The Basel Institute is delighted about and welcomes the Wolfsberg Group's endorsement of the United for Wildlife Financial Taskforce Mansion House Declaration. This is a significant step in gaining the active support of the financial sector in combating the multibillion-dollar illegal wildlife trade.

The Basel Institute is the implementing partner of the intelligence-sharing mechanism of the United for Wildlife Financial Taskforce, a groundbreaking initiative of the Royal Foundation.

From 24 to 28 November 2014, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of South Africa (ARINSA), the Government of Kenya and the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) conducted a joint Workshop for prosecutors, investigators and other relevant stakeholders on Recovering the Proceeds of Crime from Wildlife and Forest Offences and Money Laundering in Naivasha, Kenya.

From 8 –12 September 2014, the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of South Africa (ARINSA), the United Nations Office on Drugs (UNODC) and the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) conducted a joint workshop for prosecutors and investigators on Recovering the Proceeds from Wildlife and Forest Crimes in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The workshop programme was designed to strengthen the capacity of prosecutors and investigators in recovering proceeds from wildlife and forest crimes. Some 60 participants from a number of government agencies of Tanzania attended the workshop.

From 21 to 24 April 2015, the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of South Africa (ARINSA), the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania and the International Center of Asset Recovery (ICAR) co-jointly conducted a four-day seminar for the Tanzanian judiciary on recovering the proceeds from wildlife and forest crime. The seminar was held on Zanzibar island and attended by some 40 Tanzanian judges.

From 23 to 27 February 2015, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of South Africa (ARINSA), the Government of Uganda and the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) carried out a joint workshop for prosecutors, investigators and other relevant stakeholders on the recovery of proceeds of crime from wildlife and forest offences and money laundering in Entebbe, Uganda.

In early December 2014, at the invitation of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Center of Asset Recovery (ICAR), along with other key organisations including ARINSA, CARIN and INTERPOL, co-hosted a conference on the recovery of proceeds from wildlife and forest crimes held in Panama City, Panama. 

This policy brief summarises the main findings from extensive field research on the drivers, facilitators and strategies of wildlife trafficking in Uganda. It translates the insights described in Working Paper 33: A worm’s-eye view of wildlife trafficking in Uganda into recommendations for practitioners and policymakers.