Help Stop Illegal Wildlife Trafficking

Wildlife Alliance is proud to announce that the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) has been selected as a winner of the United Nations Environment Program’s Asia Environmental Enforcement Award (AEEA). The award from the United Nations recognizes the WRRT’s excellent work in combating environmental crime in Cambodia. Wildlife Alliance hopes that this acknowledgement dedicated to raising awareness about wildlife crime, will highlight the urgent need for more support and action in order to end illegal trafficking of wildlife and wildlife parts.

The award ceremony took place on May 20, 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand, before the Asia-Pacific Roundtable on Environmental Rule of Law for Sustainable Development. Senior officials including Mr. Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UNEP, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Executive Secretary, ESCAP, Chief Justices and Environment Ministers in Asia participated in the Roundtable and presented the award to the winners of AEEA. In his opening statement, Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director and United Nations Under-Secretary-General said, "Environmental crime undermines sustainable development. It is not only a threat to species, to habitats and to ecosystems, but also to human health, livelihoods and national economies. Enforcement action and efforts need to be recognized and awarded."

Since 2001, the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team, a wildlife crime investigation and counter-trafficking unit composed of government and non-government staff, have fought to curb the illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade in Southeast Asia. The WRRT conducts operations on roads, in restaurants, in forests and in known and suspected wildlife markets. The team travels around the country intercepting illegal shipments of wildlife, responding to tips from informants and anonymous sources, investigating known wildlife trade offenders for potential new offenses, and rescuing wildlife victimized by wildlife traders, or caught in human-wildlife conflicts. Since its launch, the WRRT has rescued over 60,000 victims from the wildlife trade, resulting in a 75% reduction in wildlife trafficking country-wide, and a 90% decrease in wildlife sales in Phnom Penh restaurants. Their tireless hard work has led to the arrest or fining of over 2,700 offenders. Without the constant surveillance of the WRRT, endangered species throughout Southeast Asia would have disappeared entirely.

We applaud the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team for their accomplishments and commitment to ending the illegal wildlife trade. We would also like to thank all the generous supporters that believe firmly in this mission. Their incredible work would not be possible without your dedication and passion for wildlife protection.

The WRRT is a Forestry Administration law enforcement unit led by the Forestry Administration, in cooperation with the Military Police, with technical and financial support from Wildlife Alliance.