TNRC Event Using political economy analysis to support corruption risk assessments that strengthen law enforcement against wildlife crime

Image representing TNRC's four focus areas: wildlife, fisheries, forests, and finance

Targeting Natural Resource Corruption

Harnessing knowledge, generating evidence, and supporting innovative policy and practice for more effective anti-corruption programming

TNRC Learning Series
Anti-corruption insights for conservation and natural resource management

Using political economy analysis to support corruption risk assessments that strengthen law enforcement against wildlife crime

Tuesday
April 12, 2022

Time
9:00am - 10:30am Washington, DC
2:00pm - 3:30pm Cambridge, UK
4:00pm - 5:30pm Nairobi, Kenya
8:00pm - 9:30pm Bangkok, Thailand

Where
Remote Only

Watch the Recording

About the event

Political economy approaches are increasingly leveraged in conservation to help analyze dimensions of politics and power in a given context, to inform stronger and more strategic ways to address risks to conservation outcomes, including risks from corruption. Under the TNRC project, the Basel Institute on Governance has conducted political economy analyses (PEAs) in three countries—Uganda, Malawi, and Peru—to better understand the context for illegal wildlife trade investigations and prosecutions. In this Learning Series Webinar, the authors of a forthcoming TNRC practice note will share insights on the utility and implementation of PEA to inform corruption risk assessments that strengthen law enforcement against wildlife crime. Their experience is a resource for practitioners who seek to incorporate corruption risk assessment into their programming to combat wildlife crime. Practical reflections will be offered by USAID and WWF experts.

Learning questions

1. How does political economy analysis inform assessments of corruption risk in the investigation and prosecution of wildlife crimes? What can be learned from a political economy analysis that other types of risk assessment might miss?
2. How should findings from political economy analysis inform the design or adaptation of corruption risk mitigation measures to improve conservation outcomes?
3. What practical guidance should be followed when implementing political economy analysis in contexts in which corruption is widespread and highly politicized?

About the speakers

Headshot of Claudia Baez Camargo

Claudia Baez Camargo, Head of Public Governance, Basil Institute on Governance (Moderator)
Dr. Claudia Baez Camargo's work brings together academic research and technical assistance with the goal of promoting anti-corruption approaches that are context sensitive and address relevant drivers of corruption. Among other areas, she has conducted extensive research on how behavioral factors, such as those associated with social norms and mental models, can impact anti-corruption outcomes. At the Basel Institute on Governance, Dr. Baez Camargo is responsible for the development, oversight and management of the Institute’s research activities in the areas of public and global governance. Dr. Baez Camargo also works with a broad range of interested stakeholders on consultancy projects aimed at developing context-sensitive strategies to prevent corruption in the public sector.

Headshot of Juhani Grossman

Juhani Grossmann, Team Leader, Green Corruption Programme, Basel Institute on Governance (Presenter)
Juhani Grossmann leads the Basel Institute's Green Corruption programme, which targets environmental degradation through an anti-corruption, asset recovery and governance approach. The team’s experts in Bolivia, Indonesia, Peru, Switzerland and Uganda assist anti-corruption and natural resource agencies in both bolstering environmental crime enforcement efforts and building internal resilience against corruption risks. Before joining the Institute, he spent 20 years leading field-based anti-corruption and governance program while based in Indonesia, the Philippines, Ukraine, and Russia.


Headshot of Saba Kassa

Saba Kassa, Public Governance Specialist, Basel Institute on Governance (Presenter)
Dr. Saba Kassa is a public governance expert with a track record promoting democratic governance and socio-economic development in Africa. At the Basel Institute on Governance, she leads anti-corruption research and technical support projects. Before joining the Institute, she worked for several international organizations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, including the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the German Ministry for International Cooperation and the International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance.


Headshot of Jo Shaw

Jo Shaw, Senior Manager, Wildlife Programme/Africa Rhino Lead, WWF South Africa (Panelist)
Dr. Jo Shaw currently oversees implementation of the USAID-funded Khetha program that addresses wildlife trafficking in the South Africa and Mozambique landscapes of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park & Conservation Area (GLTFCA). Dr. Shaw joined WWF South Africa (WWF-SA) in 2012 to establish the new National Rhino program to support and strengthen rhino conservation actions in South Africa. Under her leadership, this program has grown into a broader portfolio of wildlife projects addressing species recovery, wildlife trafficking and the wildlife economy. Dr. Shaw previously worked with TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa as Programme Officer for Large Mammal Trade and produced, “The South Africa – Viet Nam Rhino Horn Trade Nexus: A deadly combination of institutional lapses, corrupt wildlife industry professionals and Asian crime syndicates,” which provided vital insights into the market for rhino horn and illegal trade challenges. Her range of experience makes her well-placed to oversee WWF-SA’s Wildlife projects which include innovative approaches to addressing wildlife trafficking, including community crime prevention strategies and building ranger resilience. Dr. Shaw obtained her Ph.D. in Black Rhino Ecology from the University of the Witwatersrand and an MSc in Conservation Biology from the University of Cape Town where she designed her research to address key biological management issues impacting black rhino conservation. She is a member of the IUCN African Rhino Specialist Group and the SADC Rhino Management Group.

Headshot of Beatriz Torres

Beatriz Torres, Amazon Environment Specialist, USAID/Peru (Panelist)
Dr. Beatriz Torres is an Amazon tropical biologist with a minor in forestry science. She has worked internationally in biodiversity conservation, protected areas, migratory species, climate change and has been actively involved in negotiations within the framework of the United Nations Conventions on Biological Diversity (CBD), CITES, Migratory Species Convention (CMS), and Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) bridging science with policymaking. She has also worked in Peru with the Peruvian government, academia, and as an international consultant. For the past 10 years, she has been working with USAID managing projects in the Amazon (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru) on biodiversity conservation and sustainability, indigenous peoples, and environmental crimes. Dr. Torres’ portfolio focuses on the impacts of illegal mining and logging and wildlife trafficking in protected areas, indigenous lands, and forest lands. Her work demands extensive collaboration and coordination with government representatives, academia, NGOs, the private sector, civil society, and indigenous communities. Raised in Peru, Dr. Torres went to the U.S. as a Fullbright Scholar to pursue Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in conservation and behavioral ecology.


Image attribution: © naturepl.com / Jen Guyton / WWF; © Brian J. Skerry / National Geographic Stock / WWF; © Georgina Goodwin / Shoot The Earth / WWF-UK; © Hkun Lat / WWF-Aus