Hong Kong has passed a new law that classifies illegal wildlife trafficking as organised crime, placing it on the same level as drug and human trafficking.

Elizabeth Quat, the law's sponsor, is convinced that the decision to add nature crimes to the Organised and serious crimes ordinance can help authorities reach the true heads of the organisations, rather than limiting themselves to tracking down individual poachers, who very often are merely scapegoats.

Hong Kong is a transit point for illegal wildlife trafficking

Nature crimes are worth nearly 260 billion dollars a year (over 230 billion euros) and are defined by Interpol – the International Criminal Police Organisation – as the fourth largest crime in the world by scale, after drug, arms and human trafficking.

Over the years, Hong Kong, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, has been the scene of several record seizures of goods from severely threatened species. For example, 8.3 tonnes of pangolin scales (corresponding to 13,800 animals), 2.1 tonnes of ivory (around 200 elephants) and 82.5 kilograms of rhino horns, equivalent to 31 black rhinos or 14 white rhinos, have been confiscated.

Despite the seriousness of the crimes, there have never been any arrests. Those who truly profit from this trade are rarely tracked down, precisely because wildlife trafficking is often not classified as organised crime and, consequently, adequate penalties and the tools to prosecute those responsible are lacking.

The goal is to reach the true heads of the organisations

With this law, however, things could change. "All these powers will now be accessible to local law enforcement. It is a groundbreaking signal not only for Hong Kong, but for the entire region," explained Amanda Whitfort, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong.

Without intelligence work there is no hope of truly changing things.

Andrea Crosta, founder of Earth league international, the first intelligence agency for the planet

"In this way, Hong Kong is saying loud and clear that we can no longer afford to do nothing while traffickers continue to exploit our cities, devastate wildlife and steal natural resources, with major consequences for local communities and international economies," argues Lisa Genasci, chief executive of Adm Capital foundation, an environmental protection foundation that also works to combat illegal wild animal trafficking.

For this reason, Hong Kong's decision demonstrates a deeper understanding of nature crimes, one that goes beyond addressing the problem of poaching and instead investigates its causes, finally recognising its links with other criminal markets.