Namibia launches wildlife crime analytic toolkit

Namibian Environment Minister Pohamba Shifeta has urged local law enforcement agencies and the judiciary to co-operate in the fight to conserve wildlife and forests. According to a report on the allAfrica site, he was addressing the launch of the Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit and Indicator Framework in Windhoek last week. He said wildlife and environmental crimes were no longer the responsibility of conservancies alone and now required law enforcement co-ordination both out in the field and in the courtroom. ‘To combat wildlife crime effectively, it is vital that the law enforcement community deploys all available tools to ensure that the entire crime chain is addressed,’ the Minister said. During the launch, the European Union Delegation to Namibia, the US embassy and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime also urged the Ministries of Justice, and Safety and Security to help conserve wildlife and forests with the assistance of the toolkit and indicator. ‘This is an innovative project that has been implemented in several countries with excellent results,’ the US Ambassador to Namibia, Lisa Johnson, said.