Strengthening National Wildlife Enforcement Networks

The roles of protected area law enforcement personnel are largely confined to protected areas and their buffer zones, with strong emphasis on core responsibilities for wildlife protection. Little attention is given to a potential role in strengthening wildlife crime enforcement within subnational or provincial landscapes, particularly through cooperation with provincial law enforcement bodies. This paper examines wildlife crime cases encountered in Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park, northern Lao PDR, then considers the roles of law enforcement agencies in wildlife crime suppression at a provincial level. Three pilot Provincial-Wildlife Enforcement Networks (P-WENs) are showing the way forward in this regard. The establishment and function of these P-WENs are discussed, with particular emphasis given to their strengthening through involvement of protected area enforcement officials and the prosecutors’ office. Dedicated task forces at the national level are also identified as an important component of tackling wildlife and forest crime. Evidence from Thailand and Nepal supports the potential effectiveness of wildlife crime enforcement if the Lao protected area agency plays a prominent role in the functioning of both subnational P-WENs and national level task forces. These examples provide useful embryonic models for developing effective multi-level arrangements within and between ASEAN member states and beyond

Enforcement · Law enforcement · Legislation · Protected area · Wildlife · Wildlife conservation · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management · Wildlife Conservation and Criminology Analyses · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

• The teeth which are together are the ones which bite the most

  William D Moreto, Matthew C Matusiak et al.•International Journal of…•2022

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