The Foreign Service Journal, October 2018

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2018 37 Many of the communities living in and around wildlife refuges have a complex relationship with park management. Agency for International Development—have made significant investments in Africa and Asia to improve wildlife conservation and reduce wildlife trafficking. More recently, President Donald Trump identified wildlife trafficking as a priority with the issuance of Executive Order 13773 in February 2017. Representative Ed Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and spon- sor of the END Wildlife Trafficking Act, has actively backed an ongoing initiative called Operation Jungle Book that exposed a wildlife trafficking ring in Southern California (see page 35). Rep. Royce is presently working to enact the Defending Economic Livelihoods andThreatened Animals (DELTA) Act, which, among other things, strengthens cooperation between the govern- ments of the United States, Angola, Botswana and Namibia and promotes responsible economic growth and natural resource management. To date the response to wildlife trafficking has been concen- trated in two areas: increased or improved law enforcement, on one hand, and efforts to reduce demand for wildlife products, on the other. In the long term, however, breaking the illegal wildlife trade chain requires a more holistic approach. The Critical Role of Communities Khetha is a five-year USAID program launched in July 2017 by WWF South Africa in partnership with the governments of South Africa and Mozambique. Khetha , meaning “choice” or “choose” in the local vernacular, was selected as the program’s name based on the fundamental premise that communities around