A lioness standing alert in tall grassland, watching the horizon

Our work

Wildlife &EnvironmentalCrime

Protecting wildlife. Strengthening the response.

10 documented courses · 122 participant places across 8 courses · 8 countries

Disrupting the networks that threaten Africa's wildlife. Specialized capacity-building, investigative techniques, port security, and cross-border cooperation delivered across East and Southern Africa in partnership with LATF and national enforcement bodies.

The challenge

Illegal wildlife and timber trafficking is a conservation threat and an organised crime problem at once. It removes species from ecosystems that cannot replace them, and it does so through networks built to move goods across borders undetected.

The trade travels the same routes as other transnational crime: seaports, airports, border crossings, customs systems, and the financial channels behind them. It adapts quickly, and it exploits gaps between agencies and between countries.

For much of the last two decades environmental crime was treated as a low-level offence. That left many institutions without the specialist knowledge, investigative technique or cross-border relationships the problem actually demands.

An African elephant drinking at a waterhole in open savannah at golden hour

Wildlife trafficking is measured in populations, not consignments. The response has to be built to last.

Our response

ATI works with the institutions that hold the mandate. We convene practitioners from enforcement, customs, port authorities, wildlife agencies and the judiciary, and we build the professional capability the response depends on.

Since 2022 ATI has delivered documented training iterations across Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Zambia, in partnership with the Lusaka Agreement Task Force and national authorities.

ATI strengthens:

Institutional capacity within agencies mandated to act
Investigative technique, evidence handling and case building
Cross-border cooperation and information exchange
Professional knowledge of trafficking routes and methods
Coordination between enforcement, customs and judicial actors

ATI provides technical training, capacity building and coordination support. Operational authority (investigation, arrest, seizure and prosecution) rests with statutory law enforcement and judicial authorities.

Programme overview

10
Documented activities: 2022–2026
Period covered
Countries represented: Tanzania · Kenya · Uganda · Malawi · Zambia
Where it was delivered: Mombasa, Kenya · Arusha, Tanzania · Dar es Salaam, Tanzania · Entebbe, Uganda · Brazzaville, Republic of Congo · Zanzibar Beach Resort, Zanzibar

Timeline

Programme activity

Entries are drawn from ATI's own dated programme documents, most recent first.

4–8 May 2026
Strengthening Investigative Techniques in Zanzibar to Prevent and Combat Transnational Organized Crime
Zanzibar Beach Resort, Zanzibar
Multi-stakeholder training convened with Zanzibar government institutions. Participant count is not stated in the available documents.
24–28 March 2025
Strengthening Law Enforcement Capacity in Investigative Techniques and Port Security
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
28 participants: Malawi 7, mainland Tanzania 11, Zanzibar 2, Zambia 6, and 2 representing LATF. 92% reported the training exceeded expectations.
9–14 October 2023
Controlled Delivery Practical Exercise, course 3 of 3 (Advanced)
Arusha, Tanzania
Mount Meru Hotel. 19 participants: Kenya 5, Tanzania 10, Cambodia 4. Completed the controlled delivery series: 51 participants from four countries across more than 20 agencies.
12–17 June 2023
Controlled Delivery Practical Exercise, course 2 of 3
Mombasa, Kenya
Serena Beach Hotel. 15 participants, five each from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Ivory sampling demonstration conducted for DNA testing.
1–6 May 2023
Controlled Delivery Practical Exercise, course 1 of 3
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Four Points Hotel. 17 participants: Kenya 6, Tanzania 6, Uganda 5.
11–15 April 2023
Multiagency Capacity Building Workshop for Enforcement Officers in Congo and the DR Congo
Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
Delivered with the Lusaka Agreement Task Force and opened by the Republic of Congo's Minister for Forest Economy.
6–10 February 2023
Financial Investigation & Asset Recovery: Advanced, Session 2
Entebbe, Uganda
Protea Marriott Hotel. Completed the four-course financial investigation series: 43 participants from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda across 19 agencies.
2–6 August 2022
Financial Investigation & Asset Recovery: Basic, Session 2
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Giraffe Beach Hotel.
30 May–4 June 2022
Financial Investigation & Asset Recovery: Advanced, Session 1
Arusha, Tanzania
Sheraton Four Points Hotel. Certificate ceremony photographed.
15–19 March 2022
Financial Investigation & Asset Recovery: Basic, Session 1
Mombasa, Kenya
White Sands Sarova Hotel. First of four financial investigation courses under the UNDP/GEF project.

Gallery

Photographs

Session under the Lusaka Agreement Task Force banner reading “Agreement on Cooperative Enforcement Operations Directed at Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora.”
Practical field exercise during the controlled delivery course, Mombasa, Kenya, 12–17 June 2023.
Field exercise, controlled delivery course, Mombasa, Kenya, June 2023.
Cohort photograph for “Strengthening Law Enforcement Capacity in Investigative Techniques and Port Security to Combat Transnational Organized Crime”. 24–28 March 2025, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Training session, Reducing Maritime Trafficking of Wildlife between Africa and Asia. Arusha, Tanzania, June 2022.
Training venue grounds, controlled delivery course, Mombasa, Kenya, June 2023.