Shipping Firms Sign up to Fight Illegal Wildlife Trafficking

 

The Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) – a pioneering coalition of companies from across the global shipping industry – has signed a Declaration to tackle global wildlife trafficking routes. 

 

The Declaration was unveiled by The Duke of Cambridge Prince William and is the culmination of 12 months of work to develop a plan, led by the transport sector, to crack down on illegal wildlife trafficking routes.

 

“The poaching crisis is bringing violence, death, and corruption to many vulnerable communities and threatens to rob future generations of their livelihoods,” said the Duke of Cambridge. 

 

He added: “But this crisis can be stopped. By implementing these commitments, the signatories of the Buckingham Palace Declaration can secure a game changer in the race against extinction. I thank them for their commitment and I invite any other company in the industry to sign up to Declaration and play their part in the fight against the poaching crisis.”

 

The Duke of Cambridge, who is president of the campaign group United for Wildlife, is unveiling an 11-point agreement at Buckingham Palace which will see 40 companies and agencies work together to identify and disrupt the global routes used to transport illegal wildlife products.

 

The United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce Buckingham Palace Declaration is a landmark agreement, committing to take real steps to shut down the routes exploited by traffickers of the illegal wildlife trade, moving their products from killing field to market place.

 

The work of the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce has been strongly supported not only by the transport sector but a number of intergovernmental agencies including the World Customs Organisation, the United Nations Development Programme and importantly the Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) – the world’s regulatory instrument on trade in endangered species.