See link for photo.
The lead implementer of this project is British NGO Stop Ivory in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and the Attorney General’s Office of Angola.
The training helped raise awareness of organised crime syndicates, how they de-stabilise governments and helped identify crimes against wildlife in Angola.
The project is funded by DEFRA – Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and implemented by Stop Ivory and EPI – Elephant Protection Initiative, whose primary objective is to develop the capacity for investigation and prosecution of crimes against wildlife, aiming at the conservation of elephants and their habitat.
The elephant population has been drastically reduced over recent years.
It is estimated that 20,000 elephants are killed annually, driven by the violent global demand for ivory.
This workshop is linked to the UK’s global commitment to combat illegal wildlifetrade (IWT), following the International Conference against IWT held in London, in October 2018, in which various countries attended, including the Minister of Environment from Angola.
At the opening ceremony, Primrose Lovett said: “If we allow this kind of practice to continue, we will be facilitating the extinction of African elephants. It is our responsibility to do everything in our power to help secure the future of this iconic species and support communities living with elephants.”
The British Parliament has approved new legislation to close the domestic ivory market, The Ivory Act 2018. When it enters into force later this year, it will be the toughest ban on ivory in Europe and one of the toughest in the world, with some of the stricter implementation provisions.