Protecting the environment with intelligence
Rewind to August 2010; Pallavi Shah reported back from a capacity building workshop in Mbeya, Tanzania. Participating in that workshop was a young activist, Tumaini James, fighting for the rights of women and gender equality in Tanzania. Fast forward five months; Tumaini James has been busy using the skills he gained in the workshop to bring [...]
January is an exciting time of year for me as it is a chance to invest in the latest technology that gives EIA its cutting edge. Now don’t presume I am advocating needless spending, I hate waste and excess as much as any environmentally conscious activist but when it comes to investment it is people [...]
That’s why last month EIA went to the 7th INTERPOL Environmental Crime Conference in Lyon. We were invited to present on what we thought the international police network could do to combat environmental crime. With the tiger summit looming, one of the things we proposed they could do (if they had the money!!) is establish “Tiger Desks”.
For most people contact with customs officers is normally limited to deciding whether to choose the green or red channel when arriving at airports. Yet customs agents have a vital role to play in combating environmental crime.
A few days ago I watched with intrigue as ‘Dada’ (sister in Swahilii) Mwakalukwa handled the digital camera with uncertainty and curiosity and such tenderness as if it may just break in her hands. With deliberate care, slowly she snapped a photo and her face beamed with pride.