Attachment_7,_Program_Description__The_International_Fund_for_Animal_Welfare_(IFAW).pdf

Attachment B - Program Description

Abbreviations and Acronyms

ACB Anti-Corruption Bureau CERU Conservation Ecology Research Unit CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species CLS Conservation South Luangwa CLZ Conservation Lower Zambezi DNPW Department of National Parks and Wildlife DoF Department of Forestry DoI Department of Immigration EPI Elephant Protection Initiative IIU Intelligence and Investigations Unit FIU Financial Intelligence Unit FZS Frankfurt Zoological Society GRI Game Rangers International LATF Lusaka Agreement Task Force LEAP Law Enforcement & Anti-poaching LWT Lilongwe Wildlife Trust MDF Malawi Defense Force MIKE Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants MPS Malawi Police Service MRA Malawi Revenue Authority NIB National Intelligence Bureau PMU Project Management Unit PPF Peace Parks Foundation PPP Public-Private Partnerships REPA Rapid Elephant Population Assessments RRU Rapid Response Unit SADC Southern Africa Development Community SAPU Specialized Anti-Poaching Units SBCC Social Behavior Change Communication SPOTREP Spot Reporting TFCA Malawi-Zambia Transfrontier Conservation Area WCPP Wildlife Crime Prevention Project WCIU Wildlife Crime Investigations Unit WEN-SA Southern Africa Wildlife Enforcement Network WESA Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi

A. DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE

Wildlife trafficking is a multi-billion dollar illicit industry that is decimating Africa’s iconic animal populations. Iconic species such as African elephants face the risk of significant decline or even extinction. According to the IUCN African Elephant Status Report (2016)1, the African elephant population has declined by an estimated 111,000 in the past decade primarily due to poaching.

Efforts are being made to reverse the trends through international platforms such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which is a relevant tool in addressing international wildlife crime through monitoring, regulations or banning of international trade in species under threat. International momentum against wildlife crime has increased, with a number of actions and commitments from governments to combat wildlife trafficking. For instance, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2015 committing countries to step up their collective efforts to address wildlife crime and put an end to the global poaching crisis.

Wildlife trafficking poses a threat to sustainable development across the globe, undermining the economic prosperity of many countries, threatening their natural capital, and inhibiting benefits derived from legal nature-based enterprises like tourism. Wildlife crime erodes social stability and impoverishes citizens as their cultural and natural heritage is robbed. Natural resource-dependent communities are exposed to security threats and destruction of their livelihoods. Impoverished communities, with limited alternative sources of income, are more likely to facilitate or even engage in poaching activities.

Furthermore, between 40% and 85% of citizens in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region live in rural areas where they depend on natural resources for survival2. The region has a rich natural heritage of global significance, including some of the planet’s largest intact populations of elephants. Natural resources are vitally important to the economy of the region and its growth, generating billions of dollars per year for SADC countries3. Organized criminal networks also threaten the peace and security of the SADC region.

In order to expand sustainable livelihoods and development opportunities in the SADC region, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and partners propose to strengthen efforts to curtail poaching and wildlife trafficking in the region, which has had a devastating effect on tourism and related sectors. IFAW will strengthen wildlife crime enforcement in the region by supporting

1 Thouless CR, Dublin HT, Blanc JJ, Skinner DP. Daniel TE, Taylor RD, Maisels F, Frederick HL and Bouche P (2016) African Elephant Status Report: An update from the African Elephant database.

Occasional Paper Series of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, No. 60 IUCN/ SSC Africa Elephant Specialist Group. IUCN Gland, Switzerland

2 SADC (2015) SADC Law Enforcement and Anti-Poaching Strategy 2016 – 2021. Gaborone, Botswana 3 Vernon R. Booth (2010): The contribution of hunting tourism: How significant is this to national economies in contribution of wildlife to national economies. Joint publication of FAO and CIC. Budapest.

regional coordination among enforcement agencies and prioritizing wildlife crime across enforcement and regulatory agencies. In partnership with government agencies in Zambia and Malawi, IFAW will establish systems and conduct trainings to reduce corruption and improve transparency and accountability throughout the wildlife enforcement chain.

IFAW will build institutional capacity in both countries to detect, deter and apprehend would-be poachers and dismantle criminal networks, as well as prosecute and adjudicate crimes relating to wildlife trafficking. Efforts to combat the illegal trade of wildlife require an integrated approach that tackles the connected issues of multidimensional poverty, inequity and exclusion, resilience and sustainability. IFAW will work with local communities in wildlife landscapes to provide sustainable livelihoods and other incentives that will promote wildlife conservation, establish community enforcement networks, strengthen community management mechanisms, and help deter poaching and trafficking.

B. BACKGROUND

The SADC region is facing an unprecedented increase in the poaching of elephants and other wildlife for illegal financial gains. The increased trend in poaching for elephants is largely due to a growing demand for their parts and derivatives, as evidenced by the high value of ivory on the international black market. Illegal harvesting of other important species such as rhinos, pangolins, lions, marine mammals, cycads and turtles is also a concern in the region. Illegally harvested wildlife is traded on the black market as skins, leather goods or souvenirs, as food or traditional medicines, as pets, and in many other forms.

