皇冠体育app

皇冠体育app British High Commissioner, Michael Nevin, and his counterparts from fourteen other foreign missions have joined the Malawi Government in calling on their nationals to protect Malawi鈥檚 wildlife and fight international wildlife crime, by starring in a short film: 鈥淪ay no to Ivory Trade.鈥�

皇冠体育app film is part of the 鈥淪top Wildlife Crime鈥� campaign, a joint initiative between Malawi鈥檚 Department of National Parks & Wildlife and Lilongwe Wildlife Trust, funded by the British High Commission.

In it, President Peter Mutharika leads fifteen foreign ambassadors, high commissioners and Honorary Consuls to convey a message to citizens, foreign residents and visitors not to buy ivory products as it is illegal.

Speaking during the film鈥檚 premiere on Thursday, the British High Commissioner Michael Nevin, speaking on behalf of other diplomatic missions and honorary consuls, commended Malawi for playing her part in an international effort to reverse the decline of so many animal species and to fight against the illegal wildlife trade.

Nevin said development partners are supporting Malawi on this campaign because tackling the illegal wildlife trade is a way to achieve multiple impacts given the connections to corruption and other organised crime. He said:

皇冠体育appre is extra international interest in Malawi鈥檚 efforts because wildlife crime today has become one of the major transnational organized criminal activities, alongside the trafficking of drugs, humans and weapons. It is the greatest threat to the survival of endangered species.

皇冠体育app illegal trade in natural resources is depriving countries like Malawi of billions of dollars in lost revenues and lost development opportunities. And we need to do more outside Africa to address the demand for these products.

Cases of trafficking, selling and buying of wildlife products have involved not only Malawians but a range of nationalities. We, as diplomatic missions, have a responsibility to ensure that our nationals understand that trafficking on any level is a serious crime.

President Peter Mutharika said his government is working hard to combat wildlife crime by strengthening laws, improving law enforcement and increasing inter-agency and cross-border cooperation, among other strategies.

I believe that protection of wildlife needs to be a priority for my Government. We know the stakes if we do not do so: We will lose the wildlife species and biodiversity, and also lose opportunities for economic development through tourism and the associated impacts on agriculture and human health.

You can watch the video