EAGLE (organization)

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EAGLE network (Eco Activists for Governance and Law Enforcement) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the activist Ofir Drori to combat crime linked to the trafficking of protected animals in Africa. The organisation also fights corruption, which is detected in the majority of its activities. [1] [2]

Contents

EAGLE works on a model of collaboration with governments in investigations, arrest operations, legal follow-up and media activities aimed at enforcing the law. [3] It uses investigators who have infiltrated criminal networks to arrest them [4] in coordination with national authorities. [5]

Structure

EAGLE is a network of eight national non-governmental organisations in sub-Saharan Africa. The first NGO in the network [6] is named LAGA and was created by Ofir Drori in Cameroon [7] in 2003. [8] Other members are Conservation Justice in Gabon [9] created in 2017 by Luc Mathot, [10] EAGLE Sénégal [11] in 2017, [12] PALF in Congo in 2010, [13] EAGLE Togo in 2013, [14] and EAGLE Ivory Coast in 2017. [15]

Arrests

In 20 years, the EAGLE network has led to the arrest of 2,000 traffickers [3] [8] an average of 100 criminals per year. In 2019, the network arrested 171 traffickers. [16]

EAGLE Côte d'Ivoire has led to the arrest of 79 traffickers in 6 years, [15] including a major case in 2017, with the arrest of six criminals and the seizure of half a tonne of pangolin scales, half a tonne of ivory and firearms. [17] [18] EAGLE Senegal is behind the biggest arrest of ivory traffickers in the country's history. [19] In 2015, EAGLE Guinea (GALF), in cooperation with the Guinean law enforcement agencies, arrested the national CITES officer, Ansoumane Doumbouya, in a case involving the corruption of animal export permits [5] [20] including bonobos, gorillas and chimpanzees. [21]

Books

A book on the origin of EAGLE The Last Great Ape: A Journey Through Africa and a Fight for the Heart of the Continent [22] was co-written by Ofir Drori and David McDannald. A second book, Pour une poignée d'ivoire , about an operation in Côte d'Ivoire in 2018, was written by Jean-Claude Vignoli. [23]

Documentaries

In 2016, The Ivory Game recounts the work of EAGLE Togo. [24] In 2023, Conservation Justice is the subject of a documentary by Maxime Ginolin [25] depicting the NGO activities. [26]

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References

  1. ↑ "Plus de cent trafiquants arrêtés pour massacre d'animaux dans sept pays d'Afrique en 2021". Mongabay Environmental News (in French). 2022-04-25. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  2. ↑ Clark, Nick. "Wildlife crime: Stealing animals to sell as pets". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  3. 1 2 "EAGLE Network - Eco Activists for Governance and Law Enforcement". www.eagle-enforcement.org. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  4. ↑ "How Saving One Chimp Led to a New Kind of Anti-Poaching Group". National Geographic. 2016-06-08. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  5. 1 2 Gorman, James (2015-10-12). "African Conservation Group With Unusual Mission: Enforcement". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  6. ↑ "Champion wildlife crime opponent awarded top WWF honours". wwf.panda.org. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  7. ↑ "EAGLE Network - Eco Activists for Governance and Law Enforcement". www.eagle-enforcement.org. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  8. 1 2 "The Fight to End Corruption as a Key Strategy in Combatting Illegal Wildlife Trafficking Globally". National Association of Conservation Law Enforcement Chiefs. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  9. ↑ "Conservation Justice". conservationjustice.org (in French). Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  10. ↑ "EAGLE Network - Gabon". www.eagle-enforcement.org. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  11. ↑ "EAGLE Sénégal" (in French).
  12. ↑ "EAGLE Network - Senegal". www.eagle-enforcement.org. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  13. ↑ "A propos de nous « PALF" (in French). Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  14. ↑ "Interview : A la découverte de l'ONG EAGLE-togo". TOGO REVEIL (in French). Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  15. 1 2 Akilé, Francis (2023-03-21). "Trafic d'espèces protégées en Côte d'Ivoire : L'ONG EAGLE-Côte d'Ivoire fait son bilan de 6 ans d'existence !". LeMandat Express (in French). Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  16. ↑ "Le très juteux trafic du pangolin". La Croix (in French). 2020-04-19. ISSN   0242-6056 . Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  17. ↑ Searcey, Dionne (2018-01-25). "Ivory Coast Arrests Six in Ring That Smuggled Parts of Elephants, Leopards and Pangolins". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  18. ↑ AFP (2018-01-25). "Côte d'Ivoire: saisie de 600 kg d'ivoire et 600 kg d'écailles de pangolin (police)". Geo.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  19. ↑ "Lion and hippo teeth seized in Senegal's biggest ivory haul". Reuters. 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  20. ↑ "CITES Secretariat confirms the arrest of former wildlife director in Guinea and applauds national authorities' work | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  21. ↑ "Busted: Guinean wildlife official arrested for trafficking chimpanzees". Mongabay Environmental News. 2015-09-03. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  22. ↑ Ofir Drori. The Last Great Ape: A Journey Through Africa and a Fight for the Heart of the Continent. Pegasus book. ISBN   978-1605983271.
  23. ↑ "Pour une poignée d'ivoire". Éditions Favre (in French). Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  24. ↑ "The Ivory Game". The IMDb.
  25. ↑ "Communiqué de presse - Documentaire : Trafic d'ivoire et braconnage, un documentaire révèle les dessous d'un trafic international". 24presse. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  26. ↑ [Documentaire] Cette ONG envoie des TRAFIQUANTS d'ESPÈCES sauvages en PRISON , retrieved 2023-05-25


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