INTERPOL and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) have signed an agreement extending their ongoing cooperation to combat wildlife crime and supporting global efforts against environmental crime.
IFAW Chief Executive Officer and President Azzedine Downes and Noboru Nakatani, Executive Director of the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) signed the agreement on the sidelines of the 2nd INTERPOL-United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Conference.
INTERPOL and IFAW have had a formal partnership since 2013 and have collaborated on numerous projects during the last 10 years, most notably Operation Worthy, INTERPOL’s largest-ever anti-ivory operation and on Project Web, an investigation into the illegal online trade in ivory.
The agreement between the two organizations establishes a formal framework for cooperation, in particular on combating crime related to the illegal killing and trafficking of elephants, rhinoceroses and tigers through regional and global operations.