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Botswana: ILEA-Gaborone is hosting the first ever edition of the Natural Resource Crime Investigations (NRCI) training. The opening of the initiative was hosted on May 12 and featured delegates from all over Africa.
The training initiative welcomed several attendants from Angola, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Guinea, Madagascar, and The Gambia. The event is being hosted in Gaborone for a duration of 2 weeks. The initiative is being supported by officers from the United States Forest Service.
Seven officers from the Forest Service will be helping in hosting the training It will be taught simultaneously in French, Portuguese, and English languages. The aim of the multilingual approach is to facilitate regional and transregional cooperation and information sharing.
The aim of the programme is to provide partner nation law enforcement professionals with specialized training and resources. These training and resources will help them in investigating crimes related to natural resources like poaching, illegal logging, illegal mining, arson, wildlife trafficking, and illegal fishing.
The natural resources crime investigation is an important part of the investigative processes of the law enforcement agencies. The crime against natural resources are one of the most serious offences, especially since the illegal logging, poaching, arson and such activities have a detrimental effect on the environment
These crimes put the biodiversity, ecosystems, and local communities to danger. Meanwhile, the experts have suggested that these crimes can often involve organized criminal networks.
The program will provide various training modules and resources customized to the unique challenges. They will help in affective investigation and prosecution of natural resource crimes. The programme will also help increase the law enforcement officers’ understanding of the significance of natural resource conservation.
During the ILEA-Gaborone training, the participants will also be informed on the seriousness of the risks posed by illicit activities.
Additionally, it promotes cooperation between law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders, including environmental organizations and community groups.
The subject matter experts from the United States Forest Service will share their expertise in natural resource management and investigations, land navigation, monitoring capabilities and evidence collection, investigative techniques and interviewing.