DATABASES AND ASSESSMENTS

Sponsored by: DEFRA IWT Challenge Grant
​2018-2020

Valuing damage of illegal wildlife trade to inform lawsuits 

Lead by Dr. Jacob Phelps at the Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, this project is examining how sanctions against IWT can better reflect the injuries to society (for example, on livelihoods, biodiversity, and culture). Legal Atlas will support the research through its legal intelligence platform enabling the rapid and comprehensive compilation and comparison of sanctions applicable to illegal wildlife trade, as well as the evidence based development of international “best practices” standards.

Sponsored by: Arcus Foundation
Jan 2018 - Dec 2019

Illegal Wildlife Trade in Great Apes and Gibbons

A legal assessment, based on a systematic analysis of international and national legislation, in support of Arcus’ efforts towards the conservation and protection of great apes and gibbons. The analysis will not only help identify internal gaps and conflicts, and the level of compliance with existing international obligations, but will also help highlight existing opportunities to support enforcement and prosecution strategies, including novel approaches that may be available, for example, in trade related legislation. Preliminary results presented at CITES Animals Committee Meeting in Geneva on July 17th, 2018.

Sponsored by ENACT Africa and GITOC
​Jan - June 2018

Database of Organized Crime Law

Project to identify key legal content to support a targeted indexing exercise. Project was conducted by a joint team comprised of experts from Legal Atlas, ENACT, and GITOC. Legal Atlas was responsible for the rapid compilation, publication, and tagging of legislation covering organized crime (limited to five (5) specific types of organized crime) to support the assessment of the ‘political will’ countries have in addressing the issue as evidenced in part by their legal preparedness. The scope of the project was global resulting in a digital recored in excess of 1,000 related laws in 165 countries.

Partially sponsored by: ADB, Arcus Foundation, ICCF, Lancaster Environment Centre, GITOC​,  ZSL,
2013 - present

Database of Wildlife Trade Legislation

Initially sponsored by the Asian Development Bank to support the Asian Judges Network for the Environment, this project compiled and assessed frameworks for wildlife trade legislation for later publication in the Legal Atlas platform. ​Since its initiation in 2013, successive research efforts have contributed to the compilation of 60+ national legal frameworks for IWT; a set of related international treaties; several legal analyses including identification of relevant provisions and brief overviews for each law. For a complete list of IWT related projects go to our WILDLIFE TRADE projects page.

OTHER ASSESSMENTS

​Gap Analyses, Best Practices, Field Research

Sponsored by GITOC
​May-June 2018

Catch Me If You Can:
Legal challenges to illicit wildlife trafficking over the internet

This policy brief is the last in a three-part series entitled Digital Dangers published by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GITOC). Drafted by Legal Atlas, this brief examines the challenges presented by internet based crimes, in particular the numerous practical difficulties in determining the legality of observed trade, as well as establishing jurisdiction over the individuals involved in a multi-jurisdictional environment. 

Sponsored by: EU Directorate General for International Cooperation
2016-2017

Larger Than Tigers: Inputs for a strategic approach to biodiversity conservation in Asia

Working on behalf of the Wildlife Conservation Society to draft the EU Biodiversity Conservation Strategy for Central Asia as a part of the main Asia report “Larger Than Tigers: Inputs for a strategic approach to biodiversity conservation in Asia.” The regional focus is a portion of Central Asia that includes all or parts of the following eight countries: Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Other countries in the region are part of the Larger Than Tigers publication. 

Sponsored by: DEFRA
2016-2017

Silent Steppe II - Field Survey and Report on Wildlife Trade

Working in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London, members of the Legal Atlas team conducted a comprehensive field survey of wildlife trade in Mongolia, resulting in a extensive report, Silent Steppe II: Mongolia's Wildlife Trade Crisis, Ten Years Later. The project is a sequel to the most comprehensive IWT study conducted in Mongolia to date, Silent Steppe. 

Sponsored by: UNEP-WCMC and Legal Atlas
2016-2017

Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction

Working in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) to help draft an analysis of institutional arrangements in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) (covering approx. 42% of the planet) as part of a Global Environment Fund (GEF) program. The resulting report is entitled Governance of areas beyond national jurisdiction for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use: Institutional arrangements and cross-sectoral cooperation in the Western Indian Ocean and South East Pacific.

Sponsored by: WWF-US
2015

Trans-Pacific Partnership - Legal and Enforcement Review

On behalf of WWF, Legal Atlas conducted research into the import related laws and measures in eight countries that can be used to prevent or prosecute the ingress of illegally sourced wild flora and fauna, marine species, and timber products. 

Sponsored by: Zoological Society of London
2014

Natural Heritage Sites and Extractive Industry

Working with ZSL's Conservation Programmes department, Legal Atlas conducted research into the legal and policy foundations concerning extractives and protected areas, with a particular focus on World Heritage Sites. The final report was in the form of a Policy Brief containing findings and recommendations for presentation at the World Parks Congress in Australia in November 2014.

Sponsored by: CMS Secretariat
2014

Linear Infrastructure Guidelines

Working under the direction of the Wildlife Conservation Society with funding from the Convention on Migratory Species, Legal Atlas acted as the principal author of a new set of policy guidelines for linear infrastructure development. The geographic focus was limited to 7 Central Asian countries and looked at opportunities to improve policies and practices to avoid and mitigate the impacts of linear infrastructure on migratory species. A copy of the Guidelines can be downloaded from the CMS Secretariat's website.

Sponsored by: World Bank
2014

Review and Draft Fertilizer Legislation

The World Bank sponsored the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock in Afghanistan in its efforts to develop a comprehensive legislative and regulatory framework for fertilizers. Legal Atlas was asked to assess and assist with the creation of a full legislative framework for the management of fertilizers, with particular attention to quality control processes.

Sponsored by: IUCN Environmental Law Center
2013

Pro-Poor REDD+ Legal Frameworks

Legal Atlas supported the IUCN's Environmental Law Center to design and conduct a a comprehensive assessment of REDD+ legal frameworks including case studies in five countries. Countries included Cameroon, Ghana, Guatemala, Uganda, and Indonesia. The assessment resulted in a set of guidelines to: (1) increase the scope and competency of institutional services related to REDD+, (2) outline principles for legal reform exercises, (3) provide a basis for appropriate inclusion and cooperation with communities in REDD+, (4) establish a tool for monitoring and evaluating related laws in other countries.