Alliance to lead deforestation and corruption session at UNCAC CoSP10

The Nature Crime Alliance will be leading a side event at the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) Conference of the States Parties (CoSP) in Atlanta on 13 December.

Government and law enforcement officials will be joined by civil society figures to explore corruption associated with various forms of illegal deforestation, drawing upon cases from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. The side-event forms part of the CoSP’s official technical session on combatting corruption to protect the environment, which also includes a high-level panel session earlier in the week (Monday 11 December).

Moderated by Martha Chizuma, Director-General of Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau – who will also share insights from her work – the side event, ‘Forest Loss and Corruption’, aims to highlight success stories for tackling corruption linked to illegal deforestation.

Case studies from Brazil will be presented by Renato Madsen Arruda, Coordinator-General for the Protection of the Amazon, the Environment and Historical and Cultural Heritage, Federal Police, Brazil, and Edson Fábio Garutti Moreira, Head of Institutional Coordination Unit at Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

Delegates will also hear from Erica Hanichak, Government Affairs Director at the FACT Coalition, who will speak to the Coalition’s recent Dirty Money report, while Ketakandriana Rafitoson, Vice-Chair, Transparency International, and Executive Director, Transparency International Madagascar, will share thoughts on TI’s work in this space, drawing on examples from the Practitioners Forum for Environmental Corruption. Findings from a new UNODC report will also be discussed by Pierre Bertels, a diplomat from the Embassy of Belgium in Vienna.

Lynn Schlingemann, Senior Associate on Financial Crime and Corruption at the Nature Crime Alliance, will discuss the role of financial institutions in tackling corruption linked to environmental crime, with a particular focus on Europe, ahead of closing remarks from Mats Benestad,  Policy Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway.

The session is available to follow via Zoom for those not attending the CoSP. Register to join via Zoom here. Interpretation will be available.

When: Wednesday 13 December, 09:00-09:50 EST

Where: UNCAC CoSP10, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, United States
(Room: Seattle A302) and online.

For more information, please contact Luke Foddy, Communications Manager, at luke.foddy@wri.org.