Southern Africa is endowed with exceptional natural landscapes and wildlife, containing a rich diversity of species. The region supports the largest number of African elephants in the world, with the largest elephant population found in Botswana. Lions, leopards, buffalo, and various antelope species occur in large numbers. Wildlife is an important economic asset in the region, with tourism and related businesses contributing significantly to Gross Domestic Product. However, poverty remains one of the greatest challenges in the SADC region; approximately half the population lives on less than $1 a day (SADC, 2016)4. Of these poor people, between 40-85% depend on natural resources for their livelihood security5. If wildlife crimes continue unabated, the region will not only lose critical species and experience associated ecological erosion, but the impacts will disproportionately hit poor communities, who are heavily reliant on nature-based economies.

C. ADDRESSING THE ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE

To respond to this unprecedented poaching trend, the Southern African states recently adopted a region-wide SADC Law Enforcement and Anti-Poaching Strategy to tackle wildlife crime.

Section 4, entitled “Regional Response,” detailed SADC plans to address wildlife crime.

Approaches to address wildlife crime span the enforcement continuum, from prevention and

4 SADC (2016) Poverty Reduction and Policy Dialogue. http://www.sadc.int/themes/poverty-eradication-policy-dialogue/

5 SADC (2015) SADC Law Enforcement and Anti-Poaching Strategy 2016 – 2021. Gaborone, Botswana http://www.sadc.int/themes/poverty-eradication-policy-dialogue/ apprehension to prosecution and adjudication. Combatting wildlife crime requires a holistic approach that combines stronger law enforcement, including crime prevention, with improved wildlife management. Furthermore, to achieve success, these efforts must include actors from across government, civil society, and the private sector and must be coordinated within countries and across geopolitical boundaries.

Improved enforcement alone, while necessary, will not slow the illegal wildlife trade in time to save many critically endangered species. Addressing the current crisis requires harmonized efforts incorporating on-the-ground, cross-border cooperation and a high-level enabling environment that prioritizes conserving wildlife for economic development and local, national, and regional stability.

Communities living near protected areas and other biodiversity hotspots bear the costs of living with wildlife but have not always shared in the benefits or participated in decision-making around wildlife management.

Collaboration with communities is critical to preventing poaching. Crime prevention approaches are based on identifying and addressing the drivers of wildlife crime. Without addressing the socio-political drivers that motivate wildlife crime, strengthening law enforcement will be less successful. Building trust among communities, civil society, business, and law enforcement is also critical to help develop community-oriented crime prevention approaches and support investigation of wildlife crimes, as well as information gathering and sharing. However, prevention approaches can only succeed when there is also effective and credible deterrence to continued illegal use of wildlife.

This means implementing capable and effective apprehension, prosecution, and adjudication systems and methodologies, combined with vigorous penalties for violators. Along with strengthening incentives and opportunities to promote wildlife conservation, it is critical to strengthen the disincentives to participate in wildlife crime.

D. GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE

Addressing the illegal trafficking of wildlife across the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is necessary for sustainable development in the region. The Malawi-Zambia landscape has emerged as a major ivory transit and source landscape because of its geographic location. Ivory moves from northern Mozambique, southeastern Tanzania and Zambia through to Malawi where it is illegally processed for consumer markets in Southeast Asia and China.

This landscape is also under increasing poaching pressure as syndicates develop more sophisticated poaching and smuggling methods. For example, the elephant population in Kasungu National Park has been reduced from over 1,000 to fewer than 100 over the last twenty years. Luambe and Lukusuzi are vital systems for the dispersal of elephants from the Luangwa valley and the low number of elephants is indicative of a pressure on the system, through poaching and/or habitat disturbance. Research by Conservation Ecology Research Unit (CERU) has also indicated that as climate change takes effect, the east of the continent is likely to be more climate-resilient. These potential changes make it even important that we proactively secure these more resilient habitats as the competition between humans and wildlife for resources is going to increase.6

6 van Aarde, R.J., and Jackson, T.P. 2007. Megaparks for metapopulations: addressing the causes of locally high elephant numbers in

The illegal exploitation of wildlife is a serious problem in Zambia, just as it is globally. Zambian territory provides a key transport route for several illicit wildlife products such as ivory, rhino horn, pangolin and bushmeat. It is estimated that 70% of all illegal wildlife products from Zambia and neighboring countries (Zambia shares borders with eight other countries) transit through Zambia’s capital city, Lusaka (DNPW Zambia, pers comm).

