The Executive Committee of the Horn of Africa Wildlife Enforcement Network (HAWEN) held its first meeting on May 24-25, 2018 at the UN Economic Commission for Africa Conference Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The HAWEN was launched in November 2017 as a Specialized Network of IGAD to strengthen and coordinate IGAD member states’ efforts to combat illegal wildlife trade in the Horn of Africa Region.
The Committee took several steps to strengthen the HAWEN as an institution, including the adoption of a long-term Action Plan that sets out goals and activities for the HAWEN and its member states as well as clear priority activities for the next six months. The activities over the next six months include operationalizing the HAWEN Secretariat, instituting joint training and capacity building programs, coordinating cross-border wildlife enforcement operations, development of a regional protocol on care and custody of animals recovered/confiscated from cross-border trafficking, establishment of regional and national wildlife databases and information systems, and stepping up resource mobilization efforts.
The meeting was supported through the generosity of the East Africa Regional Environment Office at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa and the Horn of Africa Regional Environment Center and Network.