The spectacle of magnificent, endangered creatures such as tigers, elephants and rhinos reduced to broken, bleeding carcasses, plundered for illegal trades in home decór, trinkets and fake ‘traditional’ medicines, can be all but impossible to view without provoking distress and fury in equal measure
Justin Gosling has worked in enforcement for 21 years and specialises in environmental crime. A former British police detective and INTERPOL intelligence officer, he worked as a Senior Investigator for EIA from 2006, conducting investigations into the ivory and tiger trade in Africa and Asia
As the gun slammed down on the table and I heard the chilling words “I can shoot you now and I may go to prison but I will still be alive, but you, you will be dead” I realised we were in serious trouble
If 2012 has shown anything, it’s that we’re still small and that our concise reports anchored in hard documentary evidence – often obtained undercover in potentially dangerous circumstances – continue to give us the clout to punch well above our weight
Are you aware of how big China’s need for logs and timber actually is? Last year China imported at least 18.5 million cubic metres of illegal logs and sawn timber – that’s worth $3.7 billion. To put that into perspective, you could fill Beijing’s Olympic stadium more than six times
The last time I saw Hapsoro was when we met in the Forest Watch office in Bogor and talked of plans for the future. Since then, and right up until the day he died, plans were being made. When I opened my emails on that terrible day there was a message from him, excited and confirming the next steps for our plans