John Robinson, our chief conservation officer at WCS, joined The Duke of Cambridge today in London at the United for Wildlife symposium at the Zoological Society of London. John made this announcement below from the dais on behalf of all the partners. If you want to talk to John, who is in London for the symposium, email us and we will get him on the phone: mdixon@wcs.org and ssautner@wcs.org. Please note that this event with The Duke occurred on same day we released updated elephant numbers. See our previous release.

The Duke of Cambridge will today join the United for Wildlife organisations at a symposium hosted by the Zoological Society of London to discuss the coordinated international effort that is required to combat the illegal wildlife trade.

The United for Wildlife collaboration, under the Presidency of The Duke, has an extensive international field presence and a large network of collaborating institutions. It hopes to use this powerful global alliance to address both the supply and demand issues of illegal wildlife trafficking and also to support the sustainable development of affected communities and bring those involved in the illegal trade to justice. “With United for Wildlife, we are forming a groundbreaking partnership to ensure the survival of our world’s most iconic animals,” said Dr. John G. Robinson, WCS Chief Conservation Officer and Executive Vice President of Conservation and Science. “Collaboration is vital in order to substantively shift the scales in favor of wildlife.”United for Wildlife has identified the following commitments as its key areas of focus:    To strengthen site protection on areas that contain target species with the roll out of SMART technology (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) such as satellite nodes, ground sensors, GPS trackers and drones;   To reduce the demand of illegal trade products by working with Governments and other organisations, such as marketing experts and youth leaders, to encourage appropriate consumer messaging to those who buy rhino horn, ivory, tiger and pangolin parts and products;    To engage with the private sector to encourage a 'zero-tolerance' approach towards the illegal wildlife trade. This may include working with businesses that may be unwittingly drawn into the trade chain;To support the judiciary and local authorities in their efforts to fight wildlife crime;·     To support local communities, whose livelihoods are directly affected by the illegal wildlife trade.
 
This unprecedented collaboration of seven of the most influential field-based organisations and the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry will bring together some of the world’s largest environmental bodies and harness the resources and expertise of global leaders in business, communications, technology and the creative industries to tackle this universal challenge.
 

Notes to Editors
 
·     The seven conservation organisations partnering with Royal Foundation for United for Wildlife are: Conservation International; Fauna & Flora International; the International Union for Conservation of Nature; The Nature Conservancy; Wildlife Conservation Society; WWF-UK; and the Zoological Society of London.
 
·     United for Wildlife is a long-term commitment to tackle the global challenges to the world’s natural resources so they can be safeguarded for future generations.
 
·     United for Wildlife will launch an awareness raising campaign in the coming months but further information about the collaboration can initially be found at www.unitedforwildlife.com  
 
 
CONTACTS
 
Kensington Palace Press Office: 020 7930 4832.
WCS: 347-840-1242, mdixon@wcs.org; and 718-220-3682, ssautner@wcs.org