The upcoming Conference of the Parties of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP) in Cali is a major opportunity to make global progress on protecting nature. But as with all high-level international fora, the CBD COP has its fair share of complexity.

Based on discussions with members of the Nature Crime Alliance – some of whom are engaging with the CBD process for the first time at COP16 – the Alliance Secretariat convened a webinar to help civil society organisations better understand how the CBD COP works, and provide advice on how to make the most of their participation in this key global summit.

Dr Susan Lieberman, Vice President, International Policy, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Dr Chip Barber, Director, Natural Resources Governance and Policy, World Resources Institute, shared insights from their deep experience in engaging with the CBD process.

Watch the webinar in full

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

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and World Forest ID shared insights from their work during the latest ‘Meet the Nature Crime Alliance’ webinar on Thursday 3 October.

Covering issues across wildlife crime, timber traceability, and the global landscape of criminalisation for environmental offences, the webinar brought members of the Nature Crime Alliance together to share information and ideas.

Watch the webinar in full

Tanya Wyatt, Lead Researcher, Crimes that Affect the Environment, UNODC, unpacked highlights from the Landscape of Criminalization report, part of the Global Analysis on Crimes that Affect the Environment.

Katalin Kecse-Nagy, Wildlife Crime Research Officer, UNODC, shared highlights from the 2024 World Wildlife Crime Report, including some of the solutions that are working in the fight against these crimes.

Jade Saunders, Executive Director of World Forest ID, provided updates on the non-profit’s science-based traceability efforts, including some good advice for organisations seeking to build relationships with law enforcement.

Moderated by Luke Foddy, Communications Manager, Nature Crime Alliance, the session also included remarks from Dr Chip Barber, Director, Natural Resources Governance and Policy, World Resources Institute.

Learn more about our memebers’ work

If you’d like to find out more about the work showcased during the webinar, you can contact the speakers directly:

Tanya Wyatt: tanya.wyatt@un.org

Katalin Kecse-Nagy: katalin.kecsenagy@un.org

Jade Saunders: jade.saunders@worldforestid.org

If you are a member of the Nature Crime Alliance and would like to be featured in a future webinar, please contact Luke Foddy: luke.foddy@wri.org

The online ivory trade in the EU, illegal gold mining in the Amazon, and the role of US transnational whistleblower laws in fighting environmental crime were all explored during the second edition of the ‘Meet the Nature Crime Alliance’ webinar series.

Eugénie Pimont, Wildlife Cybercrime Officer at IFAW, presented findings from the recent report, ‘The Elephant in the Net: Research snapshot of the online ivory trade after the adoption of the new EU rules’, which highlights how ivory is still being widely sold in several European countries despite tougher rules being introduced across the EU in 2022 aimed at limiting the trade. Eugénie’s presentation (see slides here) was a stark reminder of the challenges posed by online marketplaces in the context of nature crime – something the Alliance is focusing on in its supply chain choke points workstream.

If you’d like to know more about IFAW’s work in this area, you can reach Eugénie at: epimont@ifaw.org

Turning to South America, Matt Finer and Nadia Mamani from Amazon Conservation Association shared insights from their ‘Monitoring the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP), with a focus on illegal gold mining in Peru. Matt, the Director of MAAP, showed that gold mining in the region takes place in several different contexts, while Nadia, Senior GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist, provided insights on how Amazon Conservation is working with local communities to bring their findings to the attention of law enforcement. You can reach Matt and Nadia at: mfiner@amazonconservation.org and nmamani@amazonconservation.org respectively.

The session also heard from Steve Kohn, Founding Partner at KKC and Chair of the National Whistleblower Center, who shared his perspectives on how existing US transnational whistleblower laws can be used for effective nature crime enforcement. Steve stressed the value of these laws in prosecuting and deterring perpetrators of nature crime, but noted that this value is widely unknown among many stakeholders. This includes the potential funding available for CSOs through successful prosecutions and sanction revenue. See Steve’s slides here. Contact Steve at: stephen.kohn@kkc.com.

The ‘Meet the Nature Crime Alliance’ webinar series aims to showcase Alliance members in short, concise sessions that can spark future engagement. This session, which took place on 29 May, also featured an update from the Alliance Director, Yulia Stange.

If your organisation is an Alliance member and you would like to take part in future webinars, please contact luke.foddy@wri.org

Watch the first edition of the webinar series, featuring Earth League International, Wildlife Justice Commission and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, here.  

The Nature Crime Alliance Secretariat convened a webinar on Wednesday 20 December to look ahead at the Alliance’s plans for 2024, and to showcase the work of Alliance members who are actively fighting nature crime.

The session heard from three Alliance members who shared insights on their work and the issues they are addressing:

Jenna Robertson, Intelligence Manager, Marine Investigations, WJC, presented findings from WJC’s recent report, ‘Convergence of Wildlife Crime with Other Forms of Organised Crime: A 2023 Review.’

Andrea Crosta, Founder and Executive Director, Earth League International, discussed criminal networks with significant environmental crime convergences.

Braddock Spear, Global Policy Director, North America, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), shared the latest on Universal Fishery IDs – a collaboration between SFP and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization – to ensure discussion and data-sharing across the seafood industry, governments, NGOs, and other stakeholders to increase transparency and more targeted interventions against crimes associated with fishing.

Yulia Stange, Director of the Nature Crime Alliance, also provided an update on the next steps for the Alliance, including opportunities to engage with upcoming working groups.

If you are an Alliance member and would like to take part in future webinars, please contact luke.foddy@wri.org