14 courier and logistics companies in China signed a Voluntary Code of Practice to Refuse Delivery of Illegal Wildlife and Products Thereof to reaffirm their commitment to tackling illegal trade in wild animals and plants and protect endangered wildlife species and biodiversity.
The companies, covering 90% of the country’s courier and logistics companies, included EMS, SF-Express and YTO-Express alongside well-known international companies DHL and FedEx.
The signing of the Voluntary Code comes after a public declaration of zero tolerance towards illegal wildlife trade made by 17 leading courier companies operating in China in 2015 during an event held on 3rd March (World Wildlife Day), facilitated by TRAFFIC, China’s Management Authority for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES MA), the State Post Bureau and China Express Association (CEA).
A number of these companies, have also conducted workshops hosted by TRAFFIC to increase the capacity of their employees to address this issue. However, the rapid development growth of the industry has significantly changed how the courier and logistics industries operate. This led to the need of a fresh impetus to mitigate illegal wildlife trade.
Speaking on the occasion, Wilson Lau, Programme Manager for TRAFFIC said:
Wildlife smuggling has links to other forms of organised crime, including drug dealing, money laundering, people trafficking and the criminalisation of society. Transportation is a critical element in many of these activities, which places the courier and logistics industries in a unique position to help curb such criminal activities. TRAFFIC stands by, ready to lend our expertise to assist these essential curtailment efforts
In the same wavelength, Jiao Zheng, Deputy Secretary General, China Express Association, believes that the Voluntary Code indicates the determination of the courier and logistics industries to combat the illegal transportation of wild fauna and flora.
After the ceremony, a 1.5-day training workshop took place to build capacity within the industry, including improving species identification skills, sharing successes and lessons learned, while the Customs and Forest Police shared details of several seizures regarding the courier and logistics industries.
The signatories of the Voluntary Code of Practice to Refuse Delivery of Illegal Wildlife and Products Thereof are the following:
- EMS;
- SF-Express;
- ZTO-Express;
- UTO-Express;
- TO-Expres;
- Yunda-Express;
- Deppon-Express;
- Best-Express;
- JD-Logistics;
- ZJS-Express;
- Suning-Logistics;
- China Air Express;
- DHL;
- FedEx.