World Customs Organization Moving Toward New Era of Combating Environmental Crime

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1 World Customs Organization Moving Toward New Era of Combating Environmental Crime 7 th International Conference on Environmental Crime Lyon, France September 2010 Dear Colleagues, Ladies and gentlemen, The World Customs Organization appreciates this opportunity to address the Conference. The WCO is the intergovernmental organization specialized in Customs matters, with its mission to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its 177 member Customs administrations. The WCO works in the following areas: Development of international Customs standards on various topics, Trade facilitation and global trade supply chain security, Customs enforcement support, Capacity Building to assist in building up overall capacity of Customs administrations and their officers. The WCO has developed and maintained a number of instruments to support global Customs administrations in their daily operations. To name just a few: 1. Revised Kyoto Convention on simplification and harmonization of Customs procedures. This results in simplified and standardized Customs procedures in global Customs community. 2. Harmonized Commodity Coding System (HS) to enable nomenclature and classification of all goods moved across the borders, for revenue collection and statistics purposes. At the same time, the HS codes are also be used to monitor the trade and prevent illegal trafficking. Headings and subheadings have been added or amended for goods that are controlled by the multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), such as wildlife, hazardous waste, ozone depleting substance. 3. WCO Data Model specifies a minimum data set for Customs declaration and control purposes. For example, data elements for hazardous waste have been incorporated into the latest version to facilitate not only Customs in their control and identification of imported and exported hazardous waste but also to assist other responsible government agencies in their control measures. Modification of data elements associated with the identification of wildlife species is also under consideration. 4. The WCO has carried out since 2006 the Columbus Programme to assist global Customs in their implementation of the SAFE Framework of Standards, which contains numerous standards on global supply chain security. The SAFE Framework is built on two pillars: Customs-to-Customs network arrangement and Customs-to- Business partnership, which contains 4 core elements:

2 Advanced electronic manifest information, A consistent risk management approach -- a critical technique applied by Customs for effective control over transboundary movements, Inspection of high-risk cargo at port of export upon the request of importing country to prevent undesired goods from being introduced into the global trade supply chain, Enhanced trade facilitation for legitimate trade that meets certain minimum security standards. While not been clearly indicated, the Framework also explores the third pillar: partnership between Customs and other authorities and international organizations. 5. The WCO Customs Enforcement Network (CEN) has supported and enhanced Customs fight against transnational organized crime. It contains several applications: Customs Seizure database of 13 categories of commodities, including wildlife, hazardous waste, and ozone depleting substance (ODS). For example, more than 17,000 wildlife seizures have been recorded in the CEN. Information exchange such as Alerts on emerging trafficking trends, analytical reports, information from other organizations; Concealment picture Database to illustrate exceptional concealment methods; Communication applications. The CENcomm has been an excellent communication tool to facilitate information exchange during the period of joint operations involving Customs and other enforcement agencies.. CENcomm has been successfully used for over 70 joint operations since The WCO is currently implementing a pilot project of the National Customs Enforcement Network (ncen), which is a national system to collect, store, and exchange enforcement information, with its software provided by the WCO Secretariat free of charge. Customs from over 50 countries have indicated great interest to install the ncen in the future. Two potential applications are in particular beneficial for information exchange: Direct and secured inter-connection among ncens to enable exchange information among different countries; Automatic conversion of seizure data from ncen to CEN following the one Seizure, one Report principle to make sure most of Customs seizures are captured in the CEN without additional labor and cost. As the primary border agency, Customs worldwide plays very unique and important role in implementing the trade related MEAs which regulate international trade in environmentally sensitive goods. The landmark change in Customs community was the celebration of International Customs Day on 26 January 2009 with the theme: Customs and the environment: Protecting our natural heritage. Environmental border protection has been prioritized with greater awareness and enhanced actions. This can also be evidenced by a number of facts: At least 25 tons of elephant ivory in only 22 significant cases were confiscated by Customs in 2009, a record high in the history. The trend does not seem to

