Circular Economy and Quality of Life · Governance and Information
LIFE SWiPE
Successful Wildlife Crime Prosecution in Europe
About the project
Poaching and illegal trade in protected species are banned under international conventions and EU law, yet wildlife crimes are often not investigated, prosecuted or punished, which makes them attractive to organised crime. LIFE SWiPE aimed to deter wildlife crime by improving compliance with EU environmental law and increasing the number of successful prosecutions. It built an evidence base on wildlife crime in 11 target countries, strengthened the knowledge and capacity of prosecutors and enforcement experts, and communicated results to the public and professional audiences. According to the official results, 1,244 experts were trained, including 347 prosecutors, the number of wildlife crime cases investigated and taken to trial rose by 40%, and a Europe-wide information portal was launched.
target countries
experts trained, including 347 prosecutors
wildlife crime cases investigated and taken to trial
Ukrainian participation
WWF Ukraine took part as an associated beneficiary, and Ukraine was one of the project's 11 countries. According to the layman report, the WWF-Ukraine team continued the work during the full-scale war and trained prosecutors to counter and investigate wildlife and environmental crimes.
| Organisation | Role | EU contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Public Union World Wide Fund for Nature Ukraine (WWF-Ukraine) | Beneficiary | EU contribution: – |
For calls before 2021, the EU contribution per participant is not published.
Consortium
Consortium of 13 partners in 11 countries according to the project's layman report; the official fiche lists only the coordinator.
Coordinator
WWF Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Ukraine
- Public Union World Wide Fund for Nature Ukraine (WWF-Ukraine)
- See “Ukrainian participation”
Links
Sources and verification
Data verified on 19 Oct 2026 against official sources: