Spring feels right around the corner, training regimes are stepping up a notch - it must be nearing time for the London Marathon.

On April 26, Franziska Dieterle will be running the iconic 26.2-mile route for EIA to raise funds to help our work exposing and opposing environmental crime.

You can sponsor her by making a donation through her JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/franziska/.

Every pound she raises will go directly towards our unique investigations and campaigns.

Thank-you, Franziska!

#LondonMarathon ... See MoreSee Less

21 hours ago  ·  

India deploys undercover commandos to combat wildlife trade

India has deployed plain-clothes commandos along the Uttarakhand and Nepalese border to improve security against smugglers and wildlife traders.

The news was made public by SSB Additional Director General Somesh Goyal. He also confirmed that operations have already started.

Goyal explained that teams of specially trained plain-clothes commandos were patrolling the border in order to work better with local communities and to be more effective at intercepting smugglers. He said: “The force wants to get maximum cooperation from locals residing near these transit and trade routes to keep a tab on smugglers and wildlife traders.”

Operations are being undertaken along all 22 trade routes between India and Nepal. Patrol routes will cover most of the 1,700km border ...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Do you want to know more about the illegal wildlife trade in this region? Read the 2009 EIA report 'A Deadly Game Of Cat And Mouse' at eia-international.org/reports/a-deadly-game-of-cat-and-mouse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mountain tracks that cross the Himalayas bordering Uttarakhand and Nepal are well know for being an important route for transporting wildlife arts between India and China. The tracks are one of the main supply routes for tiger parts and rhino parts poached from across of India.

Dharchula in Uttarakhand is a known wildlife trading city which sees Indian suppliers and Chinese customers come together to trade in wildlife products.

Source: wildlifenews.co.uk/2015/02/india-deploys-undercover-commandos-to-combat-wildlife-trade/

#India #Nepal #tigers #smuggling

Image: India's elite Para Commandos, by Panky2sharma ... See MoreSee Less

22 hours ago  ·  

EIA's response to China's announcement yesterday (Feb 26) of a one-year ban on the import of carved ivory ...

China’s carved ivory import ban ‘largely window-dressing’

While welcoming the announcement as a positive step coming from China, EIA Executive Director Mary Rice remains sceptical as to its actual value and likely impact.

“The ‘temporary ban’ does not apply to the massive domestic legal ivory market in China which continues to perpetuate the desirability of and illegal trade in ivory, stimulates demand and provides an avenue for laundering illegal ivory. So, in effect, the announcement is largely a window-dressing exercise,” she said.

“This parallel legal trade in ivory undermines enforcement and demand-reduction efforts. It will continue to be business as usual for the more than 180 licensed ivory-processing and retail facilities in China because this notification, which remains ambiguous, only bans specific imports of ivory carvings and does not prohibit legal domestic sales of ivory within China.

“It would also be a fundamentally flawed analysis if China were to use the implementation of such a flimsy measure as an excuse to determine that ivory trade bans don’t work.

“At a time when elephants are being killed in their thousands, little meaningful impact can come from such a limited approach. China has the wherewithal to emerge as a world leader and champion in the fight against ivory trafficking by adopting a total ban on domestic trade in ivory – this is the policy change that would actually make a difference for elephants worldwide.”

Read the EIA news update in full at eia-international.org/chinas-carved-ivory-import-ban-largely-window-dressing

#China #ivory #elephants #Africa

Image: Elephant figurines carved from elephant ivory (c) Dan Kitwood ... See MoreSee Less

1 day ago  ·