The true cost of corruption: Inside Madagascar’s endangered tortoise trade

By: Faramalala ANDRIAMPARANY, Environment Project Officer, Transparency International Initiative Madagascar.

This is a guest blog. The contribution is intended to bring diverse perspectives and insights, enriching the discussions and content for other members and the public. If you are interested in contributing a blog, please contact the forum's coordinators.

In May 2024, a Mongabay article highlighted one of the most alarming seizures of endangered species from Madagascar in the past three years: “Six people have been arrested by authorities in Thailand for illegally transported not less than 1200 endangered tortoises and 48 lemurs from the wild in Madagascar”. This alarming situation proved the existence of an organized network of traffickers. In the framework of the USAID funded project “Combatting Corruption and Wildlife Trafficking”, a Transparency International-Initiative Madagascar’s study on the assessment of corruption risks in the tortoise supply chain was conducted in 2022.

Role of corruption in tortoise supply chain

According to the International Union for Conservation Nature (IUCN), radiated tortoises are critically endangered and could become extinct by 2050, making conservation actions imperative. Those tortoises are mainly destined for export, local sale or meat consumption. They are sold for their meat or as pets, mainly in Asia (Thailand, China, Japan), as well as in Europe and America.

A TRAFFIC International report published in May 2023 documented the seizure of 144.478 individual items, and an additional 1,218 kg by volume were seized from 2000 to 2021, including at least 30,875 Radiated Tortoises.

Corruption risks can emerge at every stage of the tortoise supply chain, from poaching to exportation, as well as during judicial prosecution. Those corruption risks can be driven or facilitated by systemic vulnerabilities, including regulatory gaps, institutional weaknesses, and other structural deficiencies, that create opportunities for corrupt practices to occur or remain undetected.

Among the main corruption risks with a high likelihood of occurrence and impact are the following:

• Capture or poaching of tortoises: Poverty-related economic factors often undermine the commitment of local and grassroots communities to protect the tortoises. This socio-economic context acts as a vulnerability and increases the likelihood of bribery between local community members tasked with protecting these species and poachers.

• In the transport sector, the abuse of power by political elites can facilitate the illegal movement of tortoises, either by circumventing vehicle searches or through bribery. For example, some authorities instruct senior officials to allow certain vehicles to pass without being searched or even to allow certain vehicles carrying tortoises to pass.

• Preliminary investigations and upon sentencing: Bribery, influence peddling, or favouritism to release traffickers can occur during this process. This can be due to a lack of motivation on the part of police officers, and/ or pressure from political authorities who may be involved in trafficking. Additionally,some judges may sometimes abuse their position to impose light or non-exemplary sanctions on persons accused of environmental offences.

Implementation of anti-corruption measures and law enforcement

Regarding those corruption risks, anti-corruption measures and law enforcement should be prioritized in order to tackle corruption in tortoise supply chains:

• Improved coordination among stakeholders should be established to ensure transparency and facilitate access to and sharing of information between law enforcement agencies involved in reporting and seizing tortoises.

• Awareness-raising among local communities about trafficking and corruption in the sector, both nationally and locally, needs to be strengthened and encouraged to promote a culture of denunciation among the public.

• Thorough investigations by judicial police into the sponsors and accomplices behind turtle seizures must be conducted to dismantle the trafficking network.

• Strong advocacy efforts must be supported to prevent impunity for those close to power, and exemplary sanctions should be applied to deter violations and crimes related to turtle trafficking.

• Partnerships should be established with international networks and key informants at each potential exit point for turtle trafficking, to enable real-time exchange of information on suspected detentions and seizures of these species.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the guest contributors and do not necessarily reflect the position of other members or organisations in the Countering Environmental Corruption Practitioners Forum.