The purpose of this one-year project is to support conservation of great apes and other key species by supporting the Guinean legal system’s ability to enforce the nation’s wildlife laws through conducting investigations, pursuing arrests, providing legal follow-up, and leveraging media exposure in collaboration with national law enforcement authorities. Activities include: (1) operating an investigative network to obtain intelligence, identify targets, and plan operations against major wildlife criminals; (2) assembling an operations team and providing on-the-job training to national law enforcement authorities; (3) assisting the team in conducting operations, arresting suspects, and channeling written statements to the courts; (4) supervising and assisting the writing of legal statements against suspects; (5) promoting good governance in court procedures by educating legal system administrators; (6) assisting legal representation through legal analysis and advice, and support of lawyers’ fees; (7) ensuring prison sentences are served by conducting weekly jail monitoring visits; (8) working with court bailiffs to ensure awarded damages are paid; and (9) providing a deterrent to other potential offenders by leveraging media coverage of legal proceedings and successful law enforcement activities. (2018-2019)
Former Project Titles:
- Wildlife law enforcement in Guinea – GALF (Guinée – Application de la Loi Faunique) (2014-2015)
- The purpose of this project is to assist the government of Guinea to increase wildlife law enforcement capacity, produce effective deterrents to the killing of elephants and other threatened wildlife, and monitor the illegal wildlife trade and other activities detrimental to ape survival. This will be done by identifying large-scale dealers in ivory and bushmeat and providing evidence to support legal action against them; bringing about the arrest and ensuring the prosecution of large-scale illegal wildlife traders; and raising public awareness of the increased enforcement of wildlife law and the risks and penalties for wildlife criminals.
Note: It seems this project was not implemented from 2015-2018.