Malawi is positioned in the center of a zone in which elephants are declining fastest in Africa. Malawi is both a source of illicit ivory and a significant transit and distribution hub for ivory sourced from surrounding countries. This criminal activity is driving elephant poaching in the Zambia-Malawi Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) area; therefore, enforcement measures to address the killing in Zambia must address trafficking in Malawi. Malawi is situated in the heart of Southern Africa with air transit routes to China as well as road transport links with Tanzania and Mozambique. The Consortium is aware of more than 100 cases of ivory buying, trafficking or trade in Malawi since January 2016 (many at the international airport) and Malawi was identified in the recent ETIS (Elephant Trade Information System) CoP17 report as being one of four 'countries of primary concern.' Furthermore, prior to 2016, the average court penalty in Malawi for possession or trade in illicit elephant ivory was a fine of just $40. It is therefore of little surprise that several of the world’s largest ivory seizures have been linked to Malawi. At the launch of the National Elephant Action Plan (NEAP) for Malawi, the Director of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) stated that, "…ivory trafficking is driving the killing of our elephants and needs immediate action if the killing is to be significantly disrupted within Malawi and the wider region…."

The targeted landscape falls within the newly established Malawi-Zambia Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA), which encompasses more than 32,000 km², and incorporates national parks, wildlife reserves, forest reserves, game management areas and communal lands. The TFCA includes Zambia’s North Luangwa National Park, South Luangwa National Park, Luambe National Park, Lukusuzi National Park and Malawi’s Kasungu and Nyika national parks. Protected areas are home to unique biodiversity and support the maintenance of healthy ecological systems that are critical for safeguarding livelihoods in the region. The region constitutes an important storehouse of animal and plant diversity and is home to several threatened mammals including the “big five” (elephant, buffalo, rhino, leopard and lion). The illegal trade of wildlife not only robs countries and communities of their natural capital and cultural heritage, but also damages the health of ecosystems, undermining the livelihoods of natural resource- dependent communities. This in turn undermines poverty reduction efforts and hampers economic development.

In order to address these threats, IFAW will develop capacity to combat poaching and illicit trade in the southern component of the aforementioned TFCA, which includes Kasungu National Park in Malawi and Lukusuzi and Luambe national parks in Zambia. In cooperation with existing Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), the program will also enhance capacity to combat wildlife crime in and around North and South Luangwa national parks in Zambia. IFAW will also develop and implement community strategies to reinforce the strengthened and expanded enforcement measures.

southern Africa. Biological Conservation 134: 289–297.

E. REGIONAL RESPONSE

The scale and nature of the challenge of illegal wildlife trade has been recognized in decisions of CITES and other international and regional organizations. There is widespread high-level political will to combat illegal wildlife trade across countries within the region. The establishment of international law enforcement agencies and the development of several collaborative regional illegal wildlife trade strategies, action plans and enforcement measures reflect this growing will. These strategies and action plans aim to strengthen the implementation of international agreements and arrangements that protect wildlife.

Malawi and Zambia are signatories to CITES and therefore bound by the provisions of the convention. CITES is a multilateral treaty that aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species in the wild, and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants. Both countries have adopted the SADC Protocol on Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement in an effort to curb illegal wildlife trade and protect wildlife. The Protocol aims to promote conservation and sustainable wildlife practices within country jurisdictions in a collaborative manner. SADC has developed a five year law enforcement and anti-poaching strategy (2016-2021) that provides a framework to guide country and regional cooperation.

Other responses include the adoption of the African Elephant Action Plan in March 2010 which outlines the actions that must be taken in order to effectively conserve elephants in Africa across their range; the African Elephant Summit in December 2013; the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI); and the Kasane Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade held in Botswana in March 2015. Since 1999, the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF) has provided for a permanent task force to combat inter-regional illegal wildlife trade in southern and eastern Africa. The Southern Africa Wildlife Enforcement Network (WEN-SA), established in 2012, which includes both Malawi and Zambia, is a more recent example of the regional effort to tackle wildlife crime in the region

In 2004, Malawi and Zambia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish the Malawi- Zambia Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) for the effective management of the Nyika-North Luangwa and the Kasungu-Lukusuzi TFCA. As part of this agreement, the TFCA established a joint law enforcement project, operating as a single unit across the borders of Malawi and Zambia, to combat poaching. This MoU led to the signing of the Treaty that formally establishes the Malawi-Zambia Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) by Presidents of both countries on July 7, 2015. In signing the Malawi-Zambia Treaty, the countries agreed to uphold the basic principles of conservation, which state that the right to utilize natural resources comes with the obligation of doing so in a responsible manner so as to safeguard the welfare and continued existence of these natural resources for posterity. Significant funds have been secured to establish a TFCA program that will lead to more effective cross- border biodiversity management between the protected areas.

In spite of these successes, the impact on the ground is still behind the scale and development of the threat to wildlife and ecosystems, development goals, peace and security. IFAW and partners will build on regional efforts to strengthen Counter Wildlife Trafficking law enforcement and foster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species cooperation at all levels within the landscape to address these challenges.

F. PROGRAM PURPOSE

The goal of the program is to reduce illegal wildlife trade and poaching and improve transboundary wildlife management in the Malawi-Zambia Landscape. To achieve this goal, IFAW and partners will strengthen enforcement, community engagement and coordination across wildlife sector agencies. Elephants will be the target species for the purpose of this program; however, enhanced enforcement capacity developed through this program will benefit numerous other species targeted in the landscape and caught up in trade in Malawi and Zambia.

