UNEP United Nations Environment Programme [to 2 May 2015]
http://www.unep.org/newscentre/?doctypeID=1
.
Selected Press Releases
Regional Cooperation, Working with Demand Countries Key to Ending Wildlife Crime, Say African Nations
At the closing of the International Conference on Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora in Africa.
30/04/2015

Zambia’s Forest Ecosystems Contribute $1.3 Billion to the National Economy, Higher than Previously Thought
Economic Study Boosts Zambia’s Efforts under its National REDD+ Process
28/04/2015

New Handbook Explores How Trade Can Drive the Transition to a Green Economy
Global Trade Reached US$23.4 Trillion in 2013, Highlighting Financial Power that Could be Harnessed for Sustainable Development.
28/04/2015

.

African Leaders to Develop Common Plan for Stopping Wildlife Crime
Conference to seek advancement of Africa-wide strategy to tackle illegal trade in wild fauna and flora.
Brazzaville, 27 April 2015 – African Heads of State, government representatives and experts are gathering at the International Conference on Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora in Africa where they will develop a common roadmap to end wildlife trafficking on the continent.

Conference website
The Conference will seek to advance the first-ever Africa-wide strategy and action plan to tackle the illegal trade in wild fauna and flora, to be further considered at the next African Union Heads of State Summit later this year.

The four-day event is organised under the leadership of the Republic of Congo, in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC), and with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the African Development Bank, the Lusaka Agreement Task Force and the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), among others.

“Forests and wildlife are part of our common African heritage but are disappearing at an alarming pace,” said His Excellency Denis Sassou Nguesso, the President of the Republic of Congo. “We have a duty to work together, as a continent, to safeguard our unique biodiversity for present and future generations and to craft strong collective solutions to address this calamity.”

The value of wildlife crime, comprising fauna and flora, and including logging, poaching and trafficking of a wide range of animals, amounts to many hundreds of billions of US dollars a year, according to estimates of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNEP and INTERPOL…