Assessment of laws and policies related to tiger trafficking

Tigers Alive Initiative – Terms of Reference

Project title: Assessment of laws and policies related to tiger trafficking

Position type: Consultancy

Position start: June 2024 onwards

Position End : 31 October 2024

Pay: To be negotiated based on projected time commitment 

Application Deadline: 5pm (UTC) 27 May 2024

Background

The Tackling Tiger Trafficking Framework (TTTF), developed by 12 organisations and experts in addressing tiger trafficking, recognised that stronger laws and policies would aid in dissuading would-be traffickers from tiger trafficking and disrupt tiger trafficking network operations and as a result tiger trafficking will decrease.  This is most important in tiger range countries (TRCs), whether they may be source, transit and/or destination countries for the tiger trade.

While all TRCs have legislation or policies which address tiger trafficking crime, there are known gaps or loopholes which facilitate the continuance of criminal activity. It is important that legislation covers several key aspects for tiger trafficking crimes, such as:

• Trade in actual tiger parts and products (labelled as such or improperly labelled), as well as all products claiming to contain tiger (even if no actual tiger products in them).
• Captive as well as wild sourced tigers
• Hybrids, e.g. liger, tigons
• Management and control of captive facilities - breeding licences, registration, individual marking, monitoring, verified disposal of deceased specimens, etc.
• Cover all aspects of the trade chain – poaching, breeding, processing, possession transportation, import/export, sale, keeping for sale, offering for sale, purchase, use
• Disposal of confiscated specimens
• Tiger trafficking is recognised as a predicate offence, in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 73/343 of September 2019.
• Penalties - punishable by a maximum prison sentence of at least four years or a more serious penalty to reflect that tiger trafficking is considered a serious crime in accordance with Article 2, subparagraph (b) of UNTOC.
• Jurisdiction and responsibility for various elements of the tiger trade crimes (whole chain) clearly allocated to specific authorities, including courts.
• Criminal liability of other legal persons (e.g., companies, corporations, etc.) for tiger trafficking.
• Provide sufficient mandates for law enforcement agencies tasked with the detection and investigation of tiger trafficking, e.g. including the authority to carry firearms (if appropriate); powers of arrest, search and seizure of illicit wildlife and other criminal assets (and whether with or without a warrant); physical and technical surveillance; use of informants; undercover operations; controlled delivery; interception of phone and internet communications; and conducting financial investigations.
• The minimum requirements, and/or barriers, to mount an investigation/prosecution for anti-money laundering.

WWF’s Tiger Conservation Strategy to 2034 (with the trade part of the strategy also agreed and delivered by TRAFFIC) includes a strategic approach to advocate for maintenance and/or strengthening of national legislation and policy in key countries to comprehensively prohibit tiger trade, close loopholes, and comply with CITES requirements and promote government clarity on these.

In order to inform this strategic approach, and in particular aid in advocacy and communications, this project will undertake an assessment of legislation and policy related to tiger trafficking focused on across all 13 TRCs [1]. This is a project jointly coordinated by WWF and TRAFFIC.

Desired outputs

• Criteria for assessment developed, to use in the rest of this project to review laws and policies against. For example, this could be based on the above list, the TTTF, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC’s) Guide on Drafting Legislation to Combat Wildlife Crime, and further consultation between WWF Tigers Alive, the consultancy and TRC offices.
• A scoring/assessment approach developed to provide a traffic light style simplification of which criteria are included (green), partially included (yellow) and not included (red) for each country.
• Draft briefing (in Word) assessing the laws and policies for tiger trafficking[2] for 13 TRCs against the agreed criteria in a traffic light system and a short general narrative demonstrating where the main strengths and weaknesses lie. See example in the Falling Through the System Report, The role of the European Union captive tiger population in the trade in tigers, page p. 60-61.
• A short overview for each country providing:

a)       a summary of the main issues in tiger trafficking for that country to provide context for the laws and policies;

b)       examples of good practice in their laws and policies;

c)       recommendations for improvement.

Initially this will be for internal use in national advocacy, but parts may be included in the public report dependent on the findings and consultation with relevant WWF offices.

• A final briefing for publication which will show the traffic light colour for each country for each criterion, a short general narrative demonstrating where the main weaknesses and strengths lie, and providing examples of good and bad practice from the above country overviews, if such a publication should be deemed appropriate by relevant WWF country offices.
• The briefing should contain recommendations for improvement.  These should be considered against the recommendations in the TTTF. 

Consultancy activities

• Develop the criteria and scoring approach with the Tigers Alive Trade lead (who will coordinate with WWF and TRAFFIC offices).
• Assess the laws and policies of 11 TRCs against the criteria[3].
• Produce draft briefing and individual country overviews.
• Incorporate WWF and TRAFFIC feedback into the final briefing document and country overviews. The Tiger Trade Lead will coordinate the network consultation providing a collation of feedback to the consultant.

Expected Timeline

It is expected that the consultant would work part-time on this project, with contracting expected to start in June and ending on 31 October 2024. 

Skills and experience required of consultant:  

• A good understanding of laws, policies and/or law enforcement as it relates to wildlife crime, especially at the national and regional levels in Asia.  Specific experience related to tiger crime is an advantage.
• Experience in seeking out and understanding legal documents, such as government laws, policies, and guidelines related to wildlife crime.
• Demonstrated ability to author concise and engaging reports or documents on legal interpretation and analysis for a lay audience.
• Exceptional English language writing skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work quickly in consultation with a small team and incorporate feedback from wider consultation.   
• Demonstrated ability to conduct assessments across Asian countries with different legal traditions, languages, and processes for obtaining relevant statutory and regulatory documents required for this work.
• Have sound understanding of the cultural and political sensitivities of working in Asia and an ability to sensitively engage and write about such sensitivities.

Applications

To apply for this position please provide CV, covering letter and quotation (including expected days needed for each activity and overall cost) to Heather Sohl, Tiger Trade Lead, hsohl@wwf-tigers.org by 5pm (UTC) 27 May 2024.