This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:
Public access to information is a vital component of ensuring community engagement in prevalent issues. Wildlife crime is one of the pressing environmental issues of our time.
Wildlife crime investigations are generally covert operations requiring utmost confidentiality to succeed. Investigations and prosecutions in complex cases may take months or even years to complete. For this reason, the information that can be released to the public without compromising cases is often limited. Nonetheless, the Namibian government strives to share as much information as possible with the public.
The Namibian media has welcomed this approach and regularly publishes statistics and feature articles on wildlife crime. These are entered into the database at regular intervals, creating a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia.
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The west coastal waters of South Africa are under siege, not from the waves of the Atlantic, but from an insidious tide of environmental crime that is sweeping away one of its most precious marine resources. The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime has sounded the alarm on the rampant illicit trade of South African abalone, with the country's Haliotis midae species, locally known as perlemoen (abalone), facing potential extinction due to soaring demand from East Asia. So rampant is this environmental crime that the Global…
These crimes, ranging from illegal wildlife trade to unregulated fishing and the trafficking of rare timber and precious stones, are estimated to be worth between $110 billion and $281 billion annually, positioning them among the most profitable illicit economies worldwide. The report, titled Hidden in Plain Site, is written by Kristina Amerhauser and Robin Cartwright and looks at illicit financial flows (IFFs) related to three specific illicit environmental flows: timber trafficking from Myanmar to China; gemstone trafficking from Mozambique to Thailand; and abalone…
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SA_2023_11_Global environmental crime epidemic fuels multi_billion dollar illicit economy_IOL.pdf | 303.14 KB |
R155 billion!
Two former government officials have been sentenced for corruption and money laundering linked to the abalone trade, the Hawks confirmed on Saturday. The officials, Winston Mervin Busch and Nomvuyo Concellia Motloung, were among a group of 18 suspects arrested in a 2018 swoop on an abalone syndicate operating in the Western Cape. The group comprised several marine inspectors from the department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, as well as several members of an abalone poaching syndicate, the Hawks said. Twelve of the group have now been sentenced.
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SA_2023_09_Two government officials sentenced in landmark abalone case_Times Live.pdf | 393.11 KB |
A number of approaches have been used to safeguard different natural resources. Use, and vulnerability mainly depends on its social, and economic value. Wildlife, considerably more valuable- has generated a lot of interest as concerned parties try to apply different approaches to ensure that it is protected. It is unfortunate that some of the wildlife species, like animals' numbers that dwindled because human beings always target them as a means of survival or tampered with their habitats.
An Otjiwarongo-based police constable and a pastor of the Enlightened Christian Gathering Church were arrested on Friday in Omuthiya after they were found in possession of a rhino horn. A third accomplice from Oshana region was also arrested. The trio was apprehended around 02h15 after the police received a tipoff from Otjiwarongo that the suspects were allegedly carrying prohibited contents.
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NAM_2021_03_Cop pastor nabbed for possession of rhino horn_New Era.pdf | 362.74 KB |
An instructor at Valombola Vocational Training Center in Ongwediva and a member of the Namibian Defence Force attached to the Otavi military base, were on Sunday arrested by the Oshikoto police for illegal hunting.
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2019-07_NDF member nabbed for illegal hunting_New Era Live.pdf | 1.78 MB |
South Africa, despite being considered a low-risk area for illegal logging, is grappling with a surge in environmental crimes, the Global Crime Index has shown. The country is not just a consumer of illegal timber and other flora products from neighbouring southern African countries, but is also a significant source country for wildlife crime, involving high-value species such as rhinos, lions, and elephants. Illegal trade of cycads is generating substantial profits, with some specimens fetching up to millions on the international market.
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SA_2023_09_South Africa grapples with escalating environmental crimes_Global Crime Index_OL.pdf | 307.32 KB |