5 March 2013: The future and effectiveness of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) was the main focus of a side-event hosted by ICCWC executive heads from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Secretariat, INTERPOL, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the World Bank and the World Customs Organization (WCO). The event was held on the occasion of the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP 16) to CITES.

ICCWC partners used the meeting to review past activities, including coordination of international and regional events, and to evaluate the impacts of interventions on forest and wildlife crime. Consortium partners also used the opportunity to discuss priorities for ICCWC going forward, including the need to continue to build the profile of wildlife crime along with its recognition as transnational organized crime. The contributions and expertise of each partner organization in helping achieve these goals were acknowledged.

The topic of international wildlife and forest crime is a main focus at CITES COP 16, and the ICCWC is hosting a number of events on the sidelines of the meeting, including a Ministerial roundtable on transnational organized wildlife and forest crime and the first global meeting of wildlife enforcement networks. [CITES News] [IISD RS Coverage Ministerial Roundtable]