Fight against illegal wildlife trade gets boost in Guatemala, Mexico

    Protected species across the globe have been given a boost as the British government announces funding for new projects from the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) Challenge Fund.

    The fund has allocated more than £399,000 to strengthening law enforcement in protected areas in Guatemala to reduce the poaching of valuable hardwood species and fauna. The project will include cross-border coordination with Mexico as to identify these illicit routes.

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    The three-year project (2020-2023) will tackle increased poaching of valuable hardwood species and fauna, which is affecting Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve (Peten), the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve and Balamku State Reserve in Mexico (Campeche).

    Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) will implement the project in collaboration with Asociación Balam, ACOFOP, CECON/USAC, Foro de Justicia Ambiental de Petén, FUNDAECO, CONAP and the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Guatemala; and ProNatura Península Yucatán, CONANP, and SEMABICC in Mexico.

    The Illegal Wildlife Trade is a criminal industry worth more than £17 billion each year around the world threatening wildlife, bringing species to the brink of extinction and causing despair for communities.

    In addition, tackling IWT is also important for the UK as the Covid-19 crisis highlights the direct links between nature conservation and human well-being. The fund also aims to help those institutions addressing the drivers of biodiversity loss and zoonotic disease emergence, notably high-risk wildlife trade, deforestation and unsustainable land-use changes.

    The UK government is also inviting new projects to apply for the next round of funding of the IWT Challenge Fund.

  • Man jailed for trafficking monitor lizards

    Man jailed for trafficking monitor lizards

    A Florida man pleaded guilty to his part in a trafficking scheme in which live water monitor lizards were stuffed into socks and concealed inside electronics to be smuggled from the Philippines to the United States.

    Akbar Akram, 44, pleaded guilty in Tampa federal court Wednesday to one count of wildlife trafficking in violation of the Lacey Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Treaty, court records show.

    Akram admitted to illegally importing more than 20 live water monitor lizards from the Philippines in 2016, a U.S. Justice Department statement said. He avoided customs authorities by placing the lizards in socks, which were sealed closed with tape and concealed inside electronic equipment and shipped under a false label. The equipment was transported through commercial carriers to Akram’s associate in Massachusetts.

    As part of his plea, Akram admitted that he knew the monitor lizards he received had been taken in violation of Philippine law and that the import violated U.S. law, according to the statement. Akram also admitted that upon receiving the monitor lizards, he sold some of them to customers in Colorado, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

    Approximately 70 monitor lizard species are characterized by elongated necks, heavy bodies, long-forked tongues, strong claws and long tails. Water monitor lizards are native to South and Southeastern Asia. The yellow-headed water monitor, the white-headed water monitor and the marbled water monitor are found in the Philippines.