March 3 is World Wildlife Day, according to the Program of the United Nations Environment Programme, a date that “provides an occasion to celebrate and raise awareness about wild animals and plants on the planet.”
The motto for this 2023 is ""Associations for the conservation of wildlife"For this reason, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, invited the international community to implement the issue throughout the year.
The UN representative also called for reflection on how best to work with governments, civil society and the private sector to turn commitment into action. “We need much bolder action,” he said in his message.
Getting to know CITES
This year, the celebration on March 3 is even more special as it marks the 50th anniversary of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
This multilateral environmental agreement was concluded between governments on March 3, 1973, with the aim of ensuring that international trade in certain species of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
Currently, the CITES community brings together 184 countries, making it one of the oldest and most successful environmental agreements. appendices I, II and III They include species that offer different levels and types of protection against excessive exploitation and are in danger of extinction, which is why their trade must be subject to strict regulation and requires international cooperation for its control.
Based on this, the The World Customs Organization (WCO) and the CITES Secretariat have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 1996, which establishes a series of actions to mitigate illegal wildlife trade in a coherent and coordinated manner.
In addition, WCO collaborates with INTERPOL, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Bank through the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC).
Precisely, the series of Operations “Thunder””targeting illegal wildlife trade, jointly organized and coordinated by WCO and INTERPOL and supported by the CITES Secretariat, are concrete examples of such inter-agency partnership. According to the WCO dataThe latest Operation Thunder involved 125 countries (the largest number since Operation Thunder began in 2017), with over 2200 seizures, 934 suspects identified, and 141 companies suspected of involvement in illegal sales.
On the other hand, the OMA has associated activities through its Program of Environment and focused on raising awareness of the implementation of the CITES agreement at borders, the first line of defence against illegal cross-border wildlife trade. Using technology and data-driven risk profiling techniques, Customs also helps to ensure that wildlife is traded legally and sustainably, as envisaged by CITES.
On this special date, the WCO renews its commitment and urges its members to strengthen their role in achieving these objectives and intensify their efforts to implement the CITES agreement towards the sustainability of ecosystems and the well-being of our planet.
Let's participate. (Press release of the WCO)
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