Illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is in the global spotlight thanks to its alleged role in triggering the coronavirus pandemic. It is sparking vivid debate among communities of experts not just in conservation, but in business, finance, technology, anti-corruption forces and law.
Publication
Quick Guide 17: Open-source intelligence
Anti-corruption, transparency and freedom of information initiatives over the last decades have significantly boosted the value of open-source intelligence for both the private and public sectors.
In this quick guide, Intelligence Analyst Manuel Medina explains what open-source intelligence is and explores some of the tricky questions it raises.
Two of the Basel Institute's experts on intelligence and illegal wildlife trade (IWT) will present on how to put an end to wildlife crime as part of the University of Oklahoma's Global Risks & Threats Series.
Among other insights, Dr Timothy Wittig and Dr Patricia Raxter will explain how companies and financial institutions can work together to cut off access to the financial and logistical channels that the traffickers use.
This special analysis provides a predictive assessment of likely impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on illegal wildlife trade activities, associated risks to transport and finance companies, and possible futures in our response.
It is a United for Wildlife Taskforce report published in partnership with the Basel Institute on Governance.
The Basel Institute's intelligence team, in partnership with the United for Wildlife Taskforces, has issued a predictive assessment of impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on illegal wildlife trade activities and associated risks to transport and finance companies.
The agility that we pride ourselves on at the Basel Institute is often tested, not least by political turbulence in our partner countries. Beyond its implications for society and its catastrophic impact on victims and health systems, the coronavirus pandemic is the biggest test for us so far.
News
Mind the gap: building a bridge between research and practice to better fight illegal wildlife trade
When you have a difficult problem to solve, it often helps to look at it from a different angle. And it always helps to collaborate with experts who have different perspectives and skillsets.
This short report provides a framework for leveraging synergies between researchers in the field of social network analysis (SNA) and practitioners in the field of intelligence and law enforcement against illegal wildlife trade (IWT). The synergies between theory and practice are potentially great yet largely unexplored.
Every day, an unknown number of elephant tusks, rhino horn, pangolin scales and other wildlife products – alive and dead – cross the oceans in container ships and cargo flights for use in traditional medicine, crafts and the illegal pet trade. Rare trees are felled in ancient forests and shipped out under false certificates.
They leave behind the butchered carcasses of the last remaining animals of many species, scarred and emptied landscapes, legal livelihoods undermined by corruption and criminal activity, and communities ravaged by organised crime networks.
Given the vast dimensions of the multibillion-dollar illegal wildlife trade (IWT), it may be surprising that until recently, global efforts to tackle IWT came mainly from the conservation sector. This has typically consisted of numerous donor-funded efforts to catch poachers and raise public awareness of the plight of endangered species.
Valuable as those efforts are, they do little to impact the organised crime networks, corruption and illicit financial flows that allow the lucrative illegal trade in wildlife products to continue.