Poachers are now moving in significant numbers into West Africa, targeting rare forest elephants and pangolins to raise considerable sums.
The Rusi report called for more financial investigations into the wildlife traffickers who were driven from East Africa after a clampdown by authorities.
“Financial intelligence units in the region are failing to carry out financial investigations needed to bring high-level wildlife traffickers to justice,” the London-based think tank said.
Its research found that illegal wildlife trade, worth about $23 billion a year globally, is not a high priority for financial intelligence units in West Africa, and few investigations into such cases are ongoing.
Will events in Chad force a reset of Sahel strategy?
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NCF Intensifies Campaign on Combatting Illegal Wildlife Trade
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A tiger sits in a cage in the Golden Triangle special economic zone in northwestern Laos (Getty)
O
ver the last few decades, China has rapidly established special economic zones (SEZ) not only within its borders but also in different parts of the world. While initial efforts focused on using domestic SEZs as a way to facilitate its market-oriented reforms, a large number of regional SEZs have emerged since the beginning of the 21st century.
However, as China expands its economic footprints and influence across the world through SEZs, experts told the
Independent that regions with high levels of Chinese investment face the risk of environmental degradation and flouting of local and international laws.