Specific goals of the program include:

1. Decrease elephant poaching rates in the target landscape to levels which will allow for the sustainability of the population (known as the ‘recruitment rate’) by year four of the project;

2. Achieve at least 25% decline in elephant poaching in the landscape by year two of this project, and a 50% decline in elephant poaching by year five, and;

3. Enhance the capacity of law enforcement officers to identify, prosecute and disrupt illegal trafficking routes/conduits operating across landscape by year five of the program.

G. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

IFAW and its partners will collaborate with targeted public, private and civil society actors to achieve the three goals listed above. Through appropriate methods, IFAW will first establish baseline conditions for poaching rates in the landscape. The project will support regional efforts to address the growing illegal trade in wildlife through approaches that effectively link stronger enforcement and improved wildlife management. Supporting enforcement agency coherence and coordination at local, national and regional levels and strengthening the capacity of wildlife agencies to combat wildlife crime in the region will be critical components to achieve success. Also critical to the project is promoting quality information and data exchange among the law enforcement communities and improving education, capacity-building and technical assistance, with the aim of improving the effectiveness of rule of law in relation to wildlife.

As USAID intends to fund this program with resources earmarked by the U.S. Congress for Biodiversity Conservation, IFAW will ensure that all activities meet the necessary Biodiversity earmark requirements as defined by USAID.

Specifically, the program will:

1) Strengthen inter-agency cooperation and coordination to enhance innovative deterrent approaches to poaching and illicit wildlife trade in the target geography;

2) Strengthen and expand current law enforcement capabilities, governance and management of wildlife in the target geography;

3) Strengthen and/or improve engagement of communities in law enforcement, governance and wildlife management; and

4) Improve the capacity of the law enforcement sector and institutional frameworks to respond to the threat of illicit wildlife trade in the target geography.

Activities will include:

Objective 1 - Strengthen inter-agency cooperation and coordination to enhance innovative deterrent approaches to poaching and illicit wildlife trade in the Malawi-Zambia landscape

IFAW WCCP LWT DNPW

Zambia

DNPW

Malawi

1.1 Develop pilot cross-border counter-trafficking

prototypes and test at key hotspots in the landscape (Zambia, Malawi)

1.2 Expand and reinforce cross-border counter-

trafficking strategic framework (Zambia, Malawi)

1.3 Enhance transboundary counter-poaching efforts

by providing training and mentoring for Rapid Response Units (RRUs) operating across the landscape (Malawi and Zambia)

1.4 Facilitate transboundary field-based knowledge

sharing and learning exchanges (Zambia, Malawi)

1.5 Develop detailed transboundary management plan to

guide and inform counter-poaching program and increase coordination among stakeholders (Zambia, Malawi)

Objective 2: Strengthen and expand current law enforcement capabilities, governance and management of wildlife in the target geography;

IFAW WCCP LWT DNPW

Zambia

DNPW

Malawi

2.1 Strengthen capacity of counter-trafficking units in

Malawi and Zambia

2.2 Implement Court and Prisons Program in Malawi and

Zambia to increase wildlife crime convictions and incarceration rates

2.3 Strengthen and provide mentorship to the DNPW

Zambia’s counter-poaching program through expansion of the Wildlife Crime Prevention Project

(WCPP)

2.4 Establish and test a transboundary counter-poaching

monitoring & evaluation system (Zambia, Malawi)

Objective 3: Strengthen and/or improve engagement of communities in law enforcement, governance and wildlife management

IFAW WCC

P

LWT DNPW

Zambia

DNPW

Malawi

Imani

3.1 Identify and assess existing models/data to

engage communities effectively in combatting wildlife crime in the landscape (Zambia, Malawi)

3.2 Develop and implement appropriate community

engagement strategies to combat poaching and illicit trade in key hotspots

3.3 Identify and implement community capacity-

building initiatives to address wildlife trafficking in key hotspots of the targeted geography and develop a community train-the-trainer model for long-term sustainability

3.4 Identify and select an appropriate number of

community areas where tested and successful community engagement models in combatting wildlife crime will be piloted

Objective 4: Improve the capacity of the law enforcement sector and institutional frameworks to respond to the threat of illicit wildlife trade in the target geography

IFAW WCCP LWT DNPW

Zambia

DNPW

Malawi

4.1 Scale up existing anti-poaching capacity-building

initiatives throughout trans-boundary landscape

4.2 Develop a counter-poaching curriculum for the landscape

that includes a train-the-trainer model and sustainability plan for anti-poaching in the landscape

4.3 Identify sites for, and construction of, 40km of elephant-proof fencing on the eastern boundary of Kasungu, including maintenance and sustainable monitoring plan

4.4 Establish Kasungu, Lukusuzi and Luambe Satellite

Offices for training and mentoring rangers

4.5 Conduct reinforced (refresher) training for all existing

rangers and other wildlife personnel in Kasungu National Park within year one of implementation and extend training program to Lukusuzi and Luambe National Parks within year three to five of implementation

4.6 Support improved legislative or policy frameworks to

ensure proper prosecution of wildlife crime

Objective 1: Strengthen inter-agency cooperation and coordination to enhance innovative deterrent approaches to poaching and illicit wildlife trade in the Malawi-Zambia Landscape

IFAW will strengthen the cooperation and coordination between agencies in each country, as well across the entire landscape. IFAW and its Consortium partners will also develop more effective approaches to combat poaching and trafficking and mentor DNPWs in Malawi and Zambia, as well as other enforcement agencies, in their application. These approaches will allow for more effective and targeted interdictions by law enforcement officials with higher rates of arrests and convictions – creating a greater deterrent to engaging in poaching and illegal wildlife trade.

