Illicit Trade Illic The Illegal Wildlife Trade in Southeast Asia it T ra Illicit Trade d e INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES IN INDONESIA, SINGAPORE, THAILAND AND VIET NAM The Illegal Wildlife Trade Wildlife crime poses a serious and irrefutable risk to global biodiversity and is a driver of the current global in Southeast Asia extinction crisis. Southeast Asia accounts for up to a quarter of global demand for illegal wildlife products, and is also both a source and transit region for this transnational trade. This report examines the governance frameworks for countering illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. After assessing INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES IN INDONESIA, the effectiveness of several responses to wildlife crime in these countries, the report provides recommendations for strengthening the capacities of the institutions involved and improving strategies to counter illegal wildlife SINGAPORE, THAILAND AND VIET NAM trade. T h e Ille g a l W ild lif e T r a d e Consult this publication on line at https://doi.org/10.1787/14fe3297-en. in S o This work is published on the OECD iLibrary, which gathers all OECD books, periodicals and statistical databases. u Visit www.oecd-ilibrary.org for more information. th e a s t A s ia ISBN 978-92-64-70887-7 9HSTCQE*haiihh+ Illicit Trade The Illegal Wildlife Trade in Southeast Asia INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES IN INDONESIA, SINGAPORE, THAILAND AND VIET NAM This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD member countries. This document, as well as any data and any map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. Please cite this publication as: OECD (2019), The Illegal Wildlife Trade in Southeast Asia: Institutional Capacities in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, Illicit Trade, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/14fe3297-en. ISBN 978-92-64-70887-7 (print) ISBN 978-92-64-96712-0 (pdf) Illicit Trade ISSN 2617-5827 (print) ISSN 2617-5835 (online) The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law. Photo credits: © mr.kriangsak kitisak Corrigenda to OECD publications may be found on line at: www.oecd.org/about/publishing/corrigenda.htm. © OECD 2019 You can copy, download or print OECD content for your own use, and you can include excerpts from OECD publications, databases and multimedia products in your own documents, presentations, blogs, websites and teaching materials, provided that suitable acknowledgement of OECD as source and copyright owner is given. All requests for public or commercial use and translation rights should be submitted to [email protected]. Requests for permission to photocopy portions of this material for public or commercial use shall be addressed directly to the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at [email protected] or the Centre français d’exploitation du droit de copie (CFC) at [email protected].  3 Foreword Today, there is global recognition that poaching wildlife has a devastating impact on ecosystems and contributes to increasing corruption and financing other illegal activities. Driven by demand around the world, and using complex and sophisticated transport systems, the illegal wildlife trade touches nearly every country in the world. While its impacts are felt most acutely at local level, the stakes are global and the solutions require international co-operation. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) call on countries to take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of species. Yet many countries are struggling to make progress on this front. According to the latest SDG progress report, in 2018 over 7,000 species continue to be trafficked illegally in the world in over 120 countries. Collective efforts to combat this form of illicit trade need to be accelerated now. This report examines institutional gaps that affect the capacity of governments to address the illegal wildlife trade in Southeast Asia. Wildlife crime is “low-risk, high-reward”, making it particularly attractive to criminal networks that exploit weaknesses in governance systems to help acquire, transport and sell illegal wildlife. The wide range of institutions and government officials who are targeted and at risk of being corrupted underscores the need for urgent, comprehensive and coordinated action across the public administrations of the countries concerned. Building on an analysis of the illegal wildlife trade in East Africa by OECD in 2018, this report provides a regional focus on Southeast Asia, drawing on research conducted in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It aims to increase the understanding of institutional vulnerabilities that are continually exploited in the conduct of the illegal wildlife trade in Southeast Asia. The report identifies good practices that could be replicated to tackle wildlife crime effectively through law enforcement and reinforced legislative and regulatory frameworks. Its recommendations propose concrete actions for donor agencies, law enforcement bodies, international organisations and NGOs to take to improve actions in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade. These recommendations concern key issues such as the need for national strategies to combat illicit trade, how to improve inter-agency coordination and the need to strengthen co-operation and information sharing across countries in the region and beyond. The study was conducted in the Public Governance Directorate by the Secretariat of the OECD Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade (TF-CIT). The study benefitted from over 90 field interviews in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, as well as findings generated from research and global seizure data from World Customs Organisation and TRAFFIC databases, complemented by extensive desk-based research. ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA © OECD 2019 4  Acknowledgments The Illegal Wildlife Trade in Southeast Asia report was prepared by the OECD Directorate for Public Governance (GOV), under the overall guidance of Marcos Bonturi, Director. The review was produced by the OECD Reform of Public Sector Division (GOV/RPS). Michael Morantz prepared and drafted the report, under the supervision of Jack Radisch. Rob Parry Jones (WWF), Josie Raine (Freeland), Nichanan Tanthanawit (Freeland) and Sallie Yang (USAID/Freeland) made important contributions. As cited throughout, the report draws extensively on analysis carried out by public officials and NGOs that combat illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. We are also grateful to Brian Gillikin for providing research support and quantitative analysis and to Liv Gaunt, Raquel Páramo and Javier González for valuable editorial and administrative assistance. ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA © OECD 2019  5 Acronyms and abbreviations ACRES Animal Concerns Research and Education Society AGO Indonesia Attorney General’s Office AMLO Thailand Anti-Money Laundering Offices AEG ASEAN Experts Group on CITES ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN-WEN ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network ASEAN SOMTC ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime APG Asia Pacific Group on Anti-Money Laundering AVA Singapore Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority CBD the Convention on Biological Diversity CITES the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CMAA Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement CPIB Singapore Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau DNP Thailand Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation ENV Education for Nature Viet Nam FATF Financial Action Task Force FIU Financial Intelligence Unit FTZ Free Trade Zone ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA © OECD 2019 6  GI-AGB Viet Nam Government Inspectorate Anti- Corruption Bureau ICA Singapore Immigration and Checkpoints Authority ICCWC the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime INTERPOL the International Criminal Police Organization KPK Indonesia Corruption Eradication Commission MARD Viet Nam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development MLAT Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty MNRE Thailand Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment MPS Viet Nam Ministry of Public Safety NACC Thailand National Anti-Corruption Commission NCB INTERPOL National Contact Bureau NEST INTERPOL National Environmental Security Task Force NIAP Thailand National Ivory Action Plan NSCA Viet Nam National Steering Committee on Anti- Corruption NRECD Royal Thai Police, Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division OAG Indonesia Office of the Attorney General OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development PPATK Indonesia Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre SCA Singapore Customs Authority SDG United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA © OECD 2019  7 SPP Viet Nam Supreme Peoples’ Procuracy TI Transparency International UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNODC United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime UNTOC United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime WARPA Thailand Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act, 1992 WEN Wildlife Enforcement Network WCS WCU Wildlife Conservation Society Wildlife Crimes Unit WWF World Wildlife Fund ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA © OECD 2019 8  Table of Contents Foreword 3 Acknowledgments 4 Acronyms and abbreviations 5 Executive Summary 11 The key findings: 12 The recommendations: 12 1 Introduction 15 Purpose of the report 18 Methodology 18 References 20 Notes 21 2 Key Findings and Detailed Recommendations 23 Regional context for combatting the illegal wildlife trade 24 Multi Agency Co-ordination and Multi-National Co-operation: keys to tackling the illegal wildlife trade 25 Closing gaps in the legal and regulatory framework is essential to overcoming wildlife crime and preventing opportunities for criminal entrepreneurs 28 Targeted efforts are needed to address corruption, which continues to facilitate the Illegal Wildlife Trade in Southeast Asia 29 Investigations into the illicit financial flows and money laundering investigations are necessary to deter and prosecute wildlife crime in full 31 References 33 Notes 33 3 Multi-Agency and International Co-operation 35 Introduction 36 Multi-Agency Co-ordination and Task Forces 36 International Law Enforcement Co-operation 45 Conclusion 50 References 51 Notes 53 ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA © OECD 2019