The Europe Trade in Wildlife Information eXchange (EU-TWIX): A TOOL TO FACILITATE INFORMATION EXCHANGE ON ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE IN EUROPE

National law enforcement agencies in Europe play a crucial role in the efficient enforcement of EU Wildlife Trade Regulations and CITES through the efforts of Customs, police and other inspection services in combating illegal wildlife trade into and from Europe.

The EUrope Trade in Wildlife Information eXchange (EU-TWIX) database has been developed to assist national law enforcement agencies, including CITES Management Authorities and prosecutors, in their task of detecting, analyzing and monitoring illegal activities related to trade in fauna and flora covered by the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations and CITES. The main section of the database is designed to become a unique source of centralised data on seizures and offences reported by countries in Europe. Additionally, it has a section with information on technical, scientific, economic and other fields to help with the identification, valuation, disposal, etc. of seized or confiscated specimens. The purposes of EU-TWIX are to assist with strategic analyses and with carrying out field investigations.

The success of EU-TWIX largely depends on the regular input of information relating to new seizures and offences by national law enforcement agencies. The contribution of all designated enforcement officers in each country is therefore essential to increase significantly the efficiency of this tool in a short-term period. EU-TWIX has been developed by the Belgian Federal Police and TRAFFIC with the advice of the Belgian CITES Management Authority and Customs. This project has received funding from the European Commission (DG Environment and DG Home Affairs) and the Governments of Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.