LATF AND IFAW HOLD A REGIONAL TRAINING WORKSHOP ON COMBATING ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE IN AFRICA

The Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF) in collaboration with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) recently held a regional training workshop for senior conservation managers and law enforcement officers from thirteen African countries.
The workshop was held at Fair View Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya from 12th to 15th October 2010 under the theme ‘Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade in Africa.’ The training was aimed at equipping the officers with more knowledge and skills in combating wildlife crime in Africa through building a common understanding of the threats to wildlife resources. It provided an opportunity for participants to exchange experiences and gain deeper insights into nature and substance of wildlife crime on the African continent.

The participants were from Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia while resource persons were provided for by Kenya National Intelligence Academy, INTERPOL General Secretariat, IFAW Regional Office East Africa, IFAW Dubai and the Lusaka Agreement Task Force.

The training workshop was officially opened by Honourable Dr. Noah Wekesa, Kenya’s Minister for Forestry and Wildlife, who commended the organizers of the workshop for their tireless efforts in combating illegal wildlife trade. Dr. Wekesa called upon wildlife law enforcement agencies in Africa to promote co-operation in fighting the ever increasing sophistication of wildlife crimes. He noted that it was only through increased collaboration amongst agencies that the scourge of illegal trade in wildlife can be contained.

Also present at the workshop were the IFAW Executive Vice-President, Mr. Azzedine Downes, the Regional Director of IFAW East Africa, Mr. James Isiche, the Director LATF, Mr. Bonaventure Ebayi and the Director of Kenya Wildlife Service, Dr. Julius Kipng’etich who closed the workshop.