By AFP
In Summary
- Ivory poaching was also carried out by rebel groups including insurgents in Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as the fearsome Janjaweed -- who carried out atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region -- operating also in Niger and Chad.
Global environmental crime is worth up to $213
billion a year and helping to finance criminal and terrorist groups
threatening security and sustainable development worldwide, according to
a report released Tuesday by the UN and Interpol.
The report said Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab
rebels were estimated to make between $38 and $56 million (28 to 41
million euros) per year from the illegal trade in charcoal, and that
ivory from poached elephants was the primary source of income for
Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
Ivory poaching was also carried out by rebel
groups including insurgents in Central African Republic and Democratic
Republic of Congo, as well as the fearsome Janjaweed -- who carried out
atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region -- operating also in Niger and Chad.
"The illegal trade in wildlife and environmental
crime are now widely recognised as significant threats on a global
scale, to be tackled with urgency," said Achim Steiner, head of the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
"Beyond immediate environmental impacts, the
illegal trade in natural resources is depriving developing economies of
billions of dollars in lost revenues just to fill the pockets of
criminals," he said.
READ: Has terrorism gone wild?
The report was released as part of a week-long
global environment conference at UNEP's Nairobi headquarters aimed at
tackling challenges from poaching to marine pollution and boosting the
"green economy".
"Sustainable development, livelihoods, good
governance and the rule of law are all being threatened, as significant
sums of money are flowing to militias and terrorist groups," he added.
"While there is growing awareness, the responses
to date in terms of impact have not been commensurate with the scale and
growth of the threat to wildlife and the environment."
The meeting in the Kenyan capital, the first ever
United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), comes amid tight security in
the Kenyan capital, after a series of warnings of the threat of attack
by Somalia's Shebab.
No comments :
Post a Comment