Thérèse Coffey tells global conference in Singapore: 'Tackling wildlife crime is personal priority for me'

Lush and leafy - no wonder the minister described Singapore as 'dazzling'

 

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey was in Singapore last week to attend the United for Wildlife global summit. She took time off sightseeing to deliver a speech to delegates from around the world.

Thank you for bringing us together here in dazzling Singapore

Thank you, too, and for all the work you do to build a safer, more sustainable future for communities that depend so deeply on the natural world and on threatened species right around the globe.

I know just how much our own native species mean to us back in the UK.

So much in fact that many of the species of flora and fauna we are working hard to support will be celebrated on the first coins being minted to mark the new reign of King Charles III, reflecting his the love of the natural world that he has nurtured over decades, and very clearly passed on to his son, the Prince of Wales.

We know that the love of nature, of flora and fauna is reflected around the world often being used with pride as national emblems.

We all rely on the natural world for everything from food to water to the air we breathe, the functioning climate and weather systems, and the peace and prosperity we all want to see.

And at a time when a quarter of plant and animal species are at risk of extinction, many within decades, we know that for some of the most endangered species in the world, the illegal wildlife trade is the gravest threat they face.

Transnational criminal trade - to the tune of £23-billion dollars a year - brings violence and corruption to countries and communities who are and must be at the forefront of finding solutions and more sustainable alternatives as well.

This has been a personal priority for me over many years.

Tackling this illegal trade is very important for the UK government.

We have continued to build on work we have done since we hosted the first global Illegal Wildlife Trade conference back in 2014.

We have committed over £51-million to 157 projects, and I think there are several organisations here who may have benefited from that. 

That means working in more than 60 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe and protecting a broad range of threatened species, including pangolins, jaguar and orchids.

In recent years, we have achieved 288 arrests, 482 cases for prosecution, 141 successful prosecutions and millions of pounds worth of illegal-wildlife trade products seized in collaboration with many of you.

We are continuing to support projects designed to help communities, from the Lower Mekong to the Amazon to build more sustainable livelihoods, including through our newly-established £100m Biodiverse Landscapes Fund.

And by backing the work of the International Consortium for Combatting Wildlife Crime we are helping to bring key agencies together to build the long-term capacity in law enforcement that we need around the world if we are to combat wildlife crime effectively.

We all know we have to keep learning about about the major transnational syndicates and routes and tackling them is going to require a collective approach to targeting high-level criminals and deterring this crime.

But what we do know is that the gangs who traffic natural capitalise on weak governance in our systems.

And while vast flows of ill-gotten gains are moved on to massive markets across the region, too often criminal enterprises go unchallenged.

That is why the UK is supporting the efforts of countries at both ends of the Africa-Asia route and tackling this in partnership wherever we can.

Working in partnership across sectors is key to making it impossible for traffickers to transport, finance, or profit from illegal wildlife products.

We need to stay one step ahead of the criminals, to achieve further seizures, forfeitures and arrests.

We need to prevent, detect and disrupt the financial activity of major transnational syndicates involved in wildlife crime so there is no place for them to hide.

I am pleased pleased to be here to support these efforts.

I wish you well as you scope out what happens next in order to help nature to recover.                       

Environment Secretary - concern for species at risk