The United Nations, Wildlife Conservation Society, and the World Bank to host event to address implementation of the Wildlife and Forest Crime commitments in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the recent United Nations General Assembly resolution on tackling illicit trafficking in wildlife

New York – Sept. 16, 2015 – The United Nations System, including the CITES Secretariat, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the World Bank, in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Member States, and civil society partners, will host an evening reception and high-level remarks on wildlife and forest crime at WCS’s Central Park Zoo on Sunday, Sept. 27.

Keynote speakers, H.E. Ali Bongo, President of Gabon, and Helen Clark, Administrator, UNDP, will speak about political commitments in response to the challenges of wildlife and forest crime as called for by the recent United Nations General Assembly resolution on tackling illicit trafficking in wildlife and the outcome document entitled “Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” which includes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to be adopted at the forthcoming United Nations Summit.

The outcome document includes the vision of countries for the next fifteen years, a call for the protection of wildlife and other living species and, in the new agenda, a call for protection of ecosystems and wildlife, as well as a set of SDGs that include targets which specifically address wildlife and endangered species (15.5, 15.7, 15.c). To achieve these targets, urgent scaled up efforts which are better financed, coordinated, and effectively implemented need to be taken at the national, regional, and global levels involving all partners.

The event will be moderated by John Scanlon, Secretary-General, CITES, with  high-level remarks by Cristian Samper, President and CEO, WCS; The Rt Hon Grant Shapps, United Kingdom Minister of State for International Development and Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs; Hon. Edna Molewa, Minister of Environmental Affairs, Republic of South Africa; Ambassador William Brownfield, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs; Yury Fedotov, Executive Director, UNODC; and Li Bingbing, actress and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

What:             

Tackling Wildlife and Forest Crime

High-Level Remarks and Reception

Organizing Partners:        

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)

World Bank Group (WBG)

Confirmed Speakers:

       Moderator:     

·      John Scanlon, Secretary General, CITES

Keynote speakers:

·      H.E. Ali Bongo, President of Gabon

·      Helen Clark, Administrator, UNDP

Remarks by:

·      Cristián Samper, President and CEO, Wildlife Conservation Society

·      The Rt Hon Grant Shapps, United Kingdom Minister of State for International Development and Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

·      Hon. Edna Molewa, Minister of Environmental Affairs, Republic of South Africa

·      Ambassador William Brownfield, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

·      Li Bingbing, actress and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador

       Closing Remarks:

·      Yury Fedotov, Executive Director, UNODC

 

Where:           

WCS’s Central Park Zoo

E64th Street and 5th Ave., New York, NY

  When:             

Sun. Sept. 27, 2015

6:30pm to 8:pm

Media arrival: 6:00pm

Program begins: 6:45pm

IMPORTANT NOTES:         

Event is by invitation only.

RSVP required for attending media.

Media should RSVP by email to mpulsinelli@wcs.org.

A technical advisory detailing media access and logistics will be made available to attending reporters prior to the event.

CITES - With 181 Parties, CITES—the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora— remains one of the world's most powerful legally binding tools for biodiversity conservation through the regulation of trade in wild fauna and flora. Thousands of species are internationally traded and used by people in their daily lives for food, housing, health care, ecotourism, cosmetics or fashion. CITES regulates international trade in over 35,000 species of plants and animals, including their products and derivatives, ensuring their survival in the wild with benefits for the livelihoods of local people and the global environment. The CITES permit system seeks to ensure that international trade in listed species is sustainable, legal and traceable. CITES was signed in Washington D.C. on 3 March 1973 and entered into force on 1 July 1975. Learn more about CITES by visiting www.cites.org. 

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in more than 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. www.undp.org.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and transnational organized crime and the guardian of two key international instruments developed to address transnational organized criminal syndicates: the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. To implement the mandate given to the Office by its two governing bodies – the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs – UNODC developed the Global Programme for Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime (GPWLFC). The GPWLFC is the framework  under which UNODC delivers a range of technical assistance to Member States with the aim of improving their criminal justice and preventive capacity to address the illicit trafficking of wild fauna and flora. This technical assistance programme focus is geared towards strengthening and supporting the judiciary and prosecution, enhancing law enforcement capacity, legislative review, data compilation and analysis and alternative livelihoods to communities. For additional information visit https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/wildlife-and-forest-crime/global-programme.html.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. VISION: WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in more than 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: www.wcs.org; http://www.facebook.com/TheWCS; http://www.youtube.com/user/WCSMedia  Follow: @thewcs.  

The World Bank Group is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Its mission is to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. Improving the management of natural assets is an integral part of that vision: by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity and forging partnerships in the public and private sectors, we help set countries on clean, green pathways to growth, for resilient economies and healthy communities. The Bank plays a leading role in making conservation and development work hand in hand – it supports a global program of technical assistance on anti-money laundering, hosts a new Global Wildlife Program and works with countries to strengthen forest law enforcement and governance and combat wildlife crime.

 

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