INTERPOL - World Model United Nations

advice on the eects of trade, respectively. CITES’ overall
goals include committing and assisting member states
to produce legislation, administrative procedures, and
conservation resources. CITES also works with various
international nancial mechanisms to fund its projects on
bio-conservation. It is additionally involved in conservation
projects with other organizations and the overall increasing
of public awareness on the issue of wildlife crime. 59
e Coalition Against Wildlife Tracking (CAWT) seeks
to focus public awareness on the issue of wildlife tracking
and crime. Launched in 2005, CAWT is a public-private
voluntary coalition of governments and organizations that
are passionate about the issue. Working to support CITES
enforcement eorts, CAWT seeks to expand enforcement
training and information sharing by: strengthening regional
networks; raising awareness and thus reducing consumer
demand for illicit wildlife products; and catalyzing highlevel
political will about the issue. By encouraging its
members to work “independently and cooperatively,”
CAWT facilitates resource, information, and contact
exchange and promotes collaboration on a variety of joint
projects and initiatives. 60
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) started in 1961 as a small
group of wildlife enthusiasts, but is now a global, multicultural,
and non-political organization that reaches
50 million members in over 100 countries. Its mission
includes conserving biodiversity, ensuring sustainability,
and reducing pollution. WWF seeks out solutions to the
problem of illicit wildlife trade with a multi-pronged
approach. It advocates persuading consumers to make
informed choices in wildlife-based products; encouraging
sustainable local use of wildlife; working with the private
sector; and supporting the enforcement of appropriate
wildlife trade laws (by supporting CITES, supplying
training and tools, encouraging cross-border cooperation,
funding research, and raising public awareness). e WWF
Trade and Investment Programme work with national
governments to ensure that policies of trade organizations
such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) do not
override environmental provisions. Annually, WWF
publishes the “Living Planet Report,” with updated
information on human use of natural resources. Regional
WWF programs run specically for the protection
of certain species, such as African great apes, rhinos,
elephants, and tigers. More recently, WWF has secured
the protection under CITES of several new marine and
timber species such as the great white shark and the Asian
commercial timber species, ramin. 61
TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, “works
to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not
a threat to the conservation of nature.” Established in
1976, it is a research-oriented, independent organization
with an admirable reputation. Working closely with
WWF and CITES, TRAFFIC Network aims to support
sustainability and provide solutions to illicit wildlife trade
by working with those involved in wildlife trade—dealers,
middlemen, and decision-makers—the environmental
harm of irresponsible wildlife trade. TRAFFIC also works
with lawmakers and the judiciary in various countries and
intergovernmental organizations to ensure that proper laws
dealing with wildlife trade are created and enforced. 62
BLOC POSITIONS
Developed countries generally comply with CITES and
INTERPOL on the issue of wildlife crime. ey tend
to approach the issue from the standpoint of the market,
as they provide a large majority of the consumer demand
for illicit wildlife tracking. Resolutions from this bloc
will thus try to put pressure on preventing wildlife crime
or catching criminals en transit, rather than any eorts
on their part to abate demand among their population.
Nevertheless, developed countries have much to oer in
terms of technological expertise in tracking the transaction
of wildlife crime via the Internet.
Developing countries are also voluntarily compliant,
though they tend to seek more economic incentives from
CITES in order to comply with its provisions. ey tend
to emphasize the obligation of developed nations to stem
consumer demand for illicit wildlife products. Many
developing countries are also resource-rich, and thus avidly
try to protect their natural species for the sake of their
economic livelihood and a source for economic growth
and expansion. at being said, developing countries must
also take into account the position of their indigenous and
poor populations who may poach for subsistence, cultural
rite, or religious purposes—and account for this dynamic in
committee by either making an exception for these groups
or taking up oers to promote sustainable alternative
resources to these groups. Being resource-rich, developing
countries can also be knowledge-rich; it is important for
the committee to harness their expertise in local matters,
including dealings with local LEOs, the needs of particular
species, and the needs of indigenous populations.
Beyond these basic divisions, geographic regions may nd it
advantageous to advocate in INTERPOL for any protective
Harvard WorldMUN 2012 INTERPOL 15