Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu: India’s first National Workshop on Capacity Building for Combating Wildlife Crime was flagged off today at an inaugural ceremony organised at the Tamil Nadu Forest Academy, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
The National Workshop organised by TRAFFIC, a global wildlife trade monitoring network, in partnership with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, Tamil Nadu Forest Academy (TNFA), Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), and WWF-India will be held from 4-6 February 2016 at the Tamil Nadu Forest Academy, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
The workshop is the first of its kind in India where representatives from various wildlife law enforcement agencies from all over India will be undergoing training to enhance their knowledge and skills for curbing poaching and illegal wildlife trade. The workshop will also be an important forum where discussions will lead to the development of a national level strategy and protocols for combating wildlife crime.
Honourable Forest Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu, Thiru M.S.M. Anandan sent his best wishes to all the participants and said “Poaching and illegal wildlife trade are grave threats that endanger India’s wildlife. Tiger, elephants, rhinos, and many lesser known species such as monitor lizards, pangolins, turtle and tortoise species, parakeets, munias and other bird species are poached from the wild and smuggled across borders to international markets. Unfortunately, India’s rich wildlife is always a target for poachers, wildlife smugglers and international traders and this threat needs to be curbed in order to secure future of Indian wildlife.”
“The Government of Tamil Nadu feels pleased to have hosted India’s first National Workshop on Capacity Building for Combating Wildlife Crime and welcomes enforcement officers from all across India. We are hopeful that the workshop will help train officers in various capacities and evolve national strategies for effectively combating wildlife crime. I congratulate TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, and its partners such as the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Tamil Nadu Forest Academy, Tamil Nadu Forest Department and WWF-India for taking this initiative and coordinating efforts for this National Workshop that is an important step towards curbing wildlife crime. I wish all the participants the very best for the next three days of intense training, and for their future endeavours in fighting wildlife crime,” Thiru M.S.M. Anandan further added.
Thiru Hans Raj Varma, IAS, Principal Secretary, Environment and Forests, Government of Tamil Nadu further comments, “Biodiversity in India is under severe threat from various sources including competition for natural resources, human-wildlife conflict and wildlife crime. Of late, wildlife crime – including poaching and illegal wildlife trade – has emerged as one of the major threats to wildlife, with a potential to seriously impact the health and balance of our ecosystem,” he said. “This needs to be stopped; law enforcement agencies such as the forest department, police, border security forces, Customs and others need to collaborate and coordinate their efforts. Workshops such as this not only help to enhance the knowledge and skills of the participants but also provide an opportunity to the agencies to come together to share experiences and form collaborations”
Thiru Dr V. K. Melkani, IFS, PCCF (WL) & CWLW, Government of Tamil Nadu at the inaugural further added, “Wildlife crime is an organised activity that needs an organised response. Therefore, it is important for law enforcement officers to learn and use the latest tools and techniques available to fight wildlife crime. We are hopeful that the participants will take back significant new knowledge and skills that are needed to curb this growing menace. The workshop also provides an opportunity for the participants to share their experiences from the field of wildlife conservation and protection and working together over three days to evolve national level strategies for effectively fighting wildlife crime, which is ever growing.”
In the three-day long workshop, around 100 participants from 20 States, representing the departments of forests, police and intelligence, and seven central agencies, representing the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Indo-Tibetan Border Forces, Border Security Forces, Customs, Railway Protection Force, Sastra Surakha Bal and others, will share knowledge and learn from experts about a variety of topics. These will include identification of specimens in trade and strategies in combating crime, application of forensics and DNA techniques in wildlife crime investigations, standardising forensic-based protocols for investigating wildlife crimes, intelligence collection and collation and methodologies of cyber tracking, techniques of investigation and prosecution to combat illegal wildlife trade, significance of various wildlife laws for improving prosecution in wildlife crimes, patrolling methods in the field for better surveillance, identifying core strengths and weaknesses of wildlife crime prosecution in India, improving investigation in wildlife cases, India’s role in South Asia’s fight against wildlife crimes, and more. The sessions will include presentations, panel discussion as well as field exercises.
Ms Tilottama Varma, an Indian Police Service Officer and Additional Director of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau in New Delhi, who will be leading various technical sessions during the workshop commented, “The WCCB is a nodal agency for fighting wildlife crime in India. However, it is important for it to secure cooperation and participation of other law enforcement agencies such as police, railway protection force, Customs, border security forces and others. This National Workshop is a significant platform for WCCB to share its experience and learning that has proved effective in nabbing poachers, conducting wildlife seizures and other aspects of wildlife law enforcement.”
Thiru Dr N. Krishnakumar, IFS, PCCF (HOD), Government of Tamil Nadu said, “India, like the rest of the world, is fast losing some of its iconic species due to illegal trade in wildlife. As the world grows in wealth, demand for species like tiger, elephant, leopard, pangolin or rhino for their parts and derivatives has increased. Wildlife crime has progressively become an organised activity and affects many other species for illegal exploitation. Thus it is important for enforcement officers to learn and use the latest tools and techniques to match the increasing threats to wildlife populations. With this view we expect that the participants of the national workshop will take back significant new knowledge and skills that are needed to curb this growing menace. I am sure that the workshop will provide an important opportunity for inter-agency coordination and collective work on development of combined strategies to fight wildlife crime.”
