Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has joined more than 100 transport sector companies who have confirmed their support to combat wildlife trafficking by signing the United for Wildlife (UFW) Transport Taskforce Buckingham Palace Declaration. The agreement sets out tangible steps that can be taken to close the routes exploited by traffickers of the illegal wildlife trade as they attempt to move their products from rare and vulnerable ecosystems to market.
The signing ceremony took place during the Asia-Pacific/World Annual General Assembly, Conference and Exhibition held at the AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong, recently.
The illegal wildlife trade threatens the future existence of many of the world’s most iconic species and is one of the five most lucrative global crimes. The declaration is a landmark agreement which forms an action plan to strengthen and coordinate action against trafficking. It brings focus and collaboration to efforts by airports and other stakeholders to break the link between the rapidly escalating poaching crisis in regions like Africa and the demand for illegal wildlife products elsewhere around the world.
Airports Council International (ACI) World Director General Angela Gittens said: “Species are being hunted to extinction through the illegal killing and trading of wild animals. We seek to build a broad international coalition to be truly effective in combating these deplorable practices,” adding: “Airports play a key role in this fight and those that have become new signatories to the Buckingham Palace Declaration have demonstrated their commitment to combating this trade. We encourage more airports and more of our partners to collaborate with us in this important work.”
Chair of the United for Wildlife Taskforce, Lord William Hague, said, “I wholeheartedly welcome those members of ACI who have committed to join our Taskforce by signing the Buckingham Palace Declaration, and would like to thank ACI for providing such an opportunity.”
Managing Director and CEO of Kenya Airports Authority, Jonny Andersen, commented, “Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) is the first Airport Authority in Africa to have signed the Buckingham Palace declaration. This is as a result of recognizing the threat of illegal trade in the region and taking proactive actions. We have committed to the fight against Illegal Wildlife Trafficking by enacting laws, developing policies and procedures and training our personnel to ensure that illegal wildlife products do not pass through our airports.”