Basel Institute on Governance
Research case study 4: Deconstructing a criminal network involved in illegal wildlife trade between East Africa and Southeast Asia
The illegal wildlife trade threatens biodiversity and security worldwide. Criminal networks pocket billions of dollars in illicit profits from stripping the world bare of endangered species and corrupting politicians and public officials in the process.
Yet there is very little empirical evidence on the role of both ordinary citizens and criminal networks in the illegal wildlife trade. Our research aims to fill this gap.
We used social network analysis and network ethnography techniques to study the criminal network of a wildlife trafficker based in East Africa. The insights can bolster law enforcement efforts aimed at identifying and dismantling wildlife trafficking networks.
Published
10/2023 (2 years ago)
Author
Jacopo Costa
Document
Related publications
Research case study
Research Case Study 6: Sextortion – an unaddressed form of corruption and sexual abuse
2023 | Basel Institute on Governance
Johanna Schönberg
Research case study
Research Case Study 5: Harnessing behavioural approaches against corruption
2023 | Basel Institute on Governance
Claudia Baez Camargo, Saba Kassa
informal networkssocial normsbehavioural researchanti-corruption messaging
Guidelines
Translating political economy insights into conservation practice: a six-step guide
2023 | Targeting Natural Resource Corruption (TNRC) project
Micol Martini, Saba Kassa
Research case study
Research case study 4: Deconstructing a criminal network involved in illegal wildlife trade between East Africa and Southeast Asia
2023 | Basel Institute on Governance
Jacopo Costa
social network analysisnetwork ethnographyillegal wildlife tradeinformal governanceEast AfricaSoutheast Asia
Article
Organisational forms of corruption networks: the Odebrecht-Toledo case
2023 |
David Jancsics, Jacopo Costa
social network analysismoney launderingorganised crimecriminal networks
Working paper
Working Paper 47: Conflict of interest legislation in Brazil, South Korea and the European Union: International case studies
2023 | Basel Institute on Governance
Jacopo Costa
conflicts of interest
Working paper
Working Paper 45: Strategic anti-corruption communications – Guidance for behaviour change interventions
2023 | Basel Institute on Governance
Claudia Baez Camargo, Johanna Schönberg
behaviour changeanti-corruption interventionsanti-corruption messaging
Research case study
Research Case Study 3: Exposing the networks behind transnational corruption and money laundering schemes
2023 | Basel Institute on Governance
Jacopo Costa
social network analysisnetwork ethnographyinformal governancecorruption researchmoney launderingoffshore structuressecrecy jurisdictions
Research case study
Research case study 2: Leveraging informal networks for anti-corruption in East Africa
2023 | Basel Institute on Governance
Claudia Baez Camargo, Saba Kassa, Jacopo Costa
informal networksinformal governancesocial normsbehavioural research
Research case study
Research case study 1: Targeting corrupt behaviours in a Tanzanian hospital: A social norms approach
2023 | Basel Institute on Governance
Claudia Baez Camargo
How political economy analysis can support corruption risk assessments to strengthen law enforcement against wildlife crimes
2022 | Targeting Natural Resource Corruption (TNRC) project
Saba Kassa, Jacopo Costa, Cosimo Stahl, Claudia Baez Camargo
Commissioned study, Report
Behavioural insights and anti-corruption: Executive summary of a practitioner-tailored review of the latest evidence (2016–2022)
2022 | Basel Institute on Governance
Cosimo Stahl
anti-corruptionsocial normsbehaviour changerealist synthesisbehavioural insights
Commissioned study, Report
Using behavioural insights to reduce gift giving in a Tanzanian public hospital: Findings from a mixed-methods evaluation
2022 | Basel Institute on Governance
Claudia Baez Camargo, Violette Gadenne, Veronica Mkoji, Dilhan Perera, Ruth Persian, Richard Sambaiga, Tobias Stark
anti-corruptionhealth carebehavioural approaches
Commissioned study, Report
Adopting a peer-led approach to disseminate anti-corruption messages: Results of the network survey
2022 | Basel Institute on Governance
Tobias Stark
social network analysisbehavioural insights
Report
Using behavioural insights to reduce gift-giving in a Tanzanian public hospital Findings from a mixed-methods evaluation
2022 |
Claudia Baez Camargo, Violette Gadenne, Veronica Mkoji, Dilhan Perera, Ruth Persian, Richard Sambaiga, Tobias Stark
behavioural insights
Article
Informal networks as investment: A qualitative analysis from Uganda and Tanzania
2022 | Governance (Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the IPSA Structure and Organization of Government Committee)
Claudia Baez Camargo, Jacopo Costa, Lucy Koechlin
informal networksinformal governanceanti-corruptionsocial normsbehavioural research
Working paper
Working Paper 40: Developing anti-corruption interventions addressing social norms: Lessons from a field pilot in Tanzania
2022 | Basel Institute on Governance
Claudia Baez Camargo
social normsbehavioural insights
Article, Commissioned study
Working Paper 39: Behavioural drivers of corruption facilitating illegal wildlife trade – Problem analysis and state of the field review
2022 | Basel Institute on Governance; TRAFFIC
Claudia Baez Camargo, Gayle Burgess
natural resource managementillegal wildlife tradesocial normsbehavioural insights
Policy brief
Policy Brief 9: Informal networks and what they mean for anti-corruption practice
2022 | Basel Institute on Governance
Claudia Baez Camargo, Jacopo Costa, Saba Kassa
informal networksanti-corruptionanti-corruption evidenceEast AfricaCollective Actioncorruptioninformal governance
Quick guide
Quick Guide 23: Informal networks and anti-corruption
2022 | Basel Institute on Governance
Jacopo Costa, Claudia Baez Camargo, Saba Kassa, Cosimo Stahl
informal governanceinformal networkssocial network analysissocial normsbehavioural insights