Good evening, everyone. It is a pleasure to be here tonight.

We are especially honored by the presence of the leaders of Tanzania, Gabon and Malawi. I would also like to thank our hosts, ICCF, for organizing tonight’s event.

The United States is proud to stand with countries around the world, including those represented here tonight, to combat wildlife trafficking and protect natural resources. Like everyone here tonight, the United States, under President Obama’s leadership, strongly believes the slaughter of thousands of animals and the murder of park rangers trying to protect these species must be stopped.

USAID is dedicated to building on our long-standing commitment to protect wildlife by investing more in strategies that already work, and testing new, innovative approaches. Last year alone, with the bi-partisan support of the United State Congress, we invested more than $55 million dollars to fight the illegal wildlife trade; we started 35 new programs in 15 countries that build on our 30 existing programs.

The results are encouraging. Last year, we trained more than 1,000 law enforcement officials across Asia and Africa. The skills they gained contributed to the arrests of 500 poachers and traffickers. In the Republic of Congo, round-the-clock monitoring at two forest clearings used by hundreds of elephants resulted in zero poaching for the first time in years. Sustained, long-term investment in community conservation in Nepal resulted in the third consecutive year with no tigers or rhinos being poached in the country. And where this model is replicated – in places like northern Kenya, the wildlife management areas of Tanzania, and the community conservancies in Namibia – we are seeing similar results.

To dry up the market for illegal wildlife products, we also supported demand-reduction campaigns that reached more than 740 million people in Asia; and we worked with more than 180 hotels, like Marriott and the Four Seasons, to ban shark fin soup in their restaurants. These examples demonstrate the importance of partnerships – with governments, the private sector, NGOs, and civil society.

Our latest partnership involves working with representatives from key transportation and logistics companies and associations to address the role of transport companies in ending the illegal wildlife trade.

Recognizing this fight must be a global effort, we launched the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge on April 22, Earth Day, – in partnership with National Geographic, the Smithsonian, and TRAFFIC – to stimulate bold and innovative solutions. We received more than 300 applications from 52 countries, and this month selected 44 finalists from around the world. From electronic “noses” that detect wildlife contraband to portable DNA sequencers that can identify species at border crossings, we received an exciting range of innovations to tackle one of today’s biggest conservation challenges.

It is appropriate that this event takes place as we celebrate the formal adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Combatting wildlife trafficking needs to be well aligned with the comprehensive, integrated Sustainable Development Goals framework because conservation is fundamental to human development. Tackling wildlife trafficking will require attention to the whole of the agenda—supporting effective, inclusive and accountable institutions, investing in people, and building inclusive economies to end extreme poverty and leave no one behind.

To win this fight requires not only the political will of governments, but also the engagement of public entities, private citizens, and businesses. USAID and its partners across the entire United States Government are committed to acting decisively and strategically to address this crisis. We need and hope that everyone here is also redoubling their efforts with us in this cause.

Thank you.