Bureau of International Narcotics-Law Enforcement announces Combat Wildlife Trafficking in Nepal

Deadline: 30-Jun-21

The Bureau of International Narcotics-Law Enforcement (INL) has announced a call for proposals for the Combat Wildlife Trafficking in Nepal to investigate, arrest, prosecute, convict, and sentence the perpetrators of wildlife crime, in accordance with international best practices and human rights standards.

Goals

The goal of this program is to improve Nepal’s will and capacity to investigate, arrest, prosecute, convict, and sentence to the fullest extent of the law the perpetrators of wildlife crime.

To achieve this goal, INL seeks to fund programs that will:

Build the investigative and enforcement functions of provincial law enforcement ministries;
Develop interagency cooperation; and/or
Enhance prosecutorial and judicial capacity.

Objectives

Objective 1: Build the investigative and enforcement functions of Nepal’s provincial law enforcement ministries to CWT. Capacity-building trainings should be for provincial law enforcement agencies in Nepal. Each training should invite multiple provincial actors, plus representatives from community ranger programs and national-level authorities as appropriate, in order to facilitate interagency cooperation. Activities may include, but are not limited to:
- Conduct trainings for provincial law enforcement, border control, customs, wildlife authorities, and other relevant provincial actors on:
  - What is wildlife trafficking and why it is important to stop it;
  - Role of organized crime in Asia;
  - Wildlife crime laws, including the relationship between CITES and national wildlife laws;
  - Detecting signs of wildlife crime;
  - Wildlife identification;
  - Collection and management of wildlife physical evidence;
  - Documentation of a wildlife crime scene;
  - Wildlife criminals’ modus operandi and tricks of the trade;
  - Prevention;
  - Role of corruption in facilitating wildlife trafficking;
  - CITES enforcement and compliance;
  - Using seizures effectively as evidence in investigations and prosecutions;
  - Investigating the online illegal trade in wildlife products;
  - Anti-poaching efforts; and
  - Sustaining law enforcement actions.
- Provide external law enforcement mentors to serve as a resource for new and ongoing investigations.
- Contribute technical expertise to wildlife investigations (handle crime scene, forensics, international communications, etc.).
- Support the creation and mentoring of a dedicated, national-level, skilled investigative unit to combat wildlife crime.
- Provide technical assistance to define the appropriate roles and responsibilities between the relevant national and provincial ministries and law enforcement entities when investigating wildlife crime.
- Provide equipment to frontline law enforcement provincial ministries to help with the investigation of wildlife crime.
- Develop guidance on the application of wildlife crime laws to assist provincial law enforcement officers.
Objective 2: Develop interagency cooperation in Nepal to CWT. In addition to offering interagency trainings, proposals must also include activities specifically targeted to improving and facilitating interagency cooperation within the Government of Nepal to CWT. Activities may include, but are not limited to:
- Develop mechanisms for more frequent experience sharing among local authorities managing criminal cases relating to wildlife.
- Provide technical expertise to establish multi-ministry/entity counter wildlife trafficking task forces or specialized cells.
- Encourage and facilitate collaboration within Nepal to share intelligence and case information.
- Assist relevant actors with sharing information and conducting joint enforcement actions and investigations.
Objective 3. Enhance prosecutorial and judicial capacity in Nepal to CWT. Activities may include, but are not limited to:
- Conduct trainings for prosecutors and judges on:
  - What is wildlife trafficking and why it is important to stop it;
  - Organized crime in Asia: what it is and how to improve prosecutions and convictions;
  - Wildlife crime laws, including the relationship between CITES and national wildlife laws;
  - Detecting signs of wildlife crime;
  - Wildlife identification;
  - Collection and management of wildlife physical evidence;
  - Documentation of a wildlife crime scene;
  - Investigation techniques;
  - Building a successful court case;
  - How to overcome legal challenges particular to wildlife crime cases;
  - Wildlife criminals’ modus operandi and tricks of the trade;
  - Role of corruption in facilitating wildlife trafficking;
  - Use of financial information in building a case, and adjudication of cases that include such information;
  - Use of anti-money laundering tools to prosecute wildlife trafficking and related crimes;
  - CITES enforcement and compliance;
  - Using seizures effectively as evidence in investigations and prosecutions;
  - Appropriate roles and functions of forensic science and technology;
  - Using scientific data and analysis to prosecute and convict; and
  - Laws pertaining to and how to prosecute the online illegal trade in wildlife products.
- Provide external mentors to prosecutors and judges to serve as a resource for new and ongoing wildlife crime cases.
- Assist with wildlife crime cases (analysis and application of laws and penal code, forensics, coordination with law enforcement, etc.).
- Conduct a legal analysis to determine the gaps between the protections offered by national legislation and CITES, and provide technical assistance to develop CITES implementing regulations, stronger wildlife crime laws, and tougher sentencing for convicted wildlife criminals.
- Provide technical assistance to identify specific laws that apply in wildlife trafficking criminal and administrative cases, including laws pertaining to facilitative crimes, such as money laundering and corruption.
- Develop guidance on the application of wildlife crime laws to assist prosecutors, judges, and courts.

Funding Information

Total Funding Available: $750,000 U.S. Dollars
Application Ceiling: Up to $750,000 U.S. Dollars
Application Floor: At least $500,000 U.S. Dollars
Anticipated Number of Awards: 1 award
Initial Project Implementation Length: 24 months
Estimated Project Start: October 1, 2021

Priority Countries: Nepal

Participants and Audiences

The intended target audiences for this program are law enforcement with a focus on provincial law enforcement units, border control, customs, wildlife authorities, prosecutors, judges, and other relevant government ministries of Nepal.

Eligibility Criteria

The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- U.S.-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
- Foreign-based non-profits/non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
Applicants must also meet the following requirements to be eligible to apply to this NOFO:
- Demonstrate current country registration in Nepal.

For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=333212