JULY 2017
Dear Colleagues,

The Global Wildlife Program (GWP) is excited to share our first newsletter with you.

As a global partnership, we are very proud of supporting and collaborating with 19 countries across Africa and Asia in combatting the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and saving the populations of critical species that are valuable assets to the local and international community. By working with our partners: national government agencies, implementing agency staff members, donors, program steering committee members, and technical experts, we aspire to disrupt the IWT value chain by reducing poaching, trafficking and demand in source and consumer countries. Through our newsletters, we want to share the progress of these efforts and highlight inspiring stories originating from the field. We are committed to combatting IWT, and believe that together we can preserve our ecosystems and local economies.

In the last six months, the GWP has organized six webinars and collaborated with the Government of Gabon and Gabon’s National Parks Agency to co-host an in-person conference on Reducing human wildlife conflict and enhancing coexistence, which brought together nearly 80 participants from over 20 countries. In this newsletter, we highlight the lessons learned and provide the resources that were published after the conference, including a video. 

Additionally, in collaboration with the United Nations and other partners, an Africa-Asia Pacific Symposium on Strengthening Legal Frameworks to Combat Wildlife Crime was held in Bangkok, Thailand, where legal and justice officials from over 22 countries participated in the event. This symposium offered an important opportunity for collaboration between the two regions.
 
We are excited to continue fostering these partnerships and look forward to collaborating with you all in the coming months!
 
Thank you for your support,

The GWP Team 
What can we do to reduce human-wildlife conflict?
The path to reducing human-wildlife conflict lies in the acceptance of interdependence – we need to coexist if we want to survive. Learn more by reading Corridors to Coexistence, authored by GWP Program Manager Claudia Sobrevila and Wildlife Analyst Hasita Bhammar. 
"You can't eliminate human-wildlife conflict, you can only manage it." 
The conflict over natural resources is the root cause of human-wildlife conflict in many parts of Africa and Asia experiencing rapid population growth and shrinking habitats. Experts such as Professor Lee White, Executive Secretary of Gabon’s National Parks Agency, share solutions to enhance coexistence between people and wildlife in this video produced in La Lopé National Park. 
Recent GWP Resources
CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS: Reducing human-wildlife conflict and enhancing coexistence
Analysis of International Funding to Tackle Illegal Wildlife Trade now available as an E-Book 
Tune in to the GWP's Virtual Knowledge Events
Upcoming:
Designing and Measuring Efforts to Combat Wildlife Crime: USAID’s CWC Toolkit
Andrew Tobiason, Biodiversity Conservation Advisor, U.S. Agency for Intl. Development (USAID)
July 12, 2017 @ 8-9:30 AM EST (no registration necessary)
Or, join by phone: 1-650-479-3207 Call-in toll number (USA) |  Global call-in numbers
Meeting number (access code): 731 343 749 | Meeting password: wpjZpni6
Replay prior events:
Prof. Lee White, Executive Secretary, Gabon’s National Parks Agency, June 12, 2017
 
Dr. PJ Stephenson, Senior Advisor, Monitoring at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), June 7, 2017
 
Mr. Markus Pikart, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), May 4, 2017
To receive regular updates about virtual events, please email: gwp-info@worldbank.org
Follow the GWP on Twitter via @WBG_Environment
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