Laos law enforcement support (national level)
Environmental Investigation Agency, UK (EIA)
EIA conducts research and investigations on the trade in tigers and their parts and derivatives, profiling individuals, businesses and networks involved in this trade in China and Laos, and with partners, maps those networks as they extend between Thailand and Vietnam. EIA publishes reports of their research and investigation findings, and provides more sensitive information to relevant national government agencies such as police, Customs and CITES authorities, and to relevant IGOs such as INTERPOL and enforcement contacts in the CITES Secretariat. EIA has also shared such information with US Fish and Wildlife Service (US FWS) and US Drug Enforcement Agency (US DEA) agents based in Asia. Where appropriate, EIA also shares such sensitive information with certain NGOs with the relevant expertise based in China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. This also includes mapping the scale and trends in the illicit trade of Asian big cats in the region. EIA’s reports as well as more detailed confidential information help to mobilize action by organizations involved in law enforcement as well as consumer demand reduction. These campaign tools can also can be used to pressure relevant government agencies, including in China, Laos and Vietnam, to ensure there are adequate resources to improve regional and international enforcement co-operation. EIA is also examining wildlife protection laws in China and Laos, with a specific reference to tiger farming, in order to assist in strengthening wildlife protection and the implementation of the relevant CITES Resolution and associated Decisions. This follows on previous work of EIA on the tiger trade including a report and film in 2015 concerning this trade in China and by Chinese nationals and businesses in Laos.
EIA conducts research and investigations on the trafficking of ivory between Africa and Asia, particularly China, Laos and Vietnam, with some linkages to Thailand. These investigations examine the composition of criminal networks and their methods to traffic ivory, and other wildlife contraband, on an inter-regional level between source countries in Africa and destination countries in Asia. EIA publishes reports of this research and investigations findings, and provides more sensitive information to relevant national government agencies such as police, customs and CITES authorities, and to relevant IGOs such as INTERPOL, WCO and enforcement contacts in the CITES Secretariat. EIA has also shared such information with US FWS and US DEA agents based in Africa and Asia. Where appropriate, EIA also shares such sensitive information with certain NGOs with the relevant expertise based in China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. This also includes mapping the scale and trends in the illicit trade of ivory. The information can then be provided to assist organizations conducting law enforcement support, and also can be used to pressure relevant governments, including in China, Laos and Vietnam, to take action to investigate the individuals and companies identified by EIA as likely being involved in ivory trafficking, and to improve regional and international enforcement co-operation.
EIA is producing a field guide for law enforcement officers on the Asian big cat trade in partnership with CITES. This guide will assist front line officers in identifying products made or derived from these species and understand the methods of operation of the criminal networks involved in such trade. The guide will be distributed by the CITES Secretariat to all CITES Parties including to the CITES authorities in Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
EIA is finalizing a short film and seventeen modules to be used for wildlife law enforcement training. This project has been formally endorsed by the CITES Secretariat, INTERPOL, WCO and several governments. Relevant enforcement agencies in Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam have participated in the film. The modules cover different areas such as crime scene management, controlled deliveries, DNA analysis of ivory, financial investigations and best practice for successful prosecutions. The film and the modules will be distributed physically through USB sticks/DVDs and via a password-protected secure website. This will be distributed widely to various national government agencies, including in Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
Freeland
Freeland provides national and regional level capacity building to police, Customs, financial intelligence units, prosecutors, through its DETECT and LEGAL programs that combine assessments, strategy design, and training to implement strategies. Each of the programs outlined below is tailored to each audience and their threats, and has a mentoring element that Freeland refers to as “OJT” (On-the-Job Training). The OJTs can include digital forensics training and analytical support. The LEGAL program is for prosecutors and judiciary, while the DETECT program is for counter-trafficking and is designed mainly for police, customs, financial intelligence units, and prosecutors, and includes basic and advanced courses. DETECT cross-border courses led to the formation of the ASEAN-WEN “SIG” (Special Investigation Course). Recently, Freeland produced a highly advanced course under DETECT named “CTOC” (Counter-Transnational Organized Crime), which empowers officers to identify and disrupt illicit supply chains involved in wildlife trafficking and other forms of transnational crime.
Freeland runs a project titled “Trafficking Free Enterprises” that includes training programs for airport-based personnel; bank compliance officers; and hospitality staff. These “eyes and ears” awareness trainings are half day and have been held in Cambodia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, as well as two African countries.
Freeland developed WildScan, a mobile phone application to facilitate species identification. The Lao application is currently in development.
