Reducing Wildlife Trafficking in Aviation

As part of the USAID ROUTES Partnership, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has been working with the World Customs Organization (WCO) with the support from Airports Council International (ACI) to carry out a series of assessments at specific international airports from 2016-2019.

Eight assessments took place in key regions, including Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, which serve as a source, transit and/or destination regions for the illegal wildlife trade (IWT). 

The objective of these assessments was to “Measure whether there is appropriate awareness and procedures in place to mitigate against acts of illegal wildlife smuggling”. The results of the assessments attempt to identify areas for improvement, including how improvements could be achieved either through local activities or with specific assistance from the ROUTES Partnership.

The assessments and subsequent documented observations identified a number of opportunities applicable to other airports. These opportunities demonstrate the effectiveness of specific policies, procedures, and operations with a focus on IWT. The identified practices have been collated within this document with the aim of providing support to private and public sector stakeholders in designing and implementing actions to reduce wildlife trafficking at airports.