Good afternoon, everyone,

It is a great pleasure for me to be here today to describe the role the United States Government is playing in the fight against the illegal trade of wildlife in Central Africa.

The United States has long placed great value on conserving wildlife within and beyond its borders. As the first nation to ratify the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973 – an international agreement often known as the Washington Convention – the United States has consistently stood with countries around the world in combating wildlife trafficking and protecting natural resources.

More than 40 years after CITES, the United States recognizes that conservation efforts to protect biodiversity and preserve functioning ecosystems are critical to securing human health, economic prosperity and regional stability around the world. This support is demonstrated by the $55 million that the United States Congress has specifically appropriated for the fight against wildlife trafficking for FY 2015, a $10 million increase from the previous fiscal year.

The urgent need for a coordinated response to the growing global crisis of wildlife trafficking is supported at the highest levels of the United States Government. In July 2013, while visiting Tanzania, President Obama issued an Executive Order to Combat Wildlife Trafficking, establishing an interagency Task Force and charging it to develop a strategy to guide the efforts of the United States on combating the illegal trade of wildlife. “Wildlife is inseparable from the identity and prosperity of the world as we know it,” the President said at the time.

Soon afterward, in February 2014, the President released the U.S. National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking, setting forth a time-sensitive course of action that draws on resources across the government and identifies three strategic priorities to stem illegal trade in wildlife. These priorities are:

(1) strengthening domestic and global enforcement

(2) reducing global demand for illegally traded wildlife, and

(3) building international cooperation, commitment and partnerships.

Earlier this year, the United States released a plan deploying resources across the government to put the National Strategy into action. The U.S. Department of State, Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior are leading the Implementation Plan. Other implementing agencies include the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

The United States Government is mobilizing such a broad swath of its resources because wildlife trafficking threatens not only national and global wildlife resources, but also national and global security.

As you know, the illegal wildlife trade is valued at around $20 billion per year and ranks among the most lucrative illegal transnational activities in the world. In Central Africa, illicit trade in wildlife and wildlife products has increased exponentially in recent years. The trafficking of wildlife products has become a significant source of financing for international terrorism and regional conflicts threatening the security and stability of nations. In Central Africa, wildlife trafficking involves regional and international actors, including those financing the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and other armed groups. Organized criminal syndicates, insurgent groups and terrorist networks are believed to be behind some of the tens of thousands of elephants killed in Africa each year. Such criminal activity puts tremendous pressure on the wildlife of the Congo Basin, with poaching and ivory seizures reaching record levels in 2011. A survey conducted by U.S.-funded partners showed a 62 percent decline in forest elephants in Central Africa from 2002 to 2011.

So what is the United States doing to combat the wildlife trafficking crisis in Central Africa?

First of all, we are looking inward.

The United States Government recognizes that strong enforcement within our own country is critical to stopping those who kill and traffic in protected species.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken several administrative actions to strengthen domestic controls over the import, export, and sale of African elephant ivory, rhino horn and specimens of other protected species. This includes a ban on all commercial imports of elephant ivory to the United States. We are encouraging our international partners to take similar steps to ban the commercial trade in ivory.

Our Department of Justice also works closely with federal enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute wildlife traffickers. In 2014, the United States indicted, prosecuted, and secured convictions in numerous cases of trafficking in protected species.

In Central Africa, the United States Government implements programs to conserve biodiversity and combat wildlife trafficking in six countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Central African Republic. These programs are part of the Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE), implemented by USAID and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and are complemented by programs of other U.S. Government agencies.

We support our partner governments in Central Africa to better protect their natural resources, particularly national parks and wildlife reserves where most of the wildlife poaching and trafficking take place. Through a number of federal agencies, the United States provides critical training to Central African park rangers, police, customs officials, prosecutors, and judges. A partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the government of Gabon, for example, has helped eradicate elephant poaching at one wildlife reserve and is working toward similar success in Gabon’s 13 national parks.

The United States, through CARPE, supports community-based wildlife conservation by working with local communities to strengthen reporting of poaching and other trafficking activity and creating support for conserving wildlife. This includes strengthening or creating economic incentives for local communities to protect wildlife. An agreement with civil society partners in the Sangha Tri-National Landscape, for example, is securing elephant and gorilla populations through improved monitoring and law enforcement.

