The head of the political section of the ambassador of the European Union in Angola, Paulo Simões Barros, revealed yesterday, in Luanda, that the country’s weaknesses in combating the illegal trade in ivory and other fauna products, coming from neighboring countries, have facilitated the passage of these to international markets
The diplomat made this statement when speaking at the opening of the workshop on illicit financial flows, associated with crimes once morest wildlife, which started yesterday and ends tomorrow. To demonstrate the relevance of the event, Paulo Barros highlighted that environmental issues constitute one of the main, if not the main, concern of humanity in the 21st century.
“Nature on the planet is in global decline at an unprecedented rate, with one million of the approximately eight million species threatened with extinction. Climate change and loss of biodiversity are two of the most important challenges they face”, he explained. He explained that, worsening this situation, there is an increase in criminal activity in the illegal trade of wild species.
This trade is one of the causes of the loss of biodiversity, the considerable weakening of wild populations of fauna and flora, and in some cases, leading them to extinction. According to Paulo Barros, in the particular case of Angola, this situation is particularly serious. As several wild species are threatened with extinction, due to pressures related to the settlement of human populations, which has also favored the increase in poaching and illegal trade in wildlife species, favoring captive breeding.
On the other hand, he said that the density and diversity of wild animals at the local level is declining and one of the main factors is poaching, favored by the illegal trade in wild animals, which since the postcolonial period has gone from a subsistence activity to a small, medium and large-scale commercial activity.
“Trade of species has been carried out in different national markets, including on public roads. Angola also presents weaknesses in the face of illegal trade in ivory and other fauna products from neighboring countries that pass through the national territory, destined for international markets”, he clarified. Paulo Barros recognized that the competent authorities in the environmental sector have made efforts to mitigate this situation. As proof, he said that some sanctuaries were created to house animals recovered from illegal possession.
He cited as an example the Giant Palanca Negra, which is on the verge of extinction in the country, which also benefits from a protection project. The European Union diplomat in Angola considers that the management of the country’s natural resources is very worrying and, above all, lacks the means for supervision. To support his point of view, he clarified that the ranger has a clearly insufficient number of personnel, lacks adequate training, logistical means, transport vehicles, modern and effective monitoring, discussion and combat instruments, as well as as budgets suited to their responsibilities.
For him, competent institutions in the area of justice lack the same difficulties in terms of resources. The authorities have made some effort to better control poaching with the training of more inspectors, court personnel and the classification of environmental crimes in the Penal Code. “The country continues to present strong weaknesses and needs additional support to prevent and combat crime in these matters, in terms of strengthening supervision, legislation and awareness campaigns among the population”, he highlighted. He then added that “some private entities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that fight for the conservation of Angolan biodiversity have also expressed concern regarding this phenomenon”.
Wildlife crime negatively impacts local communities.
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Iury Santos, highlighted that Angola has a rich biological diversity, with indicators that place it as one of the most important countries on the African continent. This diversity is under constant threat due to wildlife crimes that not only represent an irreparable loss of biodiversity, but also negatively impact local communities and the country’s economy.
The government official revealed, when speaking at the aforementioned event, that Angola’s current indicators point to significant challenges in combating environmental crimes, with a worrying increase in the trafficking of endangered species, as well as the illegal trade in products derived from wildlife. “These criminal activities affect the integrity of Angolan ecosystems and contribute to the financing of transnational criminal networks”, he emphasized. According to the Secretary of State, given the complex scenario, it is essential that Angolan professionals involved in the protection of wildlife are equipped with the appropriate tools to identify, investigate and discontinue illicit financial flows arising from these criminal activities.
Angola’s commitment praised
The European Union’s resident coordinator in Angola, Zahira Virani, praised our country’s commitment to combating such practices. In her point of view, the challenge of transforming the world, through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, centers on a vision of cooperation between government institutions and civil society. “This agenda is ambitious not only for its scope of the 17 sustainable development objectives, but also for its call for a joint response involving the various actors in society”, she stated.
He also stated that the conclave included the participation of experienced professionals from the Peruvian police and public ministry who will share their experiences and good practices in combating crimes once morest wildlife. Zahira Virani considers that the workshop not only reinforces South-South cooperation once morest organized crime, but is also a sign of Angola’s commitment to combating this scourge. She also called on justice bodies to be firm and intolerant in combating crimes, in her speech for the 2024 judicial year.