ASEANAPOL Secretariat and USAID End Wildlife Crime Forge Strategic Partnership to Combat Transnational Wildlife Trafficking

USAID, through its End Wildlife Crime initiative, has positioned itself as a regional leader in addressing illegal wildlife trade, which contributes to biodiversity loss, spreads zoonotic diseases, destabilizes economies, and fuels organized crime. USAID’s goal is to strengthen regional efforts in counter-wildlife trafficking (CWT) by fostering partnerships with law enforcement bodies like ASEANAPOL. During the meeting, USAID representatives presented an overview of their planned activities and discussed how these initiatives could complement ASEANAPOL’s existing priorities.

Key topics of discussion included conducting a regional assessment to understand the roles of ASEAN criminal justice stakeholders in CWT, developing a regional strategy and toolkit on best practices, forming thematic working groups on financial and online wildlife crime, and establishing a CWT Partnership Platform. These initiatives aim to expand upon the groundwork laid by a 2021 USAID report for ASEANAPOL, and to enhance coordination, capacity-building, and collaboration among stakeholders, including private and civil sectors.

The meeting concluded with a commitment from both ASEANAPOL and USAID End Wildlife Crime to work closely together to tackle wildlife trafficking across ASEAN. Executive Director Vinluan expressed appreciation for USAID’s support and reaffirmed ASEANAPOL’s dedication to collaborative efforts in line with its mission to address transnational crime. Both parties recognized the critical need for a united front in countering wildlife trafficking and look forward to advancing regional security, public health, and environmental pro tection through this partnership.

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