Nairobi Convention
Political will and a mandate for developing an Information Management Strategy
Developing the regional Information Management Strategy in a co-creation process
Multi-stakeholder alliance

This project, led by C Minds, the Secretariat of Sustainable Development of Yucatan (SDS), the community of the municipalities of Dzilam de Bravo and Dzilam Gonzalez in Yucatan, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Huawei, in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Yucatan (UPY) and Rainforest Connection (RFCx), and with the advice and feedback of biologists with expertise in feline conservation, combined the knowledge of different institutions and individuals to create an alliance with environmental and socioeconomic impact, both locally and regionally.

The pilot carefully identified all relevant stakeholders. This includes non-profit organizations, government, academic institutions, private sector companies and local communities. Each stakeholder brought their unique expertise and perspective, contributing to the overall success of the project.

Working toward shared objectives is essential to align the efforts of all stakeholders. Collaborate with stakeholders to establish clear goals and common objectives that address the needs and aspirations of each. This process should translate the goals into a "common language" that is understandable to all, promoting strong understanding and commitment.

Working Groups

The International Alliance currently has 3 Working Groups, which are led by the members themselves and receive support from the Alliance Secretariat. Each Working Group is led by 1-2 chairs and the group meets every 6-8 weeks to ensure a continous work process.

We currently have the following Working Groups:

 

- Science Policy Interface (chair: Sue Liebermann, WCS)

Considering our core understanding of wildlife we want to infuse this understanding, based on scientific evidence, into international political processes.

 

- Transformative System Change: The Big Picture (chair: Alex D. Greenwood, IZW Berlin; Barabara Maas, NABU)

There are underlying fundamental obstacles to achieving the Alliances objectives and goals. Identifying and addressing these is the focus of this Working Group. 

 

- Evaluation/Effective Interventions (chair: Craig Stephen, One Health Consultant)

The aim is to gather good practices on effective interventions from Alliance members to enable learning and knowledge exchange across sectors and regions. 

The success of the working group depends on whether clear goals have been formulated, how committed and well- organized the chair is, how motivated the group members are and whether there is a continuous workflow.

Since most members already have very demanding full-time jobs, the time capacity of individual members may change over time. It can be challenging to ensure a good workflow and working atmosphere. Appreciation and understanding are of great importance in order to enable further collaboration.

Governmental Consultation Facility

The goal of the Consultation Facility is to provide context-specific multidisciplinary consultancy services from Alliance experts to governments/governmental institutions in countries with a high risk of novel diseases of zoonotic origin to prevent spill-over infections.

The expertise of more than 180+ member organisations and individual experts in the Alliance will be used to put together those interdiscplinary teams.

The Consultation Facility specializes on medium-term, primary preventive and context-specific government advisory services with concrete results in the context of health risks in wildlife trade and consumption along the entire contact and trade chain.

Effective and sustainable counseling requires thorough policy analysis/screening to identify suitable governments.

Existing political action or other political regulations regarding the intersection of wildlife and human health for example, are particulary helpful at the beginning of the consultation.

The facility was launched in December 2023. For this reason, the lessons learned will only be communicated in the course of 2024.

International Alliance
West and Central Africa
East and South Africa
Central America
South America
North and Central Asia
Southeast Asia
South Asia
East Asia
Secretariat of
International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade
Project Map
Funded Projects
Country packages
Members Area
Working Groups
Governmental Consultation Facility
International Alliance
West and Central Africa
East and South Africa
Central America
South America
North and Central Asia
Southeast Asia
South Asia
East Asia
Secretariat of
International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade
Project Map
Funded Projects
Country packages
Members Area
Working Groups
Governmental Consultation Facility
International Alliance
West and Central Africa
East and South Africa
Central America
South America
North and Central Asia
Southeast Asia
South Asia
East Asia
Secretariat of
International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade
Project Map
Funded Projects
Country packages
Members Area
Working Groups
Governmental Consultation Facility
International Alliance
West and Central Africa
East and South Africa
Central America
South America
North and Central Asia
Southeast Asia
South Asia
East Asia
Secretariat of
International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade
Project Map
Funded Projects
Country packages
Members Area
Working Groups
Governmental Consultation Facility
Partners

While APOPO is the leading organisation in training scent detection rats, we rely on our partners for a wide range of support. Without them, deploying scent detection rats would not be possible. Such partners range from local partners such as the Sokoine University of Agriculture, to international partners such as Mine Action Authorities, governments, donors, and specialised organisations.

For example, the wildlife detection project partners with the Endangered Wildlife Trust of South Africa. The project has been funded by a wide range of government donors such as

 

- The German Government (through the GIZ 'Partnership against Wildlife Crime in Africa and Asia' Global Program)

- The UNDP-GEF-USAID 'Reducing Maritime Trafficking of Wildlife between Africa and Asia' Project

- The UK 'Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund'

- The Wildlife Conservation Network

- The Pangolin Crisis Fund

- US Fish and Wildlife

 

We rely heavily on support from the Tanzanian Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA) for provision of training aids, and, recently, the support from the Dar es Salaam Joint Port Control Unit in order to conduct operational trials for illegal wildlife detection. 

Trust, collaboration, networking, knowledge exchange, integrity, supporting evidence, reporting, media and outreach. 

Building relationships takes time and trust. Open and honest dissemination of results, goals, and setbacks ensures that partners feel that they can trust your organisation. In addition, when dealing with governments and partners in countries other than your 'own', we have found it helpful to have a person who is familiar with the way the specific countries' governments work. An in-depth understanding of cultural values and customs can greatly enhance partnerships. In addition, expectations should be clearly communicated across all parties to avoid frustration and misunderstandings. 

Adobe Stock
Central America
South America
IUCN WCPA
Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group