1.1 Develop pilot cross-border counter-trafficking prototypes and test at key hotspots in the landscape

Partners: IFAW, WCPP, LWT, DNPW Zambia, DNPW Malawi

IFAW, with the Consortium, will develop a set of wildlife crime and counter-trafficking techniques and principles that can be used as guidance for implementing, transferring and integrating a wildlife service security strategy to ensure sustained information gathering, investigative and operational capacity.

Methodology:

● IFAW will work with partner government institutions, NGO/IGO stakeholder community, and relevant local community stakeholders to transfer knowledge via embedded experts to guide investigative capacity.

● IFAW will prioritize the contribution of communities and leverage existing community governance structures as key stakeholder platforms.

● From a technical perspective, IFAW’s approach is built to be inter-operable with other monitoring platforms, databases, analyses, and GIS software tools. To that end, we are “technology agnostic” – all of our technical components are non-proprietary and open architecture.

1.2 Expand and reinforce cross-border counter-poaching and counter-trafficking operational and strategic frameworks Partners: IFAW, DNPW Malawi, DNPW Zambia, WCCP, LWT

1.2.1 Increased data collection and analysis. IFAW, working with the DNPWs of Malawi and Zambia, will assess the capacity needs for cross-border counter-poaching operations and develop a framework based on those needs. IFAW will work with the governments to set up a centralized law enforcement database to strengthen detection capacity and monitor wildlife crime. In addition, IFAW will expand its mentorship opportunities with the DNPWs with the goal of improving data collection and analysis to increase their success of counter-poaching operations.

IFAW will strengthen the government partners’ capacity to conduct wildlife crime-related data collection and reporting:

● Data will be reported back to the field and satellite offices build the landscape information picture. Analyses and assessments will be continually updated and provided to key decision makers at all operational levels.

● Data will be stored in a secure, open-architecture cloud environment where it can be aggregated, queried, retrieved and geo-spatially visualized. It will be inter-operable with analytic/entity databases to support link analysis and associations with physical locations.

● Current field reporting will be aggregated with historical reporting and other previously disparate reporting data and information to support a Common Information Picture/Common Operational Picture (CIP/COP). Indicators of wildlife crime, trends in tactics and movements will be mapped spatially and socially to characterize targetable patterns and relational links.

● The CIP/COP will facilitate trend and pattern analysis which drives more efficient enforcement operations.

● Data, reporting, and analysis considered sensitive will be handled in restricted access, “need to know” channels to guard against unauthorized access.

● The pilot will be tested in Kasungu and then rolled out to other hot spots in the landscape.

1.2.2 Leadership training for DNPW Malawi and Zambia. To improve the effectiveness of the DNPW management, IFAW will provide leadership development training for two managers from each of the DNPWs. This training will build the capacity of the DNPW employees to lead effective wildlife crime operations, with specialized instruction in personnel management, accountability, internal and external communications, project management, and sophisticated law enforcement techniques. The DNPW managers will travel to South Africa for the training.

1.2.3 Governmental Inter-Agency Committee on Combatting Wildlife Crime in Malawi (IACCWC). An important component of expanding the cross-border counter-trafficking framework will be to ensure that the Governmental Inter-Agency Committee on Combatting Wildlife Crime in Malawi (IACCWC) meets on quarterly basis to strengthen inter-agency cooperation and coordination in Malawi. The IACCWC was established in 2014 as a response to the increased scale and complexity of wildlife crime taking place across Malawi. It has representation from the Judiciary, DNPW Malawi, Malawi Police Service (MPS), Malawi Defence Force (MDF), INTERPOL, Department of Immigration (DoI), Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Department of Forestry (DoF), National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), and the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM).

The Committee is still in the start-up phase and requires support to be more effective. LWT will coordinate quarterly meetings in Lilongwe to strengthen the unity and effectiveness of the IACCWC. The meetings will provide an opportunity to review and discuss efforts made to combat wildlife crime in Malawi and determine best practices.

1.2.4 Technical Communications Advisors in Malawi and Zambia. Due to the cross-border nature of illegal trade, there is a need for close and effective cross-border communication between Malawi and Zambia. To ensure improved communication, IFAW will recruit and train technical advisors on each side of the border to increase collaboration and information-sharing between Malawi and Zambia among various government counterparts.

