United for Wildlife is an unprecedented collaboration bringing together the world’s foremost wildlife charities. It has been convened by the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. To help break the chain between suppliers and consumers of illegal wildlife products, United for Wildlife created a ‘Transport Taskforce’ in January 2015 which DP World joined along with a number of other international transport businesses and organisations who are committed to working together with the ultimate aim of stamping out the illegal global trade in endangered species.
The Taskforce members met yesterday at Buckingham Palace for a landmark ceremony in which all members signed up to a series of 11 commitments which will shape future efforts to tackle the illegal wildlife trade. The commitments cover a range of initiatives including awareness, information sharing, detection and practical measures to stop the transportation of illegal wildlife products and promoting a common determination to tackle the illegal wildlife trade, wherever it may be.
The signing follows a visit of HRH The Duke of Cambridge to DP World’s London Gateway Port and Logistics Park to see first-hand some of the processes and issues that are faced on a daily basis by HM Revenue & Customs at the UK’s newest container port. The visit of HRH, hosted by DP World, included Lord Hague, Chairman of the Taskforce and other members of the Taskforce who met with His Excellency Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of both DP World and Dubai Customs.
HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO, DP World and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, said: “We were very pleased to welcome such esteemed guests to our London Gateway facility and show the ways in which we are helping to grow global trade whilst simultaneously helping to stamp out the illegal global trade in wildlife products.
“DP World is proud to be an original member of the United for Wildlife Taskforce and I am delighted that other leading international businesses have joined us today in signing these commitments. This is a landmark moment in the fight to save some of the world’s most endangered species. As a global ports operator we have an important role to play as a sustainable business in partnership with customs authorities in eradicating this morally reprehensible activity.”
Extraordinary levels of poaching and illegal trade are having a devastating effect on wild populations of some of the world’s largest and most iconic species like elephants, tigers and rhinos, as well as lesser known species such as the pangolin. Whole species are being hunted to extinction. Between 35,000 and 50,000 African elephants are poached a year, there are now just 3,000 tigers left in the wild and 95 per cent of the world’s rhinos have been wiped out.
The illegal wildlife trade is valued at around USD19 billion per year, benefiting organised criminals and armed gangs. However, it’s not just a crime against wildlife – 1,000 rangers have been killed in the last ten years.
DP World and Dubai Customs have been working closely together to address the illegal trade, in line with UAE legislation and global policies on restricting wildlife trade. Last year, they jointly hosted a visit of the Taskforce to DP World’s flagship Jebel Ali port in Dubai. Between 2012 and 2014, Dubai Customs seized, destroyed and repatriated over 775 pieces of ivory, worth over USD10 million.
As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability practice, Dubai Customs already has in place various activities, campaigns and programmes to spread community awareness regarding endangered species and their remains. Through its co-sponsorship at the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo at the Dubai Mall, more than 3 million visitors have so far benefitted from the information and knowledge about endangered species.
DP World and Dubai Customs will now work together to implement training for their employees on how to spot the signs of smuggling wildlife products as well as providing a whistle-blowing service for employees who want to report suspicious activity in confidence. Dubai Customs will be launching an awareness campaign on the issues of illegal wildlife trade at Dubai International Airport which will include distributing educational leaflets, offering Virtual Reality experiences and providing an incentives programme to encourage employees to act robustly against the signs of illegal trade. Both organisations will work together to encourage greater cooperation between official bodies, organisations and the transport sector to combat the illegal trade.
Dubai Customs’ sister company Dubai Customs World is also taking its expertise internationally. It has been commissioned – in partnership with United for Wildlife and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – to create a ‘Ports of Excellence’ programme which will help ports to build capacity and develop customs and port security internationally while enabling trade to flourish. This knowledge will in turn help these ports to help address the illegal trade in other products.
HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem continued: “Ports are gateways to world trade and as pillars of economies they play a vital role in enabling commerce to thrive for the benefit of all. Yet traffickers in illegal wildlife products can also use transport connectivity to profit from their activity. The task of breaking the chain requires the support afforded by the international reach, infrastructure and efforts of businesses committed to sustainability. DP World and Dubai Customs are unique in our ability to connect our thinking and expertise to drive change. We hope others will join us.
“DP World’s work through the Taskforce builds on the strong environmental commitments it already takes as a sustainable business. Ensuring industry-leading environmental policies and practices is part of DP World’s commitment to protecting and supporting the communities in which it operates and ensures we remain a robust business for the long term.”