Why in News?

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released the first global report on the Illegal Wildlife Trade namely, “Money Laundering and the Illegal Wildlife Trade”
• Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has described illegal wildlife trade as a “global threat”, which also has links with other organised crimes like modern slavery, drug trafficking, and arms trade.

Illegal wildlife trafficking (IWT)

• It is described as any environment-related crime that involves the illegal trade, smuggling, poaching, capture or collection of endangered species, protected wildlife (including animals and plants that are subject to harvest quotas and regulated by permits), derivatives or products thereof.

Key findings of the report

• The illegal trade is estimated to generate revenues of up to $23 billion a year.
• Criminals are frequently misusing the legitimate wildlife trade, as well as other import-export-type businesses, as a front to move and hide illegal proceeds from wildlife crimes.
• They also rely regularly on corruption, complex fraud, and tax evasion.
• There is a growing role of online marketplaces and mobile and social media-based payments to facilitate the movement of proceeds warranting a coordinated response from government bodies, the private sector, and civil society.
• According to the 2016 UN World Wildlife Crime report, criminals are illegally trading products derived from over 7,000 species of wild animals and plants across the world.

What is the impact of the Illegal Wildlife Trade? 

• Species are on the verge of extinction as a result of illegal wildlife trade demands.
• Overexploitation of wildlife resources as a result of illegal trade causes ecosystem imbalances.
• Illegal wildlife trade, as part of illegal trade syndicates, destabilizes the country's economy, resulting in social insecurity.
• The illegal trade threatens wild plants that provide genetic variation for crops (and are a natural source of many medicines).

Constitutional Provisions for wildlife protection

• Article 51 A (g) of the Constitution states that it shall be the fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment including forests and Wildlife.
• Article 48 A in the Directive Principles of State policy, mandates that the State shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.