1.2.5 Wildlife Crime Investigations Unit

IFAW will further improve cross-border communication through the Wildlife Crime Investigations Unit (WCIU), which is an inter-agency unit that includes secondments from the DNPW IIU, the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) and the Malawi Police Service (MPS), and is managed by LWT. LWT will facilitate and ensure cross-border information sharing and coordination between the WCIU and partners in Zambia.

Support and guidance will include:

● Identifying information regarding ivory buyers, traders and traffickers in Malawi (and wider region) to generate evidence that will allow the DNPW to secure arrests and convictions of serious wildlife criminals;

● Training and mentoring for how to disrupt and dismantle organized crime syndicates operating in country and cross-border; and,

● Building systems and training the WCIU unit to improve data collection methodology, analysis, aggregation, and distribution.

1.3 Enhance transboundary counter-poaching efforts by providing training and mentoring to Rapid Response Units (RRUs) operating across the landscape (Malawi and Zambia)

Partners: IFAW, DNPW Malawi – (Kasungu National Park for pilot) and DNPW Zambia

IFAW will provide support and guidance to the RRU prototype, which is a highly specialized enforcement approach that bridges the gap between on-the-ground counter-poaching efforts and efforts to disrupt ivory trading syndicates by focusing on aggregating and analyzing data to illuminate their networks. This approach does not currently exist in the landscape. During Year One, IFAW will pilot a trial of a Rapid Response Unit (RRU) in Kasungu National Park. After evaluating success of the pilot RRU, IFAW will expand this approach to Luambe National Park in Year Two.

The RRU prototype will be a highly motivated unit that will greatly increase coverage in the park due to specialist training, leadership and management. The unit will employ an information-led approach to counter-poaching activities in the landscape and a means of mitigating the negative impacts of corruption in abetting poaching by strategically selecting and training the officers. It will operate 24-7 so it can respond expeditiously to real-time information on wildlife crime in the landscape.

The unit will be a dedicated, highly specialized counter-poaching unit of 16 DNPW Officers, trained and mentored by IFAW’s wildlife crime law enforcement expert. These officers will be enabled with a proactive approach to counter-poaching efforts in the landscape. The unit will be able to work inside and outside of the parks.

In order to ensure effectiveness of the RRUs, IFAW will construct housing in Kasungu during Year One and Luambe during Year Two. IFAW will oversee maintenance of the housing, which will be transferred to the government before the end of the project.

Working with DNPWs in Malawi and Zambia, IFAW will establish one new RRU in Luambe in Year Two after evaluation of the initial pilot in Kasungu. For the units, IFAW will provide specialized training, as well as supplies, housing, appropriate resources and transportation as needed for the trainings. As explained above, the RRUs consist of hand-picked rangers with a higher level of specialized skills and are extremely dedicated and motivated to combat poaching.

The RRU units are designed to bridge the gap between on-the-ground counter-poaching efforts to get ahead of poaching with a focus on all “Tier 1” traffickers. The term “Tier 1” describes higher level nodes within a criminal network or specialized cells that function as networks within networks – such as poison arrow gangs – separate individuals involved in the manufacture and application of the poison, production of the arrowhead, design of the arrow, or funding of the operation that form a ‘specialized gang’. These specialized gangs and higher level nodes require more sophisticated analytic skills in order to detect and deter illicit wildlife activities.

IFAW will train and mentor RRUs on information-gathering, including sophisticated social network analysis. The RRUs will be managing information in a cycle and using it to disrupt networks. The RRUs will analyze, assess, track and provide that analysis to investigators and Field Rangers for action against the network.

The goal of these units is to disrupt (a) the “pull” of ivory from the protected areas and (b) the “push” ofivory off continent. The net effect of (a) would be the starvation of ivory-related “tasking” to the local illicit trade networks – this in turn will have a tangible impact on poaching incidents. The net effect of (b), however, could have branches and sequels that force the demand parties (e.g. Asian buyers) to open up new lines into the region or activate other mechanisms to reach the poachers, creating the need for follow on analysis to address such potential branches and sequels.

1.4 Facilitate transboundary field-based knowledge sharing and learning exchanges

Partners: IFAW, other USAID CWT landscape consortia members

IFAW will host a delegation of ten delegates from other USAID-funded landscapes in the Southern Africa region to see what the “Combatting Wildlife Crime in Malawi-Zambia Transboundary Landscape” is achieving and to meet the personnel on the ground. This visit will provide an opportunity for sharing best practices and networking among the various landscape stakeholders with the goal of encouraging a coordinated approach to combatting wildlife crime in the region.

1.5 Develop detailed transboundary management plan to guide and inform counter-poaching efforts and increase coordination among stakeholders

Partners: IFAW, DNPW Zambia, DNPW Malawi

In Year One, IFAW will conduct a needs assessment for counter-poaching operations across the TFCA, including a stakeholders meeting with Malawi and Zambia partners. After the assessment is complete, IFAW will develop a transboundary coordination plan for management of the counter-poaching operations that will include regular meetings and sharing of information to improve the coordination and effectiveness of transboundary counter-poaching efforts.

