At the recent event, Wildlife Trafficking and Conservation, A Call to Action, hosted by the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, USAID Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg announced three new programs contributing to the global effort to combat wildlife trafficking.

First, USAID will enter into a partnership with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and TRAFFIC titled Wildlife Trafficking Response, Assessment, and Priority Setting (Wildlife TRAPS). TRAPS will focus on addressing trans-regional wildlife trafficking.

Second, USAID will join the Global Partnership for Oceans (GPO), a World-Bank-led trilateral partnership with over 100 public, private, and civil society partners.

Finally, USAID will develop a Technology Challenge on Wildlife Trafficking, engaging the best and brightest scientists and entrepreneurs to use technological solutions to combat wildlife trafficking.

In addition, the US Department of State will contribute $100 000 USD towards regional wildlife enforcement networks, which builds on the more than $24 million that USAID has already committed to the effort to combat wildlife trafficking over the past five years.