Book Description

Swaziland has a long history of conservation, dating back to pre‐colonial and colonial times. The government remains committed to wildlife conservation having enacted laws that protect wildlife and their habitat and created institutions to enforce those laws. This commitment extends to the regional and international sphere where Swaziland is a party to various regional international instruments that ensure conservation of wildlife as well as facilitating wildlife law enforcement. Despite all the government’s efforts, there are still gaps in the various laws that need to be addressed in order to ensure proper protection of wildlife in the country. This analysis found that the wildlife laws are very fragmented leading to a fragmentation in the institutional framework. Fragmented laws lead to overlapping legal provisions and lack of coordination and confusion in enforcement of those laws. The laws are also very dated and do not address the current challenges facing wildlife. The penalties for wildlife offences are quite law and this could be attributed to the fact that the laws were enacted when wildlife crimes had not yet escalated to the levels that we are witnessing today. The laws also do not fully implement the international requirements of the instruments to which Swaziland is a party. They do not for instance address organised crime and civil forfeiture of proceeds of crime. Some or all of these challenges have led to wildlife crimes having a low profile in Swaziland and most often being treated as misdemeanours by the courts. This review recommends that to address the challenges and strengthen wildlife legislation in Swaziland, the profile of wildlife crimes in the country be raised so that they hold the same weight as other serious crimes, the wildlife legislation be updated, consolidated and harmonised, the institutional framework be harmonised with clear coordination mechanisms, the penalties for wildlife offences be enhanced, a specific law criminalising organised crime be enacted and anti‐money laundering laws be updated to address civil forfeiture of illegal assets and proceeds of crime. It is also recommended that local communities living next to protected areas be engaged and sensitised on the benefits of conservation and the repercussions of wildlife crimes.