The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be the world’s third most profitable illicit business, surpassed only by arms and drug smuggling. It thrives in Southeast Asia. Every year, millions of dollars worth of illegally harvested animal and plant species are trafficked and sold in the region. Part of the reason is because of the region’s rich biodiversity, well developed transport infrastructure, and a host of difficulties faced by law enforcement personnel.

Already, the illegal wildlife trade has lead to destruction on a massive scale, and threatens irrevocable damage Southeast Asia’s ecosystems. Wildlife criminals operate both within and between countries, using well-organized, cross-border networks. In order to effectively combat the problem, law enforcement agencies need to match the tactics of traffickers. Police, Customs and environmental management agencies must form national, regional and international networks.

ASEAN-WEN is the world’s largest wildlife law enforcement network. Until recently, such collaboration did not exist in Southeast Asia. Now, however, the region’s governments are taking bold actions to tackle wildlife crime. In October 2004, Thailand proposed the creation of a regional wildlife law enforcement network at the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention in Trade of Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES). This initiative implemented key components of the ASEAN Regional Action Plan on Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora 2005-2010. It marked the first decisive step in developing a regional wildlife enforcement network,

As the main architect of the network, Thailand has assumed a leading role in its realization. In October 2005, Thai officials hosted a regional workshop in Khao Yai National Park to design the proposed network. During the workshop, CITES management authorities from each ASEAN member country agreed to an “ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network” (ASEAN-WEN). Following this, environmental ministers officially launched ASEAN-WEN at a meeting on December 1, 2005.

Since ASEAN-WEN’s launch, Thailand has hosted a series of events and activities designed to bring together regional and national officials. On February 19-21, 2006, a national seminar was held at Khao Yai National Park to encourage inter-agency dialogue at the national level. The Nature Crime Suppression Division of the Royal Thai Police worked together with the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plants to co-host a seminar on “Wildlife Law Enforcement Network on the National and Regional Level”. The participation of these two government agencies also opened the doors for the involvement of other law enforcement personnel, including Customs officials.

On April 21, 2006, Thailand and Indonesia held talks to discuss the repatriation of more than 50 smuggled orangutans. Thai and Indonesian scientists then worked jointly on DNA testing to determine the orangutans’ place of origin. This joint effort represented the first regional cooperation on wildlife enforcement issues under ASEAN-WEN. It resulted in 48 orangutans returning to Indonesia on November 22, 2006.

Thailand also held an important regional meeting on May 22-25, 2006, to discuss the implementation of ASEAN-WEN. Senior Police, Customs and CITES authorities from all 10 ASEAN Member Countries came together and discussed strategies to make the new network successful against wildlife crimes. The meeting included seminars with non-ASEAN participants, including UN CITES Secretariat Senior Enforcement Officer John Sellar, representatives from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the US Department of Justice, Interpol and the World Customs Organization. The event provided a forum for ideas and recommendations from these different agencies.

On February 5-9, 2007, the Philippine Government is hosting an “ASEAN-WEN Workshop on Task Force Development and Cross-border Cooperation”. Officials who are part of ASEAN-WEN will meet again to share information and report their countries’ progress in developing the National Task Forces. The meeting will also serve as a forum for officials to meet their counterparts from other countries and share strategic information about wildlife crimes.

The February meeting will also help officials prepare for the second official ASEAN-WEN meeting which will be hosted Indonesia later on this year.

Some ASEAN-WEN activities have been supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and US State Department. Their cooperative partners, WildAid and TRAFFIC are also assisting in the development and implementation of ASEAN-WEN.