This project highlights the outcomes of a legal assessment and analysis of wildlife crimes and illegal logging in the Danube-Carpathian region. The assessment was led by the UN Environment office in Vienna and Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention, and developed in cooperation with World Wide Fund for Nature – Danube Carpathian Programme, Institute of Biology Bucharest, Romanian Academy and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River. It was conducted with the support of the EU Technical Assistance Facility for Danube Region Projects.

Introduction: Wild for Danube-Carpathian Project

In 2016, the UN Environment office in Vienna and the Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention, in cooperation with the WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme, the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River and the Institute of Biology Bucharest, Romanian Academy, and with the support of the EU Technical Assistance Facility for Danube Region Projects, carried out an assessment study, with two objectives:

1. To develop an inventory and analysis of international legal regimes addressing illegal logging and wildlife crime in the DanubeCarpathian (DC) region;
2. To produce an overview and analysis of how these regimes are transposed into national legislation and enforcement practices of the State Parties to the Carpathian Convention.

The outcome of the assessment showed implementation gaps and overlaps in (inter)national law and practices. Case studies on illegal logging, illegal fishing of sturgeon and caviar trade, illegal killing of birds and poaching of large carnivores, identified needs for improved cooperation and coordination, capacity building, training and awareness raising. Furthermore, it called for the development of targeted programmes and increased funding for combating illegal logging and wildlife crime in the region.