China’s Combating on

Transnational Wildlife Crime (TWC)

Jiang Nan

Nanjing Forest Police College

Introduction: TWC threats national security

TWC in China: Brief analysis of China’s TWC

China’s Response: What has China Done?

Outlook: What is China next step to TWC?

Introduction: TWC Threats National

Security

What is Transnational Wildlife Crime (TWC)?

-- a type of transnational environmental crime

-- a type of transnational organised crime

-- a type of severe and growing crime

--- a result of traditional cultural phenomenon

--- a result of globalization

TWC in China: Brief analysis of China’s

TWC

The earliest official record of TWC was in 1989.

The first peak (1990-2000) was illegal poaching of Tibet

Antelope in Northwest China.

TWC networks

China’s Response: What has China

Done?

China signed the Convention on International Trade of

Wildlife Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1981.

China Established its law system and law enforcement

system.

China perfected its law enforcement system on

combating TWC.

• Forest Police

– 70,000 forest policemen

• Customs Police

– 10,000 Customs policemen

• Border Police

• CITES Management Authority

China had implemented a serious of special operation on

combating TWC.

Operation Code Date

Hoh Xil No.1 1999.4.11-5.1

Southern No.2 2000.1.15-29

Tian Bao 2000.12.26--2001.2.25

Falcon 2001.11.21-12.1

Poan Gongjian 2002.3.1--4.30

Migrant Bird No.1 2002.12.16-25

Spirng Thunder 2003.4.10-4.19

Plateau Operation No.2 2004.4.25-5.20

Green Shield 2006.11.1-12.31

Flying Eagle 2008.3.20-5.31

Combat Illegal Online wildlift Trade 2012.4.9-4.18

Combat Wildlife Crime 2012.11.27-12.31

Combat Wildlife Crime 2013.8-12

Sky Net 2013.4.1-4.30

China had investigated a great amount of TWCs.

In past decade, Customs had investigated 930 wildlife

smuggling cases and arrested 1,395 offenders.

In past 3 decades, Forest Police invested 4,340,000 forest

crimes and confiscated 72,860,000 wild animals.

China Leads Int’l Wildlife Crime Bust.

Cobra Operation and Cobra II Operation.

Outlook:

What is China next step to TWC?

Combating TWC will be securitized.

China’s Comprehensive National Security Concept

On April 15, Xi said China will build a national

security system that covers the spheres of politics,

territory, military, economy, culture, society, science

and technology, information, ecology, nuclear, and

natural resources.

January 6, China destroyed 6.1 tons of confiscated ivory.

China would further Enhance International Cooperation

on combating TWC.

"Multinational operations are of great significance in the

fight against wildlife crime rings.“

-----John Scanlon,

secretary-general of CITES.

On May 10, Li Keqiang pointed out that China destroyed 6.1

tons of confiscated ivory in public early this year, and the next

step is to continuously strengthen the cooperation with Kenya

and other countries in ecological and wildlife conservation, and

to widely spread to the international community the concept

that protecting wildlife is protecting our common homeland, and

protecting biodiversity is protecting the richness and

colourfulness of the earth.