Dr Shekhar Kumar Niraj, Head of TRAFFIC India further added,: “This workshop in Coimbatore is the first of its kind in India, where officers from various law enforcement agencies have come together to undergo three days of intense skill development for combating wildlife crime, as well as, to discuss and develop national level strategy and protocols for combating wildlife crime. Keeping in view the global crisis of wildlife trade that has also engulfed India, nothing could be a more appropriate initiative than this to provide much needed coordination among the key law enforcement agencies. At this crucial juncture, basic skills and protocols need to be provided to all the relevant officers. This initiative aims to equip India with best practice approaches to combat wildlife crime and contribute to the global effort to save rare and endangered species from the threats of poaching, trafficking and illegal consumption. The workshop will provide a forum to develop a much needed national level vision and strategy in for real action.”
Also launched at the National Workshop was TRAFFIC’S latest film on the wildlife sniffer dog training programme in India titled “Super Sniffers”. The 8.5 minutes film has been directed by Mr Himanshu Malhotra, a renowned wildlife filmmaker and showcases TRAFFIC’s initiative of training and deploying sniffer dog squads in India to combat wildlife crime. The film, produced with support from WWF-India, highlights how dogs are trained at the dog training center and further used for patrolling, nabbing poachers and in arrests of wildlife criminals.
Dr Shekhar K. Niraj commented on the film saying, “The sniffer dog is an ambitious project and we hope that the film creates more awareness and acts as a catalyst for more dog squads being deployed to protect India’s vast wildlife.”
To know more, please contact Dr Shekhar Kumar Niraj, Head of TRAFFIC India at shekhar.niraj@traffic.org or call him at 09868178927 or you can contact Dilpreet B. Chhabra, Senior Manager-Communications, TRAFFIC India at dilpreet.chhabra@traffic.org or call her at 09899000472.
About TRAFFIC
TRAFFIC is a strategic alliance of WWF and IUCN. It was established in 1976 and since then it has developed a considerable international reputation for helping to identify and address conservation challenges linked to trade in wild animals and plants. In India, TRAFFIC carries out research and provides analysis, support and encouragement to efforts aimed at ensuring that wildlife trade is not a threat to conservation of nature in India. TRAFFIC in India operates as a programme division of WWF–India, the largest conservation organization in India.
www.trafficindia.org ; www.traffic.org
The National Workshop organised by TRAFFIC, a global wildlife trade monitoring network, in partnership with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, Tamil Nadu Forest Academy (TNFA), Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), and WWF-India will be held from 4-6 February 2016 at the Tamil Nadu Forest Academy, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
The workshop is the first of its kind in India where representatives from various wildlife law enforcement agencies from all over India will be undergoing training to enhance their knowledge and skills for curbing poaching and illegal wildlife trade. The workshop will also be an important forum where discussions will lead to the development of a national level strategy and protocols for combating wildlife crime.
Honourable Forest Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu, Thiru M.S.M. Anandan sent his best wishes to all the participants and said “Poaching and illegal wildlife trade are grave threats that endanger India’s wildlife. Tiger, elephants, rhinos, and many lesser known species such as monitor lizards, pangolins, turtle and tortoise species, parakeets, munias and other bird species are poached from the wild and smuggled across borders to international markets. Unfortunately, India’s rich wildlife is always a target for poachers, wildlife smugglers and international traders and this threat needs to be curbed in order to secure future of Indian wildlife.”
“The Government of Tamil Nadu feels pleased to have hosted India’s first National Workshop on Capacity Building for Combating Wildlife Crime and welcomes enforcement officers from all across India. We are hopeful that the workshop will help train officers in various capacities and evolve national strategies for effectively combating wildlife crime. I congratulate TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, and its partners such as the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Tamil Nadu Forest Academy, Tamil Nadu Forest Department and WWF-India for taking this initiative and coordinating efforts for this National Workshop that is an important step towards curbing wildlife crime. I wish all the participants the very best for the next three days of intense training, and for their future endeavours in fighting wildlife crime,” Thiru M.S.M. Anandan further added.
Thiru Hans Raj Varma, IAS, Principal Secretary, Environment and Forests, Government of Tamil Nadu further comments, “Biodiversity in India is under severe threat from various sources including competition for natural resources, human-wildlife conflict and wildlife crime. Of late, wildlife crime – including poaching and illegal wildlife trade – has emerged as one of the major threats to wildlife, with a potential to seriously impact the health and balance of our ecosystem,” he said. “This needs to be stopped; law enforcement agencies such as the forest department, police, border security forces, Customs and others need to collaborate and coordinate their efforts. Workshops such as this not only help to enhance the knowledge and skills of the participants but also provide an opportunity to the agencies to come together to share experiences and form collaborations”
Thiru Dr V. K. Melkani, IFS, PCCF (WL) & CWLW, Government of Tamil Nadu at the inaugural further added, “Wildlife crime is an organised activity that needs an organised response. Therefore, it is important for law enforcement officers to learn and use the latest tools and techniques available to fight wildlife crime. We are hopeful that the participants will take back significant new knowledge and skills that are needed to curb this growing menace. The workshop also provides an opportunity for the participants to share their experiences from the field of wildlife conservation and protection and working together over three days to evolve national level strategies for effectively fighting wildlife crime, which is ever growing.”