INTERPOL
INTERPOL assists its 190 Member Countries, which include Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam share criminal intelligence, including for issues of environmental crime, through National Central Bureaus (NCBs) in each country. INTERPOL can, upon the request of member countries, deploy an Investigative Support Team (IST) pertaining to particular investigative pursuits. INTERPOL’s Environmental Security Sub-Directorate provides analysis of information submitted by member countries covering investigations of major cases, including both domestic transnational cases. INTERPOL also hosts Regional Investigative and Analytical Case Meetings (RIACMs) to bring two or more countries together to exchange information and work together on specific investigations. Countries are invited to the RIACMs based on relevance to the cases that the RIACM focuses on.
INTERPOL hosts National Environmental Security Seminars (NESS) to encourage national multi-agency communication and cooperation on environmental crime. Member countries are then encouraged to form a National Environmental Security Taskforce (NEST). A NESS was held in February 2017 in Laos, and a follow up NESS is planned for the second half of 2017.
INTERPOL provides specialized training to member countries, primarily to their police services, and regularly bringing together representatives from multiple countries simultaneously. The following training has been planned for the first half of 2017 (including subject, member countries invited, and venue):
· Fundamentals of Intelligence Analysis – Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam (Nairobi, April 2017); and Advanced Intelligence Analysis – Cambodia, China, Laos, Vietnam (Lyon, May 2017);
· Online trade investigation training – Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam (Singapore, June 2017);
· Digital forensics: data extraction and analysis – Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam (Singapore, June 2017);
· Crime Scene Investigation Training – Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam (July 2017);
· Species Identification – Laos (date and venue to be confirmed).
INTERPOL Project Waylay, funded by the U.K. Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has been focusing on building control delivery capacity and interest in member countries since 2014. So far the work has been on capacity building and developing a common guideline. Currently INTERPOL is working with countries that have expressed an interest in Asia and Africa to identify potential cases in which controlled deliveries can be organized. Discussions are ongoing with China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam on this issue. Equipment may be provided as needed.
INTERPOL conducts annual operations targeting environmental crime. The most recent, Thunderbird, finalized in February 2017, included 43 countries. While Laos did not participate in Operation Thunderbird, the country actively participated in past INTERPOL Operations including Operation CONNEXUS, Operation PAWS, and Operation PREY.
TRAFFIC
TRAFFIC has expertise and credibility in tackling wildlife trafficking and acts through its regional and country-based teams across Asia as well as in Africa, Europe and Americas. Using primary research and contextual understanding to analyze information on wildlife trade dynamics, TRAFFIC’s evidence-based outputs assist government law enforcement agencies to disrupt and dismantle trafficking syndicates and increase deterrents through sentencing and prosecution. The Wildlife Trafficking, Response, Assessment, and Priority Setting (Wildlife TRAPS) Project, financed by USAID and implemented by TRAFFIC, in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is designed to develop and deliver a suite of ground-breaking partnerships and pioneering approaches to tackle wildlife crime between Africa and Asia. The Wildlife TRAPS Project delivers activities through 6 key thematic work streams including: 1) Engaging the Transportation Sector, 2) Enforcement Capacity and Inter-Agency Collaboration, 3) Financial Investigation and Asset Recovery, 4) Wildlife Forensics, 5) Consumer Behaviour Change and Demand Reduction and 6) Community Engagement. The project is building a collective understanding of the true character and scale of the response required through targeted assessments, setting priorities through collaborative action planning, identifying interventions points, and testing non-traditional approaches. This project commenced in 2013 and will run through February 2020. Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) is an innovative and transformational partnership, supported by USAID and implemented by TRAFFIC, that brings together international conservation organizations, donors, government, and the transportation and logistics industry for a multi-year collaborative program to disrupt wildlife trafficking by reducing the use of legal transportation supply chains.
TRAFFIC conducts regular market monitoring surveys in Laos along with seizure data analysis and intelligence gathering across the country particularly related to the trades in ivory, bears, birds, pangolins, and tigers. Its research and analysis are used to advocate legislative reform to close loopholes and step up enforcement interventions. The following is a selection of TRAFFIC reports involving the wildlife trade in Laos:
TRAFFIC also commenced a series of law enforcement trainings in 2008 in Laos, a number of which involve cross-border/multi-country trainings.
United for Wildlife (UfW)
UfW is working with the transportation sector through the UfW Transport Taskforce in an effort to encourage increased action regarding the transport of illegal wildlife products. One of the focus activities is to enable the sharing of NGO information on wildlife trafficking with the transportation industry – see below section on private sector commitment building.
