POACHERS BEWARE: CAMEROON'S LAST GREAT APE IS ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YAOUNDE 000539

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT ALSO FOR AF/C, OES, INL, G/TIP
ACCRA FOR REO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV KCOR SNAR PHUM PARM EAID PGOV CM
SUBJECT: POACHERS BEWARE: CAMEROON'S LAST GREAT APE IS ON
THE PROWL

REF: A. 05 YAOUNDE 530

B. 05 YAOUNDE 1732

C. 06 LIBREVILLE 431

D. LIBREVILLE 110

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1. (U) Summary. Cameroon's Last Great Ape (LAGA)
organization deploys passionate staff and proven law
enforcement techniques to achieve spectacular results in
prosecuting wildlife traffickers in Cameroon and,
increasingly, the Central African region. In their
unorthodox pursuit of wildlife traffickers, LAGA's
investigators have found that the trade in protected species
is linked to organized crime including internet scams and
trafficking in drugs and illegal immigrants. End summary.

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Actions Louder Than Words
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2. (U) LAGA's cooperation with Cameroonian officials has
produced successful prosecutions for many years (reftels).
LAGA's approach is collaborative -- LAGA works closely with
the Ministry of Flora and Fauna (MINFOF) and even
participates in Cameroon's official Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) delegations
-- but with a strong dose of tireless nagging. LAGA staff
say they succeed by forcing members of Cameroon's infamously
corrupt and ineffective bureaucracy recognize that it is
easier to comply with LAGA's demands for enforcement of
Cameroonian law than to face LAGA's relentless full-court
press -- media campaigns, phone calls, and hectoring meetings.


3. (U) In 2006 this strategy proved successful as LAGA
conducted more than 200 missions across all ten provinces,
resulting in 43 court cases for an average of one wildlife
prosecution every 8 days. LAGA's media-savvy operations
generated more than 360 press stories on wildlife
trafficking. LAGA boasts that stepped-up pressure on
judicial officials has meant that now 87 percent of
defendants remain incarcerated while awaiting trial. When
MINFOF blamed fiscal constraints for lagging prosecutions,
LAGA worked with MINFOF to reform the system, including by
raising the damages awarded and identifying individual
lawyers who were more effective for lower fees (in part by
eliminating opportunities for nepotism within MINFOF's legal
structures). One of LAGA's 2006 successes, where 9 men were
arrested in Sangmelima for trafficking in ivory and leopard
skins, established a number of important precedents: the
first application of the maximum 3 years imprisonment for
wildlife trafficking, the first successful prosecution of
military officials (who provided cover by transporting the
items in a military truck) for wildlife crimes, and a new
record for damages awarded to MINFOF--about $35,000.

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Trafficking: It's Not Just for Wildlife
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4. (U) LAGA's investigators have found a direct link
between wildlife trafficking and other forms of organized
crime, including internet scams targeting Americans and
trafficking in drugs and illegal immigrants. Trolling the
internet for Cameroon-based individuals offering protected
species, LAGA's investigators found a large number of
wildlife-related scams linked to individuals involved in
defrauding Americans with false claims of animals and even
children for sale. According to LAGA, many of these attempts
are fraudulent (i.e., the person offering the animal does not
actually possess it),but they believe genuine traffickers
are increasingly using the internet as well. LAGA
investigators have also found that networks smuggling
wildlife are also involved in narcotics trafficking; a
January 2006 operation, for example, netted a young
chimpanzee, 50 kg worth of marijuana and an indeterminate
amount of cocaine.

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Comment: The Last Great Ape: A Rare Species of NGO
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5. (U) With spartan offices and no 4WDs or other
traditional trappings of the development world, LAGA's style
is more guerrilla than development orthodox, and the proven,
quantifiable results similarly make LAGA stand out for its
ability to prompt action from Cameroon's bureaucracy.
Providing a welcome breath of fresh air in an environment

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where almost every meeting ends with a request for financial
support, LAGA's Director, when asked in an April 4 meeting
with the Ambassador how LAGA might use USG funds, replied:
"Your money is less important to us than your political
support." End comment.
MARQUARDT