This comes from the experts members of the GVTC Regional Technical Committee (RTC) on Landscape Management and Law Enforcement who gathered at Hill View Hotel, Rubavu, Republic of Rwanda  for a two-day meeting on 20th and 21st August 2024 to discuss matters related to wildlife trafficking affecting the Greater Virunga Landscape .

The participants representing the respective governments of the three countries signatories to the Treaty for the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration, namely the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Rwanda and the Republic of Uganda, joined by representatives from other players in the Greater Virunga Landscape,  including  Interpol, the Rwanda Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration(DGIE), the Learning and Research institutions like the University of Rwanda, University of Goma/DRC, Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation/Uganda, NGOs: WWF and IGCP among others,  and  Community-Based Organisations,  appreciated the decision of the three government to put in place such a transboundary collaboration framework with the mandate to facilitate the solution to the concerns of mutual interest in managing the shared resources within the Greater Virunga Landscape.

This particular meeting observed the increase in the number of traffic cases in the Landscape. However, the meeting noted that,  since the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in the number of traffic cases has been observed. The participants also noted a number of the challenges in fighting the wildlife trafficking crimes, including changing trafficking routes, the inadequate coordination among the stakeholders, the low level of involvement of some key players due to lack of knowledge, inexistent mechanisms for intelligence sharing across the countries, etc.

In light of these challenges and given that different actors don’t have the same information and knowledge on wildlife traffic, it was recommended that key services like Migration, Customs, prosecution and judiciary, as well as security organs, be involved in combatting wildlife traffic. Awareness-raising sessions must be organized to allow conservationists and these other players to have the same understanding of the matter.

Decentralization in this matter is a must to avoid process delays, for example identification of confiscated wildlife products sometimes requires an expert from far away. Sectoral coordination should be put in place.

They recommended a more thorough study to understand the reason behind the changing routes of wildlife traffic and to define adequate measures to combat that scourge.

Finally, the experts recommended that the quarterly meetings of the Chief Park Wardens of the Greater Virunga Landscape be restored because such meetings are a key step in solving issues before they get out of hand. That forum was a framework for easily sharing information. The resuming of coordinated patrols was also recommended.

Report by: Juvenal Mukeshimana

GVTC Program Assistant