In 2014 and 2015 the global law firm, DLA Piper, undertook reviews of wildlife legislation in a number of countries involved in illegal wildlife trade as either predominantly supply, transit and consumer locations. This work was undertaken pro bono in support of United for Wildlife. These reports provide a snap shot of the wildlife legislation as well as identifying any ancillary legislation that can be used in the prosecution of wildlife crimes. Laos was included in the second phase of reports under this work.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
UNDP is developing a GEF-financed regional project across tiger range states titled “South-South Cooperation for Sustainability of the Global Tiger Recovery Programme” that will be implemented with the Global Tiger Forum. The project’s goal is to promote the long-term survival of the tiger in ecologically intact landscapes across its range. The project will develop and test a simplified and harmonized monitoring and reporting protocol in close consultation with the 13 tiger range countries, tiger researchers and other relevant scientists, conservation practitioners and managers of tiger areas. The project will also address the financial sustainability of tiger conservation by making the business case for tiger conservation, developing new streams of domestic finance for tigers and targeting private finance at the regional level. Finally the project will ensure that tiger range countries have sufficient capacity, tools and mechanisms for effective implementation, monitoring and updating of their respective National Tiger Recovery Plans, including collaboration and joint action in thematic areas that transcend national boundaries.
United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment)
UN Environment, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and others, will convene an Africa-Asia Symposium on Strengthening Legal Frameworks to Combat Wildlife Crime on 4-5 July 2017 in Bangkok – see reference below in commitment building section.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
UNODC has supported the establishment of a network of more than 70 Border Liaison Offices (BLOs) through its Border Management Programme throughout the Greater Mekong Sub-region, including in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. UNODC provides regular training and capacity building support to BLOs to ensure that border law enforcement agencies have standardized knowledge, skills and communication mechanisms to collect and share information and intelligence, and are able to better respond to the growing threat of cross-border crimes in the region.
UNODC and WCO partner in the Global Container Control Programme (CCP), which operates in ASEAN countries including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The CCP aims to secure the global containerized supply chain and minimize the risk of shipping containers being exploited for illicit trafficking, transnational organized crime, and other forms of black market activity. The CCP works with governments to establish inter-agency container profiling units, and strengthen the capacity of customs and law enforcement authorities through the delivery of training, mentoring, equipment, standard operating procedures, and access to tools and databases.
UNODC organizes the Wildlife Inter-Regional Enforcement Meetings (WIRE), which offer specialized platforms for law enforcement officials to develop ties with their direct counterparts in African and Asian countries:
· A WIRE-Police meeting was held in November 2016 in Bangkok for police and wildlife investigators from India, Kenya, South Africa, and ASEAN countries including Laos, as well as INTERPOL, Lusaka Agreement Task Force, UNODC and WCO, to exchange criminal intelligence for the identification of wildlife trafficking routes, groups and trends.
· A WIRE-Prosecutors meeting was held in March 2017 in Bangkok for prosecutors with experience in wildlife crime cases and for Central Authorities responsible for sending and receiving mutual legal assistance requests, from Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, and six key ASEAN countries. This meeting focused on effective use of MLA, and authorization for the use of specialized investigative techniques for wildlife crime cases.
· A WIRE-Customs meeting will also be organized in 3rd quarter 2017 on identifying CITES-risk indicators to assist the detection of containers and cargoes potentially carrying illegal wildlife products.
UNODC provided assistance to Laos in reviewing the Environmental Chapter of the Penal Code in 2016. A set of recommendations was presented to the Lao Government Task Force in Sept 2016. The new draft has incorporated several key recommendations from UNODC, and is expected to be passed in April 2017. After approval of the new law, UNODC will provide further support to Laos to disseminate the new environmental chapter to relevant authorities.
UNODC provided and intends to provide the following training to law enforcement agencies in Laos:
· Training course on controlled deliveries, electronic surveillance, and intelligence analysis held in Nov 2016 for Environmental Police, Customs, and the Department of Forest Inspection; UNODC also trialed the first cross-border surveillance and controlled delivery training course with Laos and Vietnam in April 2016, for Police, Border Army, Forestry, and Customs officers in both countries.
· Training course for prosecutors held July 2016, focusing on best practices for gathering and handling evidence for wildlife crime cases, case management, communication channels to request information and mutual legal assistance, and preparing and presenting wildlife crime cases in court;
· Training for selected police intelligence analysts on the use of Sentinel Visualizer software to analyze data and intelligence – held in August 2016.
· Regional workshop on “Strengthening regional cooperation to mitigate corruption risks in wildlife and forest crimes” in November 2016, which included the participation of anti-corruption authorities from Laos and Thailand, as well as other ASEAN countries. The workshop promoted multi-agency, multi-disciplinary law enforcement cooperation in combating wildlife and forest crime, including an active role for anti-corruption authorities.
