Law enforcement officers trained in techniques to combat illegal deforestation

Why did Norway decide to support this project?

There is growing evidence that sophisticated – mostly transnational organized criminal operations are contributing to a significant degree of illegal forest exploitation. As more laws and regulatory frameworks are applied to manage the remaining forests in a sustainable way, and in the context of the ongoing demand for timber, this is a challenge which is likely to increase.

Norway decided to support Grid Arendal and its partners’ efforts in training the frontline officers and law enforcement community to assist them in breaking down on organized criminal networks that log and traffic illegal timber.

Results

Norad finds that Grid Arendal’s outreach in their workshops and courses has been good, but there is insufficient evidence as to what changes the knowledge has led to on the ground in the project countries. Self-reporting by trainees does however indicate that they have improved effectiveness of operations after the trainings. Grid Arendal has contributed to increased international awareness about the problem of forest crime.

1. Frontline protection. Improved capacity and competence at ranger training institutes to continuously train rangers by establishing and training country embedded instructors to ensure a longer life span of competence building
   
   The project’s training courses have had a great outreach: 400 rangers passed the project training course on tracking and crime scene management. In addition, 1728 students at Pasiansi Institute, 179 students at MWEKA College of Wildlife Management, 130 rangers trained at their duty stations at game reserves and Anti-Poaching Units and 24 rangers from Serengeti and Tarangire national parks were trained. Grid Arendal has not collected any quantifiable information of the effects of these trainings, but the organization has received feedback from some rangers, patrol leaders and commanders informing Grid Arendal that the trainings have made their work against poaching and illegal logging more effective.
   
   
2. International collaboration and UN REDD: Countries will receive increased support both financially and through expertise and strengthen their domestic training and education programmes to combat natural resource crime
   
   In Kenya and Tanzania, a total of over 100 participants were trained in how to recover the proceeds of wildlife and forest crimes. The effects of these trainings are not clear in the final report.
   
   
3. Increased awareness and international resolutions or agreements to combat forest and environmental crime
   
   Grid Arendal and its partners also conducted several workshops and trainings under this outcome in several of the project countries. In addition, key messages from a UNEP Rapid Response Assessment report The Environmental Crime Crisis, were relayed through more than 30 press releases and over 2000 news articles across 112 countries globally. Grid Arendal argues that the report was instrumental in gaining a resolution at United Nations Environment Assembly on wildlife and forest crime.

• Please find Grid Arendal’s final results report to Norad on these outcomes in the PDF file <here/in the box to the right>.

Lessons learned

Illegal logging takes up a much larger share of deforestation than previously suspected and law enforcement efforts are lacking both on timber, pulp and paper – and on charcoal, one of the largest contributors to deforestation in Africa. Addressing this, and in particular finding ways to secure revenues for governments from sustainable forest management is vital for sustainable development. Taxes, respect for laws and mechanisms to combat corruption especially in the forest sector is imperative.