‘Kathmandu Declaration’ Adopted to Tackle Illegal Wildlife Trade

By consensus, member states of the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN) today adopted the ‘Kathmandu Declaration’, pledging stronger regional cooperation to combat illegal wildlife trade and related transnational organised crime across South Asia.

The declaration was adopted by environment ministers and heads of delegations on the closing day of SAWEN’s first General Assembly in Kathmandu, Nepal, according to a press release.

It reaffirmed member countries’ commitment to preventing, detecting and suppressing illegal wildlife trade, while advancing the goals and policies of SAWEN.

The declaration expressed concern that wildlife trafficking is becoming increasingly complex and interconnected with transnational organised crime. It noted links with corruption, illicit financial flows, other serious offences, misuse of digital technology and vulnerabilities along international borders.

Under the Kathmandu Declaration, member countries stressed the importance of intelligence-led and financial investigations, anti-money laundering measures, asset recovery and effective judicial action against serious wildlife crimes, particularly those involving organised and cross-border criminal networks.

They also pledged to enhance information and intelligence sharing, coordinate law enforcement operations and strengthen cooperation across criminal justice systems.

The declaration called for greater capacity to tackle wildlife crime, biopiracy, illegal access to biological resources and emerging threats through science, technology, innovation, research and regional knowledge-sharing. It also highlighted the need to improve the capacity and safety of rangers, customs officials, police, prosecutors and other frontline personnel.

In his closing remarks, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo said wildlife crime could no longer be addressed by individual countries acting alone, as the threat was becoming increasingly organised, cross-border and technology-driven.

“Just as traffickers do not respect national borders, the response of law enforcement agencies must also transcend borders and be coordinated,” he said.

Mintoo said the cooperation, mutual trust and shared commitment developed among SAWEN members provided an important foundation for future regional initiatives.

He called for greater priority to be given to timely intelligence sharing, joint investigations, coordinated operations, closer cooperation among law enforcement agencies, and investigations into online wildlife trafficking and illicit financial flows.

The Kathmandu Declaration also called for greater engagement with local communities, civil society, academics, youth, women, media and relevant private-sector stakeholders, including the transport, logistics, financial services, e-commerce and tourism sectors.

Such engagement, it said, would help raise public awareness, strengthen education, encourage behavioural change and reduce demand for illegally traded wildlife products.

The meeting also announced that January 30 will be observed annually as ‘SAWEN Day’.

The declaration further stressed the importance of stronger bilateral and regional cooperation to combat cross-border wildlife crime, along with expanded partnerships with relevant international and regional conventions, organisations and development partners.