In the three-day long workshop, around 100 participants from 20 States, representing the departments of forests, police and intelligence, and seven central agencies, representing the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Indo-Tibetan Border Forces, Border Security Forces, Customs, Railway Protection Force, Sastra Surakha Bal and others, will share knowledge and learn from experts about a variety of topics. These will include identification of specimens in trade and strategies in combating crime, application of forensics and DNA techniques in wildlife crime investigations, standardising forensic-based protocols for investigating wildlife crimes, intelligence collection and collation and methodologies of cyber tracking, techniques of investigation and prosecution to combat illegal wildlife trade, significance of various wildlife laws for improving prosecution in wildlife crimes, patrolling methods in the field for better surveillance, identifying core strengths and weaknesses of wildlife crime prosecution in India, improving investigation in wildlife cases, India’s role in South Asia’s fight against wildlife crimes, and more. The sessions will include presentations, panel discussion as well as field exercises.
Ms Tilottama Varma, an Indian Police Service Officer and Additional Director of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau in New Delhi, who will be leading various technical sessions during the workshop commented, “The WCCB is a nodal agency for fighting wildlife crime in India. However, it is important for it to secure cooperation and participation of other law enforcement agencies such as police, railway protection force, Customs, border security forces and others. This National Workshop is a significant platform for WCCB to share its experience and learning that has proved effective in nabbing poachers, conducting wildlife seizures and other aspects of wildlife law enforcement.”
Thiru Dr N. Krishnakumar, IFS, PCCF (HOD), Government of Tamil Nadu said, “India, like the rest of the world, is fast losing some of its iconic species due to illegal trade in wildlife. As the world grows in wealth, demand for species like tiger, elephant, leopard, pangolin or rhino for their parts and derivatives has increased. Wildlife crime has progressively become an organised activity and affects many other species for illegal exploitation. Thus it is important for enforcement officers to learn and use the latest tools and techniques to match the increasing threats to wildlife populations. With this view we expect that the participants of the national workshop will take back significant new knowledge and skills that are needed to curb this growing menace. I am sure that the workshop will provide an important opportunity for inter-agency coordination and collective work on development of combined strategies to fight wildlife crime.”
Dr Shekhar Kumar Niraj, Head of TRAFFIC India further added,: “This workshop in Coimbatore is the first of its kind in India, where officers from various law enforcement agencies have come together to undergo three days of intense skill development for combating wildlife crime, as well as, to discuss and develop national level strategy and protocols for combating wildlife crime. Keeping in view the global crisis of wildlife trade that has also engulfed India, nothing could be a more appropriate initiative than this to provide much needed coordination among the key law enforcement agencies. At this crucial juncture, basic skills and protocols need to be provided to all the relevant officers. This initiative aims to equip India with best practice approaches to combat wildlife crime and contribute to the global effort to save rare and endangered species from the threats of poaching, trafficking and illegal consumption. The workshop will provide a forum to develop a much needed national level vision and strategy in for real action.”
Also launched at the National Workshop was TRAFFIC’S latest film on the wildlife sniffer dog training programme in India titled “Super Sniffers”. The 8.5 minutes film has been directed by Mr Himanshu Malhotra, a renowned wildlife filmmaker and showcases TRAFFIC’s initiative of training and deploying sniffer dog squads in India to combat wildlife crime. The film, produced with support from WWF-India, highlights how dogs are trained at the dog training center and further used for patrolling, nabbing poachers and in arrests of wildlife criminals.
Dr Shekhar K. Niraj commented on the film saying, “The sniffer dog is an ambitious project and we hope that the film creates more awareness and acts as a catalyst for more dog squads being deployed to protect India’s vast wildlife.”
To know more, please contact Dr Shekhar Kumar Niraj, Head of TRAFFIC India at shekhar.niraj@traffic.org or call him at 09868178927 or you can contact Dilpreet B. Chhabra, Senior Manager-Communications, TRAFFIC India at dilpreet.chhabra@traffic.org or call her at 09899000472.
About TRAFFIC
TRAFFIC is a strategic alliance of WWF and IUCN. It was established in 1976 and since then it has developed a considerable international reputation for helping to identify and address conservation challenges linked to trade in wild animals and plants. In India, TRAFFIC carries out research and provides analysis, support and encouragement to efforts aimed at ensuring that wildlife trade is not a threat to conservation of nature in India. TRAFFIC in India operates as a programme division of WWF–India, the largest conservation organization in India.
www.trafficindia.org ; www.traffic.org
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