Entry-points for addressing corruption in wildlife crime

.............................................................................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................................................... iv Introduction .........................................................................................................................................................................1 Part 1: Corruption and wildlife crime: A review of the literature .......................................................................3 Part 2: Addressing corruption in wildlife crime: An assessment of possible entry-points for policymakers and practitioners ....................................................................................................8 Conclusion and a way forward .................................................................................................................................... 14 References ........................................................................................................................................................................ 16 Appendix I: Literature review key search terms ................................................................................................... 21 U4 Issue 2016:2 The resource bites back: Entry-points for addressing corruption in wildlife crime www.U4.no iv Abstract Corruption has recently risen up the global wildlife conservation agenda with a series of international agreements highlighting the role of corruption in facilitating wildlife crime. Though there are notable exceptions, there is still a weak treatment in the literature of the problems of, and solutions to, wildlife crime from an anti-corruption perspective. Identifying and promoting effective interventions that get to the heart of the corruption problems associated with wildlife crime is a shared responsibility across the wildlife conservation, anti-corruption, anti-illicit trade, and anti-organized crime communities. As well as reviewing existing empirical literature to explore the types and characteristics of corruption associated with wildlife crime, this U4 Issue identifies entry-points for addressing corruption in wildlife crime based on recent anti-corruption effectiveness literature. Building credible corruption risk assessment and corruption risk management procedures is important for improving wildlife conservation programming. This will enable generation of detailed analyses of corruption risk factors at programmatic level, the recording of baseline data on corruption prevalence, and the production of detailed plans on how best to mitigate and manage identified corruption risks. Acknowledgements We are grateful for insightful discussions with colleagues from the 3C Network for Countering Conservation-related Corruption, at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent, WWF International, Transparency International-UK, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). We are thankful to a group of anonymous reviewers for their helpful remarks on an earlier draft. All remaining errors and inconsistencies are the responsibility of the authors. U4 Issue 2016:2 The resource bites back: Entry-points for addressing corruption in wildlife crime www.U4.no