How does the United Nations respond to illegal wildlife poaching and trafficking?

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is the lead department working on issues related to wildlife and forest crime.

In 2010, UNODC and 4 other international bodies formed an International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime to bring together the expertise of each agency to support countries combating these crimes. The other organizations are: 

• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Secretariat 
  • CITES is an international agreement that aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
  • The CITES Secretariat is administered by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
• International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL)
• World Bank
• World Customs Organization (WCO) 

UN General Assembly and wildlife

General Assembly resolutions on the topic include: 

• General Assembly resolution 69/314, Tackling illicit trafficking in wildlife, adopted 30 July 2015
• General Assembly resolution 68/205, proclaiming 3 March as World Wildlife Day, adopted 20 December 2013

High-Level Special Events:

During the 68th and 69th sessions of the General Assembly, Gabon and Germany coordinated high-level side events on Poaching and Illicit Wildlife Trafficking:

• 26 September 2014: Poaching and Illicit Wildlife Trafficking: Towards Joint Action by the International Community (A/69/430)
• 26 September 2013: Poaching and Illicit Wildlife Trafficking: A Multidimensional Crime and a Growing Challenge to the International Community (A/68/553)

In addition, a high-level side event was held at the 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, held in Doha from 12 to 19 April 2015 (A/CONF.222/17).

• 13 April 2015: Wildlife and Forest Crime: A Serious Crime

UN Programmes and Funds and wildlife

Several UN programmes and offices have focused on the problem of wildlife poaching and trafficking including: 

• UN Development Programme (UNDP): Combating Poaching and Wildlife Trafficking
• UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA):  Illegal Trade in Wildlife
  • UNEA held its first session from 23 to 27 June 2014 (A/69/25)
  • 26 June 2014: Ministerial dialogue on Illegal Trade in Wildlife
• UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC): Wildlife and Forest Crime

Selected UN Publications

UN documents and publications on illicit trade and wildlife can be found by searching the UN Digital Library. Relevant subject terms: wildlife, wildlife conservation, illicit traffic.

• UNEP Perspectives: Illicit Wildlife Trafficking: An Environmental, Economic and Issue - This publication series will present views from Major Groups and Stakeholders of Civil Society on global environmental issues and themes that are relevant to them and UNEP.
• UN Chronicle: Illegal Wildlife Trade - This issue takes a closer look at poaching and illegal wildlife trade, with a focus on causes and possible solutions.