Source : Inquirer, Philippines, 12 Jan 2011
By : Jerry E. Esplanada
  

Through the US Agency for International Development, Washington "will continue to be active" in reducing trafficking in endangered animals and plants, said a USAID report posted on the Web site of the US Embassy in Manila.

Called "Wildlife Trafficking Stops Here," the advocacy program groups USAID, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Manila International Airport Authority, and the Asean-Wildlife Enforcement Network.

The program is "part of an Asean-wide effort to combat wildlife trafficking through international airports in the region," said USAID.

It noted that the illegal trade is "likely the third-largest black market form of crime in the world, estimated at over $30 billion."

"This problem is even more relevant in the Asean, a region which comprises only three percent of the earth. But it contains over 20 percent of all known animal, plant and marine species, many of which are not found anywhere else in the world," said the agency.

Ambassador Wilfrido Villacorta, the Philippines' permanent representative to Asean, earlier said the country and the rest of the region had much to lose if wildlife trafficking went unabated.

"The Philippines has the fifth-highest number of endemic birds and mammals in the world," Villacorta pointed out, stressing "wildlife trafficking should indeed be a major concern of Asean and the Philippines, as well."

For his part, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said in a statement that "future generations will never forgive us if we allow our precious wildlife heritage to be irreparably damaged or disappear altogether."

"We must join hands in fighting all the challenges that threaten our wildlife conservation efforts," Paje added.