Invited by HRH The Duke of Cambridge, the Mirpuri Foundation joined United for Wildlife Meeting, as the principal sustainability partner of the airline Hi Fly, active part of the Transport Taskforce of the organization.
The meeting, hosted by Lord William Hague of Richmond, Chair of the United for Wildlife Taskforces, discussed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on illegal wildlife trade activity and how the transport and finance taskforces can mitigate it.
HRH The Duke of Cambridge addressed the virtual table in his very first webinar, following up on the last meeting, held in January, where alongside President Kenyatta from Kenya, he stated the importance of concerted action for 2020. Given the pandemic, the Duke also stated that organizations and governments need to take advantage of public awareness of zoonotic diseases to help tackle illegal wildlife trade.
David Fein, Vice Chair of the Financial Taskforce mentioned the challenges and the work done all over the world. Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, explained how illegal wildlife trade contributes to the loss of resilience and how regulations are needed to reduce the risk of emergence of new pandemics.
The online event also counted on reflections from leading scientist, conservationists and policy makers from all over the world on the link between zoonotic diseases and the wildlife trade.
United for Wildlife is the conservation vehicle led by The Duke of Cambridge and The Royal Foundation, bringing together private sector industry, international governments, law enforcement agencies and NGO’s to create a global movement for change, in order to minimise the loss of further species. The primary area of focus for United for Wildlife is the illegal wildlife trade, valued between $5-23 billion USD per year, and among the five most lucrative global crimes while also directly fuelling instability and criminality in both demand and supply countries.