· Training workshop on anti-money laundering and financial investigation techniques relating to wildlife and forest crime cases, for prosecutors and environmental police officers in November 2016.
· In 2017, UNODC will provide mentorship and advisory support to police to enhance wildlife crime investigations.
· UNODC will conduct a training course on anti-smuggling and advanced investigation techniques for frontline law enforcement officers, as a synergy between the Border Management Programme and the Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime Programme.
· In 2017 UNODC will work in cooperation with the UN-REDD Programme and Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam to draft a set of SOPs to combat wildlife and timber trafficking, based on the BLO mechanism. The SOPs will aim to enable law enforcement authorities to take an agreed standardized approach to respond to cross-border wildlife and timber trafficking cases and efficiently engage in international cooperation.
USAID Wildlife Asia
USAID Wildlife Asia will strengthen regional law enforcement capacity and coordination by institutionalizing capacity building efforts in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. This will occur through the establishment of a working group tasked with developing and delivering competency standards for key positions within judicial and law enforcement agencies responsible for addressing wildlife crime and trafficking in the region. In addition, USAID Wildlife Asia will strengthen regional and international cooperation and coordination through training and networking workshops, including convening targeted Asia/Africa Special Investigation Group (SIG) meetings designed to allow sharing of information and building collaborative efforts across agencies and borders of both source, transit and demand countries. The USAID Wildlife Asia Activity is implemented by the International Resources Group (IRG) – which is owned by RTI International – with a consortium of organizations and companies including FHI 360, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Freeland and Integra.
USAID Wildlife Asia will identify priorities in laws, policies and jurisprudence on which to focus in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. USAID Wildlife Asia will host capacity-building events for parliaments; present and develop conservation fund models; showcase forfeiture best practices in prosecution and sentencing; and develop and propose sentencing guidelines for the judiciary. During year 1, the project will prioritize Cambodia and Laos since these countries have ongoing formal CWT-related legislative reform initiatives both in the legislative and judicial arms of the government.
USAID Wildlife Asia will support USAID RDMAs activities to enhance coordination amongst US Government (USG) agencies. This will include logistic, technical and financial support for coordination activities; compilation, synthesis and provision of information to USG agencies on CWT efforts of different actors in the region; and emergence of a community of practice and learning agenda for enhanced CWT efforts. USAID Wildlife Asia also will link with relevant bodies such as UNEP and International Conservation Caucus Foundation (ICCF) to capitalize on increased attention to CWT as a priority development agenda for ASEAN and the UN.
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
WCS is conducting information gathering surveys on individuals and companies involved in the illegal wildlife trade routes between Thailand and Vietnam and China. Many of the species involved have been sourced from Africa. Information gathered is inputted into the WCS intelligence management system where a range of intelligence products are produced and disseminated to Laos law enforcement authorities. WCS also provides technical support for bilateral meetings between Lao, Thai and Chinese enforcement agencies to join and share information on wildlife trafficking and international cooperation mechanisms to enable joint investigations between the countries – see section on political commitment building.
WCS receives funding from the US Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and other donors for capacity building with the Department of Forest Inspections and other Laos WEN agencies (e.g. Customs, and Environmental Police) in Laos. WCS has developed a capacity building strategy that relies on practical competency based training as opposed to the classroom approach.
WCS has been active in assisting the Department of Forest Inspection and the Laos Wildlife Enforcement Agencies with a strategy to close the domestic ivory market.
With funding from the US FWS an awareness campaign, targeting Chinese visitors to Laos, is being developed to advise visitors on the risks and legalities in purchasing and transporting ivory out of Laos that will complement enhanced enforcement efforts.
World Customs Organization (WCO)
UNODC and WCO partner in the Global Container Control Programme (CCP), which operates in ASEAN countries including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The CCP aims to secure the global containerized supply chain and minimize the risk of shipping containers being exploited for illicit trafficking, transnational organized crime, and other forms of black market activity. The CCP works with governments to establish inter-agency container profiling units, and strengthen the capacity of customs and law enforcement authorities through the delivery of training, mentoring, equipment, standard operating procedures, and access to tools and databases. CCP information also cited in UNODC section on national level law enforcement support.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
WWF-Laos is implementing support to strengthen wildlife law enforcement in Laos to address illegal wildlife trade in key markets and trade hubs in the country – particularly in northern Laos, Vientiane Capital, and the Laos-Vietnam border Landscape in the Central Annamites. Specific law enforcement training and operations support will be provided to Laos government agencies, through the Department of Forest Inspection (DoFI) as lead agency of Lao-WEN, and focused for northern Laos and Vientiane Capital. See also WWF work on law enforcement support at a landscape level, above.