On November 3, UNODC hosted a special event "addressing the nexus between wildlife and forest crime and corruption," organized by the Corruption and Economic Crime Branch and the Global Programme for Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime, and held during The Sixth Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption.  

This high level event was an urgent call for immediate action to the anti-corruption world. All speakers, which included the Executive Director of UNODC, Secretary General of CITES, and representatives from the USA, Kenya, Norway, EU, GIZ and EIA, stressed that corruption underpins all illicit activities facilitating organized wildlife and forest crime. If both corruption and wildlife and forest crime are not addressed now, many species of wild fauna and flora will soon become extinct and the criminal networks will continue acting with impunity.

The event highlighted that there are appropriate international legal instruments in place to tackle both crimes (CITES, UNCAC, UNTOC), as well as ground-level initiatives. The event also showcased an increased determination among Member States to treat this issue as a priority, such as an example provided by the government of Kenya.

The speakers emphasized that the scale and scope of corruption in this area requires far more coordinated efforts in its prevention and there is a strong necessity to address it through the entire chain (poaching, selling, transportation and end markets). The States were called to adopt risk approaches and integrity policies at the institutional level that would serve as a deterrent to corruption in the wildlife and forestry sector and would be mainstreamed into broader national anti-corruption efforts.