August 24, 2016. Washington, D.C. The National Whistleblower Center (NWC) is attending the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress, advocating for the payment of large monetary rewards, worldwide, to whistleblowers who disclose illegal wildlife trafficking and violations of other key anti-corruption laws. The Lacey Act, Endangered Species Act, as well as over 40 other U.S. environmental laws, allow whistleblowers from all over the world to qualify for rewards for reporting wildlife crime.
NWC Executive Director Stephen Kohn will make presentations about wildlife whistleblowing at the following conference events:
- “Tech Corner, Fighting Wildlife Crime with Tech Innovation” (US Pavilion Event) on Monday, September 5th, from 15:30-16:00.
- “Empowering Nature’s Defenders: Law, Policy, Governance and Technology Solutions to Combating Wildlife and Timber Crime” (Workshop) on Monday, September 5th, from 17:00 -19:00.
Mr. Kohn has represented whistleblowers for 30+ years, establishing precedents strengthening whistleblower rights. He represented Bradley Birkenfeld in the UBS Swiss bank whistleblower case, where Mr. Birkenfeld received a reward of $104 million—the largest individual whistleblower award ever granted.
The National Whistleblower Center (NWC) is a member of the IUCN and the leading whistleblower advocacy organization, with a 30-year history of protecting the rights of individuals to report wrongdoing. The NWC was recently selected as a Prize Winner in USAID’s Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge – an initiative of USAID in partnership with the National Geographic Society, the Smithsonian Institution, and TRAFFIC. NWC’s prize-winning solution is a secure online platform where whistleblowers can safely report wildlife crime and apply for monetary awards. The NWC’s solution was also the winner of the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge People’s Choice competition.
For more information: Please visit us during the IUCN Congress at our exhibition booth (#1023), or contact Ashley Binetti at ab@whistleblowers.org.
