Supporting the Policy Enabling Environment for Development
USAID SPEED

Prosecuting Wildlife Crimes

Illegal wildlife trafficking is one of the biggest biodiversity threats after habitat loss. Anti-poaching enforcement is inadequate and leads to increased organized crime. Therefore, it is urgent taking steps on the identification of policies to directly combat illegal trafficking by solving issues related to access, ownership and promoting viable alternatives for the community. 

The Conservation Law 5/2017 provides the country’s legal and judicial system with more powerful tools to tackle wildlife poaching and trafficking, and SPEED+ is supporting the Mozambique Attorney General’s Office (PGR) to improve enforcement of criminal and civil laws. In collaboration with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the PGR, created a Rapid Reference Manual (Manual de Investigação e Procedimento Penal de Crimes Contra a Fauna Bravia), tools for implementation (such as examples of required official forms used by prosecutors) and accompanying training materials.  Throughout the year, SPEED+ worked closely with the PGR, including prosecutors from the Provinces, as well as the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC), the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) and UNODC on the development of the materials, and held multiple stakeholder consultation meetings to elicit broad feedback. The Manual and accompanying materials were approved by the PGR Consultative Council.

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