At today’s United for Wildlife Business Forum, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales brought together global leaders across finance, transport and technology in a new wave of action to tackle the illegal wildlife trade and environmental crime.

Held during London Climate Action Week, the Forum marks a major moment for The Royal Foundation’s United for Wildlife programme, a network of more than 300 partners responding to a rapidly evolving criminal threat.

The illegal wildlife trade is one of the world’s largest criminal enterprises, worth up to $23 billion a year, with networks increasingly exploiting digital platforms, financial systems and global supply chains to operate at scale.

A series of landmark commitments announced today show how the private sector is moving collectively to disrupt these systems.

• Major technology and e-commerce companies including Alibaba, Amazon, Baidu, eBay, Etsy, Google, Meta, TikTok, Pinterest and Weibo are, for the first time, committing to work together to end wildlife trafficking online, using AI-powered tools to detect and remove illegal listings.

• The cryptocurrency sector, represented by companies including Chainalysis PayPal, Luno, Tether, Circle and TRM Labs, is committing to track and disrupt the financial flows behind wildlife trafficking, working alongside law enforcement.

• The telco operators Vodafone, Vodacom and Safaricom are using AI and transaction monitoring through M-Pesa a digital mobile currency to help identify suspicious activity across 72 million users in East Africa.

• In the transport sector, British Airways and Heathrow are launching a public awareness campaign to reach passengers at one of the world’s busiest travel hubs. Meanwhile the World Shipping Council is introducing new screening tools using AI and machine learning to identify high-risk shipments across a fleet that carries over 90% of global container traffic.

David Fein, Co-Chair of United for Wildlife, said: “Criminal networks are exploiting hyperconnected systems at unprecedented scale and sophistication. What we see today is a recognition that the illegal wildlife trade is both an environmental and a business issue.”

Dr Tom Clements, Executive Director of The Royal Foundation, added: “As United for Wildlife enters its next decade, our focus is clear: to close the gaps criminals exploit, unlock new investment for nature, and support the people protecting wildlife every day.”

The forum comes ten years after the Buckingham Palace Declaration, with United for Wildlife now scaling its ambition for the needs ahead. Bringing together partners across business and government, United for Wildlife are driving coordinated global action to protect nature and disrupt environmental crime.