How to promote transparency in controls and inspections of timber products? Why are standardised processes and procedures key to preventing corruption in forest management? How to create awareness among forestry staff as well as local and Indigenous communities, encouraging them to play an active role in corruption prevention?
These are some of the questions discussed in a new series of videos that showcase promising initiatives in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.
See English version here.
Bolivia, Ecuador y Perú albergan algunos de los bosques más importantes del mundo, y la madera constituye un recurso natural de gran valor. Proteger estos bosques frente a las amenazas que representa la corrupción es fundamental no solo para preservar la biodiversidad y mitigar el cambio climático, sino también para salvaguardar los medios de vida de las comunidades locales.
Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru are home to some of the world’s most important forests, and timber is a valuable natural resource. Protecting forests from threats posed by corruption is essential not only for protecting biodiversity and mitigating climate change, but also for protecting the livelihoods of local communities.
Corruption in the timber trade is a serious threat, economically and environmentally. Forest-rich countries in Latin America are particularly exposed.
Those include Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, where our Green Corruption programme has been working with forestry authorities and environmental agencies to help them assess and mitigate corruption risks.
A new guide to non-conviction based forfeiture published by GAFILAT, the Latin American body of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) sets out good practices for this powerful but under-used form of asset recovery legislation. It also emphasises the need for laws to align with both domestic constitutions and international human rights standards.
A model law on non-conviction based forfeiture (NCBF), drafted 10 years ago by UNODC to support countries in Latin America in their efforts to recover stolen assets, will be updated following four days of intense discussions among practitioners and asset recovery experts from across the continent.
The Basel Institute on Governance is delighted to have signed a cooperation agreement with the Procuraduría General del Estado in Ecuador. The agreement covers collaboration with our International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) in the recovery of assets resulting from corruption, money laundering and other financial crimes affecting the State.
Oscar Solórzano participated in a virtual discussion with Ecuadorian legislators and other leading asset recovery experts from across Latin America on 2 September. The topic: Non-conviction-based confiscation legislation as a tool to recover assets arising from corruption.
Oscar Solorzano, Senior Asset Recovery Specialist and Manager of the Basel Institute's regional office in Peru, emphasised that asset recovery should be elevated to a national priority in a high-level conference panel at the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 18 July 2019.
He was speaking alongside José Valencia, Ecuador's Minister of Foreign Affairs (centre), and Gonzalo Salvador, Coordinador General de Asesoría Jurídica, responsible for coordinating legal advice within the Ministry (right).