Overview of the Establishment of HAWEN regional secretariat
The illegal trade in wildlife represents a major threat to the survival of many endangered species in Africa. Recent years have seen wildlife poaching skyrocket – particularly for ivory and rhino. In 2011, between 25,000-50,000 elephants were killed for their ivory. Due to the Horn of Africa’s strategic location, it has been identified as both a source and transit route for illegal wildlife trade in ivory, rhino horn, live animals, shark fins and other wildlife products between Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
As well as having a devastating effect on the biodiversity of Eastern Africa, numerous authorities have identified a clear link between wildlife trafficking and organized international crime, thus contributing to insecurity and social disturbance in the region. In September 2013 the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) identified the ivory trade, along with human smuggling, heroin, and piracy, as one of the top four threats in the region. UNODC has stated that the decimation of the elephant population in East Africa could have devastating social effects. They note that its loss could seriously undermine local tourism, a key source of revenue for many of the countries of the region.
1.1 Rational for HAWEN Establishment
The illegal trade in wildlife represents a major threat to the survival of many endangered species in Africa. Recent years have seen wildlife poaching skyrocket – particularly for ivory and rhino. In 2011, between 25,000-50,000 elephants were killed for their ivory and there were 17 large-scale seizures of 800 kg of ivory or more – the highest in 23 years. Other species, which are particularly targeted by the international illegal trade in wildlife, include big cats for their pelts and various mammals including a variety of great ape species for bushmeat.
Illegal wildlife trafficking has grown to become a massive global industry. Various organizations, including Europol, estimate that the trade is worth at least US$19 billion per year and rank illegal wildlife trade, including timber and fisheries, as the fourth largest global illegal activity, ahead of oil, art, gold, human organs, small arms, and diamonds.
In particular, the illegal ivory trade has more than doubled worldwide since 2007 and is now over three times larger than it was in 1998, its highest level in two decades, with ivory fetching up to US$2,205 a kilogram on the streets of Beijing. Poaching is also bringing rhinoceros to the edge of extinction, with the price of rhino horn on the black market currently at around US$66,139 per kilogram – more than the value of gold and platinum.
In 2013 authorities in Malaysia made a seizure of six tons of ivory, representing the ivory of perhaps 600 elephants (assuming 1.8 tusks per elephant and an average of 5.5 kg per tusk), equivalent to one-quarter of the known elephant population of Uganda. Most countries in Eastern Africa can claim fewer than 1000 elephants. This level of demand could quickly destroy some national populations. (UNODC 2013)
Eastern Africa has few rhinos – just over 1,000 based on the latest count – due to a long history of aggressive poaching. As a result, while fewer rhinos are poached today than elephants (an estimated 25 incidents in 2011), its impact could be even greater. Most rhino poaching is conducted by organized gangs looking to fill an order, and so occurs in waves. Stronger protection measures in the south could prompt poaching gangs to focus on Eastern Africa, with potentially devastating effects on the remaining population. (UNODC 2013).
1.2 History of IGAD Projects on Biodiversity
IGAD, with financial assistance from EU, to a tune of 14 million Euro, has been implementing a Regional Biodiversity Management Program (BMP). The program has 3 components, namely the regional policy development, the regional biodiversity database and information system and capacity development in biodiversity conservation. The third component was being implemented at three cross-border demonstration sites, namely the Lamu area between Kenya and Somalia, the Awash – Lake Abe area, between Ethiopia and Djibouti and the Boma-Gambella Parks area, between Ethiopia and South Sudan. With the support of the program, IGAD has developed a regional Biodiversity Policy, a regional Biodiversity Protocol, and four other related strategies, namely, the IGAD Wildlife Management Strategy, the IGAD Invasive Species Control and Management Strategy, the IGAD Biodiversity Benefits Sharing Strategy and the IGAD Strategy on Domestication of regional Policies and Strategies. It has also supported member states to strengthen / establish national and regional biodiversity databases and information systems.
The Biodiversity Management Programme (BMP) ended in May 2018 and based on the recommendation of the BMP Steering Committee, IGAD submitted a second phase of BMP to EU for their consideration and support. The European Union (EU) has approved 4.5 million euros to support the implementation of the achievements of BMP.
There was therefore a need for Consultative Meeting to agree on:
- a) the priorities of the second phase of BMP,
- b) the implementation arrangements of same and
- c) the implementing partners to be involved.
In 2021, the Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, and the Head of the European Delegation to Djibouti, Ambassador Aidan O’Hara, a Grant Agreement aimed at supporting IGAD for a Trans-boundary South Sudan-Ethiopia conservation project of biodiversity in the Boma-Gambella landscape.
The transboundary collaboration was initiated in 2013 with the previous EU-funded support through the Biodiversity Management Project (BMP), coordinated by IGAD. Building on the success of the initial phase, the overall objective of the Project is to enhance governance for natural resources and people in the Boma-Gambella landscape. More specifically, the project is meant to establish collaborative trans-boundary management of protected areas and the inter-zones in the Boma-Gambella landscape.
The regional project on Transboundary conservation in the Boma-Gambella landscape, coordinated by IGAD and executed by African Parks network organization will play a crucial role in the preservation of ecosystems and better management of cross border natural resources. This project is funded by EU for a global amount of 4.5 million Euros, will contribute to the conservation and better management of biodiversity rich transboundary ecosystems in the Horn of Africa, in particular by improving livelihoods through the adoption of land use rules and better management of natural resources practices.
The Boma-Gambella landscape is a diverse system of wetlands, rivers, savannah, open forest, bush and highland areas and includes Boma National Park in eastern South Sudan and Gambella National Park in South West Ethiopia. It is an area rich in biodiversity which includes vast numbers of white eared cob, tiang, mongalla gazelles and other species that seasonally migrate from their wet season habitat in South Sudan to their dry season habitat in Ethiopia. As the migratory species depend on seasonal resources in both countries, their survival increasingly depends on bilateral collaboration on conservation by the authorities and stakeholders in the two countries.
In June 2024, the project was launched in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), and it was followed by the 6th HAWEN Executive Committee meeting. The objectives of these coinciding meetings were:
- To review the status of implementation of the recommendations of the 5th Executive Committee meeting and update progress
- To introduce the baseline report for the legal harmonization for wildlife protection in the Horn of Africa in collaboration with the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) and Legal Atlas;
- To launch Boma-Gambella transboundary project and adopt governance.