IFAW will strengthen on-the-ground communication between the two countries and develop a set of SOPs on how to address poaching activities involving the crossing of international borders. Developing SOPs will also better address information sharing between the two countries to ensure hotspots and joint operations can be managed and coordinated more effectively.

In addition, IFAW will conduct a consultative process with partners in Malawi and Zambia and develop a plan for ensuring that all partners are engaged and coordinated on an ongoing basis.

This process will involve meetings with relevant NGOs, and community representatives and high-level representation from the police, revenue services (customs), DNPW, and judiciary from Malawi and Zambia. The goal of this process will be to establish inter-agency accountability from field operations to conviction. IFAW will hold stakeholder meetings, conduct field site visits, engage with prosecutors and law enforcement officials through workshops. Meeting participants will gain first-hand knowledge and understanding of challenges facing field operations personnel, help identify concrete responses, and agree on indicators for measuring process improvements. This process will serve to elevate wildlife crime to priority status in all key governmental agencies and contribute to an increased number of arrests, custodial sentences and detection at ports, in addition to decreased poaching incidents.

Objective 2: Strengthen and expand current law enforcement capabilities, governance and management of wildlife in the target geography

2.1 Strengthen capacity of counter-trafficking units in Malawi and Zambia

Partners: WCPP, LWT, DNPW Zambia, DNPW Malawi

IFAW, together with LWT, has worked with the DNPW Malawi, the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) and the Malawi Police Service (MPS) to provide guidance for establishing dedicated institutional investigative capacity to address wildlife crime in and involving Malawi. IFAW and LWT will strengthen this institutional capacity through training and mentorship to the WCIU and IIU in Malawi and the IIUs in Zambia. The program will develop and support a centralized information system and provide mentorship for data analysis and sharing to support enforcement efforts. IFAW and partners will also develop a regional cooperative framework for multi-agency law enforcement cooperation between Malawi and Zambia.

2.2 Implement Court and Prisons Program in Malawi and Zambia on increase wildlife crime convictions and incarceration rates

Partners: LWT, WCPP, DNPW Malawi, DNPW Zambia

2.2.1Court and Prisons Reform Program Prior to 2016, the average penalty for a convicted ivory trafficker in Malawi was a fine of just $40. In April 2016, LWT received permission from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to undertake private-public litigation for serious wildlife crime cases on the State's behalf. LWT also received permission from the Chief Justice to place legal advocates inside courtrooms during wildlife crime hearings. These advocates are permitted to monitor proceedings and report on progress and outcomes to the media. For the public-private litigation component, LWT retained and seconded a lawyer from a private firm who the DPP consented to litigate on their behalf. This is a very active role and during such litigations LWT handles the case files directly.

The Malawian judiciary, through the Chief Justice, also provided consent for LWT to allocate legal advocates inside the Malawian lower courts. The legal advocate intervention is more passive, i.e., a "watch dog" role whereby lesser cases not being prosecuted by LWT directly are still monitored. The advocates are recent law graduates employed by LWT or local NGO partners. Both interventions decrease the possibility of corruption and help improve sentencing.

Since July 2016, LWT has undertaken 17 prosecutions of ivory traffickers and secured 15 convictions; 14 of those have been custodial sentences with no option of a fine. The sentences have ranged from 13 months to 14 years, with four years being the average sentence. This increase is a significant improvement over the $40 fine. There has been an 85% conviction rate across all monitored cases, which is also a very sharp increase. The overall impact will be the disruption of elephant poaching and ivory trafficking in Malawi through deterrent custodial sentencing by the courts in greater than 85% of all cases. Other key governmental project partners, who have written project approvals and consents, include both MPS and DNPW.

LWT will continue and expand these activities of the Court Prison Program:

● Implementing private-public litigation and court monitoring activities that strengthen prosecution and encourage transparency during court cases in order to secure stiff sentences for serious wildlife crimes in Malawi;

● Appointing a Project Director for Wildlife Crime Litigation, Court and Prisons Program that will ensure good governance within the courtrooms;

● Conducting a series of case review workshops with senior prosecutors and magistrates to ensure that new and landmark wildlife case law is critically reviewed, shared and used; and,

● Engaging national and international media houses (electronic, print and cyber) in the handling and outcome of wildlife crime court cases in order to help sensitize stakeholders and ensure accountability in the courts.

2.2.2 Prison Monitoring Program. This program will reduce the negative effects of corruption on conservation outcomes by addressing core motives for corruption in the landscape, as well as compliance regimes. The program will build a constituency in Malawi and Zambia to promote institutional accountability and transparency by implementing a Prison Monitoring Program.

Corruption in Malawian and Zambia prisons is widespread and measures are needed to ensure that, once a serious wildlife criminal is sent to prison, he is not released unlawfully before serving his term. LWT and WCPP will work with the Malawi and Zambia Prison Services, respectively, to undertake monthly, random spot checks of prisons to ensure that wildlife criminals sentenced under the wildlife act carry out their sentences in accordance with their respective convictions. These checks will be done by a DNPW personnel in conjunction with WCPP’s Awareness Officer or Legal Assistants and LWT’s Project Director for Wildlife Crime Litigation, Court and Prisons Program. The DNPWs have the legal right to carry out such checks. Any misgivings will be reported to the media and the cases submitted to the Anti-Corruption Bureau for follow-up investigation.