The United States also supports the development and use of effective technologies in this fight. In FY 2014, USAID introduced two tools, the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) and the Protected Area Management Effectiveness Tool (PAMET) in eight CARPE landscapes. SMART collects data on wildlife and poacher activity in the landscapes, which informs patrolling strategies and improves patrol effectiveness by targeting critical areas in the parks and protected areas. PAMET collects data to measure and improve the management of protected areas.

USAID provided SMART training and equipment to over 300 eco-guards and park rangers in protected areas in the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Combined with camping gear and rations provided through USAID, patrols provided real-time data on the presence of wildlife and poaching threats, and helped deter poaching across large areas. Patrols covered between 55 to 70 percent of the critical habitat for elephants and apes in the 21,000-square-kilometer Maringa-Lopori-Wamba landscape of DRC, for example. In the Lomako Reserve, 68 poachers were arrested and subsequently prosecuted in 2014.

In the priority landscape of Sangha Tri-National, comprising parts of Republic of Congo, Cameroon and Central African Republic, USAID partners helped establish permanent monitoring teams in two natural forest clearings (“bai”) where elephants, gorillas and other large mammals congregate. Since enhancing the ranger presence, there have been zero poaching events in these areas and elephants again frequent the bais in the daytime.

The United States shares information with international partners to disrupt wildlife trafficking networks and improve law enforcement capabilities. We support the development and operation of effective regional Wildlife Enforcement Networks (WENS) and promote greater cooperation and sharing of information and intelligence among WENs, with the goal of developing a strong and effective worldwide network to enable successful enforcement and prosecutions.

We also develop, implement and support strategies targeting the consumers and suppliers of illegal wildlife products from Central Africa. In November 2014, for example, USAID sponsored the launch of the "Give Peace to Elephants, Say No to Ivory" campaign in China, which brought together leaders from Chinese business, culture, art, and religion to speak with one voice against the ivory trade. This campaign received overwhelming support from Chinese media and private corporations.

And finally, the United States promotes joint efforts and partnerships among governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and others to address wildlife trafficking, stimulate alternative livelihoods, community-based conservation programs, and legal and sustainable supply chains. Our programs are implemented in partnership with the relevant departments of the host countries and specialized international NGOs, U.S. universities, and private sector institutions, as well as regional intergovernmental organizations such as the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC), the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP), regional and national NGOs such as OSFAC and JURISTRALE, and law enforcement networks like The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network (TRAFFIC) and Eco Activists for Governance and Law Enforcement (EAGLE).

Since the release of our National Strategy, other nations have joined us in increasing their commitment and political will to combat wildlife crime. For example, in February 2014, shortly after the release of the U.S. National Strategy, Tanzania and the European Union began developing their own strategies for combating poaching and illegal wildlife trade, and in May 2014, China announced $10 million in funding to support wildlife protection and conservation in Africa.

In recognition that this fight must be a global effort, the United States is launching a campaign to stimulate bold and innovative solutions to stem the slaughter of the world's wildlife. On April 22 this year, Earth Day, we launched the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge, a call to organizations and individuals to submit innovative science and technology solutions to stamp out the illegal trafficking of marine and terrestrial wildlife. Implemented by USAID in partnership with National Geographic, the Smithsonian Institution, and TRAFFIC, the Challenge supports our National Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking. 

The Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge focuses on four areas: understanding and shutting down transit routes, improving forensic tools and intelligence gathering to build strong criminal cases, reducing consumer demand for illegal wildlife products, and fighting corruption. Winners will receive up to $500,000 in financial, technical and other assistance to scale their solutions. You can find out more at the website www.WildlifeCrimeTech.org.

I would like to end by reiterating that wildlife trafficking is both a critical conservation concern and a threat to global security. The far-reaching ecological, economic, and national security consequences of this criminal activity are undermining decades of conservation and development gains.

To win the fight against wildlife trafficking requires not only the political will of governments, but also the engagement of public entities, private citizens and businesses. Consider the recent seizure of 4 tons of ivory in Thailand. The ivory was found in containers of dried beans from the Democratic Republic of Congo by Thai customs officials following a tip, underscoring the need for urgent and collective action.

Without action, within 10 years the elephants, some of the great apes, and many other species may be gone. The United States Government is committed to acting decisively and quickly. But we must all act together, before it is too late.

Thank you.