Closing of the project « Combatting Corruption and Wildlife Trafficking»: review and perspectives for strengthening efforts to combat wildlife trafficking

Posted on 9 December 2024

The CCWT “Combating Corruption and Wildlife Trafficking” project is coming to an end.

The technical and financial partners who have worked closely or remotely with the project met on December 6, 2024 to present the main achievements and impacts, as well as new perspectives, officially closing this ambitious initiative for the protection of Madagascar's unique species.

With financial support from the American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the project, in consortium with WWF, TRAFFIC, Transparency International Initiative Madagascar (TI-MG) and Alliance Voahary Gasy (AVG), aimed to reduce wildlife trafficking, prevent corruption and improve natural resource governance. Over the 3 years of its implementation, the project brought together nearly thirty state and non-state organizations.

One of the approaches of the government of the United States of America is to strengthen natural resources governance in support of Madagascar's efforts to preserve its unique biodiversity. As part of the project, stakeholders collaborated and benefited from actions to combat corruption and wildlife trafficking, including strategic thinking, tool design, capacity building, recommendation proposals, national strategy development, law enforcement and awareness raising.

Among the project's contributions:

Integrating the fight against corruption in the environmental sector into the current process of updating the National Anti-Corruption Strategy
Strengthening the capacities and knowledge of judicial police and magistrates' academies in terms of corruption and wildlife trafficking, by integrating 3 modules on the fight against wildlife trafficking into their initial training programs
Improving the judicial system and the ability of law enforcement officers to effectively prosecute and convict traffickers, by training 149 magistrates and 201 civil servants in topics relating to the fight against wildlife trafficking
The reinforcement of local and national anti-corruption efforts, thanks to the development of innovative tools, which enabled the denunciation of 239 cases of trafficking and corruption linked to natural resources. Capacity-building in the fight against corruption for non-governmental organizations working in conservation, which benefited 112 people
A better understanding of the role of corruption in facilitating trafficking, enabling the adoption of appropriate measures to address this scourge. 8 analyses were carried out to identify technical, political and legal gaps: 3 on precious woods, 2 on turtles, 1 on money laundering and illicit financial flows, 2 on cross-cutting themes

The progress made during the course of the project demonstrates considerable progress in tackling wildlife trafficking, which is one of the most pressing challenges facing our nation today. However, much remains to be done, as corruption and wildlife trafficking require constant vigilance and enhanced collaboration. This closing ceremony was therefore an opportunity to celebrate the end of a chapter in the fight against corruption and wildlife trafficking, testifying to the hard work, collaboration and unfailing perseverance shown by all those involved over the past 3 years, and to begin a new chapter that promises to be just as promising.

“In three years, we can't change the phase of the world, stop corruption and trafficking. There's still a lot to do. What we wanted to do in three years is really to give the capacities, the tools, the knowledge to all the actors who are involved and who must be involved in this fight against the trafficking of natural resources and corruption in the natural resources sector, so that they can be more effective. It's not within the framework of this project that we need to make use of these achievements, but as a duty, the duty of every citizen, the duty of every institution that was created with a specific mandate. Today, the ball is in everyone's court. We must apply and implement everything that has been achieved over the last three years, and we must do so together, because only a collective effort can ensure our success in the fight against the trafficking of our natural resources”, declared Nanie Ratsifandrihamanana, Director of WWF Madagascar.

The U.S. government remains committed to investing in natural resources governance in Madagascar, through projects such as CCWT and USAID Mizana, which will focus on legal and judicial environmental governance.
Let's continue, let's insist, let's persevere in working together to win the fight against corruption and wildlife trafficking, because together, we can do things differently in a meaningful and sustainable way.