grey dynamics

A Military ‘Solution’
: Will this be enough to rid Peru of Illegal Mining?

March 26, 2019

Dylan Ramshaw

    In February, the government of Peru launched an all-out and what is planned to be a  "sustained" campaign to eradicate illegal mining in the department of Madre de Dios. The raid included 1,272 police agents, 300 members of the armed forces, and 70 representatives from Public Prosecutor’s Office. Madre de Dios borders both Brazil and Bolivia. The region is not new to interventions by law enforcement. Since, in 2010 local and national authorities have attempted to curb illegal…

All Roads to Libya

February 16, 2019

Fredrik Hellem

    All Roads Lead to Libya   In late February Egypt will be hosting the European Union – Arab League summit on migration. The two partners will attempt to deal with the migration problem which has troubled policymakers in Europe, Africa, and the Middle-East for years. What needs to be addressed in the meeting is that the EU’s initiatives have failed, their own funding might help driving the migration business, and the importance of empowering southern Libya.    …

Namibia’s fight to keep the animals alive
: A success story or efforts in a losing battle?

February 15, 2019

Dylan Ramshaw

  Namibia is on the forefront of combatting poaching in southern Africa. The country’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism claims that 32 rhinos, one of the most endangered species in the region, were poached in 2017 compared 61 in 2016. This number is still dramatically less than South Africa, where in 2017 the number of rhinos killed were 1,028. 2018 saw the number of rhinos poached increase slightly, although still less than its neighbors. For several years now, the strategy…

Are Botswana’s Park Rangers Outgunned?

February 4, 2019

Dylan Ramshaw

  Last year, Botswana reappeared as a playground for poachers seeking the prized and extremely profitable elephant ivory. The killing of elephants in Botswana captured international media headlines in August of last year, after the remains of up to 90 elephants were found in the country and purportedly killed by ivory poachers. The target of the poachers were large tusked elephants carrying tusks of 60-70 pounds. Because, ivory is high in demand in Asian markets. There is an ongoing debate whether the surge in slain elephants…

An intelligence led approach to anti-doping part II
: The scope for human intelligence in intelligence-led anti-doping

May 18, 2018

Rachel Brown

  Introduction   Under the Article 5.8 of the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code, National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) are obliged to “Obtain, assess and process anti-doping intelligence from all available sources”, including human sources. People involved with sport, both directly and indirectly, are in an ideal position to provide access to sport-specific issues and the tight-knit networks characteristic of sport. Human intelligence is more context specific than other intelligence sources and therefore promotes an understanding of the range of, and relationships…

An Intelligence-Led Approach to Anti-Doping

April 17, 2018

Rachel Brown

  INTRODUCTION   The traditional athlete testing-based approach to anti-doping has failed to provide an effective response to the doping problem and does not accurately represent the prevalence of doping in sport.  Technological developments, globalisation and the wealth of athletes and sports teams prevent the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) from keeping up with new substances, methods and techniques.  Anti-doping organisations lack a strategic understanding of the doping phenomenon and do not provide adequate protection to the right of athletes to…