3 have eased in Until September this year, over 12 tons of ivory tusks have been intercepted in 8 big hauls by Customs services in Hong Kong, China, Kenya, Thailand, and Vietnam alone. The latest seizure of 1.55 tons (384 tusks) of ivory concealed in two containers of dried anchovies from Tanzania took place in Hong Kong, China on 9 September A global one-day intensive control operation by 90 Customs administrations on 15 January 2009 led to 90 reported seizures totalling 4,630 specimens of wildlife. The seizures also indicate a high rate of non-compliance. During a two months joint operation Demeter launched between March and May 2009 by 65 countries in Europe, Asia/the Pacific and Africa under the coordination of the WCO resulted in interception of over 45,600 tons of hazardous waste in 86 cases. Further more, German Customs alone seized 160,000 specimens of wildlife in 1,400 interceptions in The Customs has also made up to 800 wildlife seizures until August this year. China Customs uncovered 860 wildlife smuggling cases in Since 2007, China Customs confiscated over 81 tons of smuggled wildlife and launched investigation against 292 criminal cases. The Customs and Environment Inspectorate in the Czech Republic have worked very closely as a team. They were recently awarded with the Certificate of Commendation by the CITES Secretariat due to, among other things their seizures of several extremely rare indigo macaws in a joint operation in June The GAD Team in Brussels Airport specialized in drugs, IPR and wildlife, and the CITES Team at the Heathrow Airport in the UK, and not the least the two lovely wildlife detective dogs at Frankfurt airport have been very productive with seizures of wildlife on daily basis. The WCO has long been involved in efforts to combat the illegal trade in environmentally sensitive goods, with its Council having adopted several Recommendations on environmental crime. The latest Recommendation approved in June 2008 calls for all WCO Members to continue their efforts to combat environmental crime and to ensure that the environment remains a priority. The WCO environment programme covers all trade related MEAs implemented by Customs, such as CITES, Basel Convention, Rotterdam Convention, Stockholm Convention, Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substance (ODS), and Cartagena Protocol on Living Modified Organisms. Our work focuses on capacity building, facilitation of information exchange, operational support and international cooperation. Among other activities: 1. Capacity building. The WCO has been a very active partner to the Green Customs Initiative (GCI), a holistic approach to training Customs officer of the MEAs. Over 120 countries have been covered by the workshops under its umbrella since The WCO has also organized several regional Green Customs workshop since An inactive Customs, wild fauna and flora e-learning training course was developed in The course benefits not only Customs officers, but also other parties. The English version of Customs and ODS e-learning course was also put online early this year, as the result of joint efforts with the UNEP. The WCO is working together with other partners to develop more e-learning courses covering other MEAs. 3. At the regional level, the network of WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILO) and Regional Offices for Capacity Building (ROCB) have been very active by collecting and analysing seizure information, hosting training events, and participating in capacity building initiatives in the area.

4 4. The WCO Secretariat continues to work closely with other international organizations involved in environmental issues. This cooperation has been formalised through a series of Memoranda of Understanding. It has also been an active part of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), a new strategic approach of 5 international organizations for fight against wildlife crime. 5. The WCO ENVIRONET launched in June 2009 is an internet-based global communication tool dedicated to environmental protection. It provides a secure platform for officers from Customs, law enforcement authorities, and international organizations as well as their regional networks, to cooperate with each other and share real-time information in the course of their daily operations. ENVIRONET has connected more than 1,100 users from over 110 countries and international organizations, a majority of them are frontline officers. 6. The WCO has implemented Project AIRCOP in collaboration with INTERPOL and UNODC since 2008, with funding support form the European Commission. AIRCOP aims at building enforcement capacities at international airports in 10 countries from West Africa, South America and the Caribbean, as well as in Morocco. Two joint operations carried out in 2008 and 2010 led to large number of seizures of various contrabands. AIRCOP will soon embrace another 10 countries in the regions. 7. UNODC/WCO Container Control Programme (CCP) helps states create sustainable law enforcement structures in selected seaports to minimize the exploitation of maritime containers for illicit drugs trafficking and other transnational organized crime. CCP has been implemented in 8 countries since 2004 and will be expanded to further 21 countries in the near future. Seizures by far included 37 tons of narcotic drugs, 1,554 tons of wildlife (mostly timber and shark fins). Environmental enforcement has and will be increasingly important part of the two Projects. 8. The WCO is currently planning to implement a new project in a number of African countries in the later half of 2010, targeting illegal trade in wildlife, in particular great apes, ivory and rhino horns. We look forward to the support from our partners as CITES Secretariat, INTERPOL, UNODC and regional networks to maximum our joint efforts. 9. The WCO and UNEP are currently coordinating a joint project to monitor the trade in one of the environmentally sensitive goods across 275 seaports in over 80 countries. 10. The WCO will soon publish its bi-annual Customs and Environment reports, which contains update activities, trends analysis, case studies, unusual or significant seizures, etc. Copies of different versions will be openly available to the public and all interested parties. Customs enforces a good number of laws and regulations. However, the procedures, methodology and techniques used by Customs worldwide are standardized in line with the Revised Kyoto Convention. That s to say the global Customs officers speak one single language. In our view: 1. Building up overall capacity of Customs is essential to controlling transboundary movements of all kinds of goods, including wildlife, hazardous waste and ODS. Enforcement agencies and their officers must be trained and motivated before any