LWT and WCPP will be able accomplish the following activities:

● Implement private-public monitoring of prisons to ensure that, after the conviction and imprisonment of serious wildlife criminals, they remain in custody for the duration of their sentence;

● Engage national and international media houses (electronic, print and cyber) to help ensure accountability in the prisons and help reduce opportunities for corruption;

● Enable local organizations and the media (through training, skills development and infrastructural support) to play a watchdog role and report on wildlife crime and corruption;

● Develop institutional capacity of the agencies, through strengthened data gathering and analysis and mentoring programs, to crack down on corruption;

● Strengthen institutional leadership of the Malawi and Zambia Prison Services through targeted leadership development and mentorship programs.

Capacity-building efforts are often focused on managers and management and rarely aim to enable and develop leadership, a key attribute in the fight against corruption; and,

● Develop robust monitoring and assessment mechanisms to promote cross-sectoral financial controls, performance management, transparency and accountability.

2.3 Strengthen and provide mentorship to the DNPW Zambia’s counter-poaching program through expansion of the Wildlife Crime Prevention Project (WCPP).

Partner: WCPP

Based in Lusaka, the Wildlife Crime Prevention Project (WCPP) was created in 2014 from a DNPW request for additional support, and in close collaboration with the DNPW. WCPP supports DNPW with key resources, on-the-job training (mentoring) and technical support. In 2016, through WCPP support and in conjunction with our partners, DNPW’s IIU made more than 440 arrests, seized 1,187.4 kg ivory, 7,532.4 kg of bush meat, 49 pangolin, 31 leopard skins, two rhino horns and 99 firearms.

Through this project, WCCP will support Investigation and Intelligence Units (IIUs) in Chipata and Lundazi in Zambia. The WCCP will provide guidance, support and mentoring to the IIUs and will complement LWT’s work with the WCIU in Malawi.

This program will specifically achieve the following:

Establish systems and operating procedures to collect, manage, and analyze information and trends pertaining to wildlife crimes (information management systems will include security measures to protect and limit access to sensitive information). The project over time will procure, set up and provide training on databases and other investigation-related technologies that will improve capacity of the IIU Zambia.

● Procure and maintain an appropriate vehicle for WCPP for training activities.

● Provide ongoing in-house capacity-building through the Technical Advisor on enforcement activities (e.g. wildlife crime scene management, data collection, data logging and analysis).

● Provide in-house capacity building for prosecutions officers to improve effective application of wildlife crime legislation in order to increase conviction rates of wildlife criminals.

● Assist DNPW Zambia to gain better insight into facets of the illegal wildlife trade and key drivers through research and data analysis. This information will inform the design and implementation of interventions to reduce wildlife crime. The project will gather information from a variety of sources and partners to ensure better understanding of the threats and trends and how to most effectively reduce these threats. WCPP has developed the Wildlife

Crime Justice (WCJ) Program, which will monitor and report on high-level cases. The WCJ works closely with DNPW’s Prosecution Department, which has created a rapid reference guide that will be rolled out to all courts and prosecutors in the area. The WCJ will also work closely with Malawi counterparts to ensure cross-border collaboration and legal assistance to strengthen the relationships between the judiciary of both countries.

● Increase skills and safety of officers by providing technical assistance and mentoring to field agents stationed in Chipata, Zambia. This intervention will include the creation and building of cross- border relationships between Malawi and Zambia.

Through the training, WCPP will establish close coordination among the field agents and other partners, such as IFAW’s anti-poaching initiatives in Zambia including Zambia’s anti-corruption units, Frankfurt Zoological Society, Conservation South Luangwa and Conservation Lower Zambezi. This engagement will build on multi-agency relationships to ensure that all entities are working closely together to reduce illegal trade in and around Luangwa and across borders to Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique.

2.4 Establish and test a transboundary counter-poaching monitoring & evaluation system

Partner: IFAW, DNPW Malawi, DNPW Zambia

IFAW will conduct an assessment of available software and protocols for monitoring patrol efficacy that are currently in use, such as the USAID WILD app. As part of the assessment, IFAW will also assess the hardware requirements for use at the satellite offices and for use in the field. Hand-held devices have already been identified as important for the field with software that can track activities and consolidate various reports to give a broader contextual view of the threats. This will include aggregating and analyzing reporting and information collected by law enforcement units and other sources to create a common information picture, to track indicators of poaching activity, and to provide analytic products to assist in counter-poaching efforts.

Objective 3: Strengthen and/or improve engagement of communities in law enforcement, governance and wildlife management

Communities close to wildlife, particularly around national parks are uniquely placed to both support and combat wildlife trafficking. IFAW’s project simultaneously applies behavior science and social marketing techniques to the implementation of Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) solutions.