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Customs to tackle illegal wildlife trade
Customs to tackle illegal wildlife trade

Customs to tackle illegal wildlife trade

Ellanie Smit
Namibia will be among several countries to take part in a workshop for custom officials who deal with wildlife crime.

The three-day workshop kicks off on Tuesday in Johannesburg and is hosted by the British High Commission in South Africa.

It will bring together customs officials from countries in Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe that deal with aspects of wildlife crime.

The workshop is a collaboration between the United Kingdom's Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Chinese State Forestry Agency and the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

The participants from Namibia are the environment ministry's Ellias Amunime, chief warden in the Etosha National Park and Allison Kukuri at the risk management section in customs and excise in the finance ministry.

According to a statement by the British High Commission in Windhoek, tackling illegal wildlife trade is an important part of conservation, law enforcement, and socioeconomic development for all affected countries.

“With illicit activity crossing borders, regional cooperation and knowledge sharing is an essential component of a coherent response to this issue,” it says.

The discussions at the workshop will provide a platform for sharing best practice, innovation, and expertise, and aims to further develop the regional networks that are vital to addressing the trans-boundary issue of illegal wildlife trade.

Different components of the workshop will be led by experts from UK Border Force, who have experience with CITES and capacity building around the globe, and experts from Chinese State Forestry Agency, General Administration of Customs, and Northern Forestry University, who have experience in customs enforcement, species identification, and technical innovation in relation to illegal wildlife trade.

Valuable perspectives and best practices will also be shared by the South African Revenue Service. This workshop is a key step towards the 2018 London Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference which will also recognise illegal wildlife trade as a security issue, affecting people as well as animals. It will also focus on building coalitions, engaging the private sector, NGOs and academia; harnessing technology and innovation and closing markets for illegally traded wildlife products.

ELLANIE SMIT

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-02

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Katima Mulilo: 22° | 37° Rundu: 21° | 38° Eenhana: 23° | 37° Oshakati: 26° | 37° Ruacana: 22° | 37° Tsumeb: 25° | 35° Otjiwarongo: 20° | 36° Omaruru: 19° | 37° Windhoek: 20° | 33° Gobabis: 21° | 33° Henties Bay: 13° | 19° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 09:22, High tide: 03:42, Low Tide: 21:44, High tide: 15:44 Swakopmund: 13° | 16° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 09:20, High tide: 03:40, Low Tide: 21:42, High tide: 15:42 Walvis Bay: 13° | 22° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 09:20, High tide: 03:39, Low Tide: 21:42, High tide: 15:41 Rehoboth: 19° | 35° Mariental: 20° | 38° Keetmanshoop: 18° | 35° Aranos: 20° | 37° Lüderitz: 15° | 27° Ariamsvlei: 19° | 34° Oranjemund: 13° | 21° Luanda: 24° | 26° Gaborone: 22° | 38° Lubumbashi: 18° | 33° Mbabane: 19° | 37° Maseru: 16° | 34° Antananarivo: 16° | 31° Lilongwe: 21° | 32° Maputo: 22° | 37° Windhoek: 20° | 33° Cape Town: 15° | 20° Durban: 20° | 27° Johannesburg: 22° | 33° Dar es Salaam: 25° | 30° Lusaka: 21° | 34° Harare: 19° | 32° Currency: GBP to NAD 22.78 | EUR to NAD 19.12 | CNY to NAD 2.48 | USD to NAD 17.65 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.65 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 132.84 | USD to AOA 909.05 | USD to BWP 13.36 | USD to EGP 48.88 | USD to KES 129.2 | USD to NGN 1650.44 | USD to ZAR 17.64 | USD to ZMW 26.78 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1867.43 Up +0.66% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14269.96 Up +0.72% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30658 Up +0.94% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 736.45/OZ DOWN -0.0038 | Copper US$ 4.33/lb DOWN -0.0044 | Zinc US$ 3 084.50/T UP 0.27% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 73.32/BBP DOWN -0.0152 | Platinum US$ 992.03/OZ UP +0.21% Sport results: Weather: Katima Mulilo: 22° | 37° Rundu: 21° | 38° Eenhana: 23° | 37° Oshakati: 26° | 37° Ruacana: 22° | 37° Tsumeb: 25° | 35° Otjiwarongo: 20° | 36° Omaruru: 19° | 37° Windhoek: 20° | 33° Gobabis: 21° | 33° Henties Bay: 13° | 19° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 09:22, High tide: 03:42, Low Tide: 21:44, High tide: 15:44 Swakopmund: 13° | 16° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 09:20, High tide: 03:40, Low Tide: 21:42, High tide: 15:42 Walvis Bay: 13° | 22° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 09:20, High tide: 03:39, Low Tide: 21:42, High tide: 15:41 Rehoboth: 19° | 35° Mariental: 20° | 38° Keetmanshoop: 18° | 35° Aranos: 20° | 37° Lüderitz: 15° | 27° Ariamsvlei: 19° | 34° Oranjemund: 13° | 21° Luanda: 24° | 26° Gaborone: 22° | 38° Lubumbashi: 18° | 33° Mbabane: 19° | 37° Maseru: 16° | 34° Antananarivo: 16° | 31° Lilongwe: 21° | 32° Maputo: 22° | 37° Windhoek: 20° | 33° Cape Town: 15° | 20° Durban: 20° | 27° Johannesburg: 22° | 33° Dar es Salaam: 25° | 30° Lusaka: 21° | 34° Harare: 19° | 32° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 22.78 | EUR to NAD 19.12 | CNY to NAD 2.48 | USD to NAD 17.65 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.65 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 132.84 | USD to AOA 909.05 | USD to BWP 13.36 | USD to EGP 48.88 | USD to KES 129.2 | USD to NGN 1650.44 | USD to ZAR 17.64 | USD to ZMW 26.78 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1867.43 Up +0.66% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14269.96 Up +0.72% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30658 Up +0.94% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 736.45/OZ DOWN -0.0038 | Copper US$ 4.33/lb DOWN -0.0044 | Zinc US$ 3 084.50/T UP 0.27% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 73.32/BBP DOWN -0.0152 | Platinum US$ 992.03/OZ UP +0.21%