5 tangible results can be achieved. The WCO has been very cautious in organizing joint operations since this will no doubt require substantial additional input of resources, adding to the already heavy burdens of Customs. It has been evidenced that most of the seizures take place on business-as-usual basis. We believe only really meaningful joint exercises should be launched, and they should also be taken as part of capacity building, following the model of training plus joint exercises to enable application of freshly acquired knowledge into operations. 2. Customs administrations in particular those in developing countries need urgent support on: Awareness bringing, Training with specific knowledge, Identification of suspected shipments and handling of intercepted shipments by competent national authorities, Investigation, prosecution and forensics support, Necessary equipment, and canine (K-9) units, Information exchange and collaboration with national competent authorities at national level and cooperation at international level 3. Export control is equally if not more important, and should be enhanced to prevent illicit goods from being circulated wild unchecked. This is also true for MEAs under which states undertake to control their exported goods such as wildlife, waste shipments and ODS. 4. Customs is very often regarded as the last defence or the first line in fight against environmental crime. Illicit trafficking is only part of the threat to the environment, such as lose of habitats, poaching and illicit taking from the wild, and illegal dumping. More urgent and enhanced actions need to be taken elsewhere to address the challenge of environment deterioration and global climate change in a more systematic and strategic manner. 5. Coordination and synergy of national authorities and international organizations could minimize duplication of efforts, and at the same time maximize the outcomes in helping countries in their fight against environmental crime. The WCO fully supports ICCWC with a hope that it will bring unprecedented tangible results and be set as the model of international cooperation. In designing actions, multi-track approach would be more productive, and make a difference. For example, one is effective conservation to protect the habitats and provide incentives to local community. The second could be to reduce poaching, domestic trade, and apprehend offenders. The third is to target passengers, goods, and means of transport moved across the borders. Only if responsible authorities play their own roles effectively and appropriately, can they work closely together in a cooperative manner to maximize efforts. 6. Public and private partnership will help promote compliance, regulate the trade and focus our targets on the minor unscrupulous traffickers. With the theme of Customs and Business Partnership for Customs in 2010, the WCO is exploring a new model of working together with private sector in the fight against environmental crime. For example, we are considering the possibility of involving business in our follow up

6 operation Demeter targeting illicit transboundary movements of hazardous waste in The WCO pledges to support all countries in their fight against transnational environmental crime, in collaboration with our partner international organizations, NGOs and private sector. Thank you Contact: Mr. Hui FU Technical Officer Compliance and Facilitation, WCO Add: Rue du Marche 30, B-1210, Brussels, Belgium Tele: Fax: hui.fu@wcoomd.org Website:

WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION (WCO) ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMME KNOWLEDGE ACADEMY 22 JUNE 2017

WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION (WCO) ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMME KNOWLEDGE ACADEMY 22 JUNE 2017 2 WCO - CONTEXT 1952 - Customs Cooperation Council was established & in 1994 - Council adopted working name World