Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Illegal wildlife trade and wildlife trafficking is a major threat to the conservation of nature. Best enforcement practices need to be deployed along with strengthened inter-agency cooperation and collaboration to curb this threat.
To support this objective, TRAFFIC's India Office and WWF-India, in collaboration with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), the Government of India organised a multi-agency training on 24-26 September 2024 at Chennai.
The training was attended by over 20 enforcement officers from state forest departments, DRI, Customs, Police, and Airport Authority of India and focussed on enhancing the knowledge and skills of the enforcement officers.
Shri. A. Udhayan, IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Tamil Nadu Forest Department welcomed the participants and introduced the various issues of wildlife trafficking and illegal wildlife trade. He said, “Wildlife trafficking is not restricted to large animals alone but a whole lot of smaller and lesser known species as well as plants. This affects the long-term conservation of the species and habitats”.
“Trafficking of exotic wildlife species is also a growing concern now as in case of release of exotic wildlife in non-native habitats it can become invasive threatening the native population and habitats”, Shri Udhayan further added. He also gave a detailed overview of the amendment to the Wild Life (Protection), 1972 and its implementation.
Dr Dipankar Ghose, Senior Director, Biodiversity Conservation and Interim Head of TRAFFIC's India Office said, “Wildlife trafficking and illegal wildlife trade can not be dealt with in isolation and requires the support of various enforcement agencies. This is important for securing the natural heritage of our country. Therefore it is crucial to sensitise these agencies about emerging wildlife trade trends and the crucial role they can play in detecting and dettering wildlife trafficking, especially during transit”.
Dr Merwyn Fernandes, Associate Director, TRAFFIC’s India Office said, “This training was carefully designed to incorporate the latest trends and policies to freshen the existing knowledge and skills of the enforcement officials. It also acts as a platform to build new collaborations for protecting wildlife”.
The training was conducted by subject experts from WCCB, Tamil Nadu Forest Department and TRAFFIC’s India office. It focussed on highlighting ongoing wildlife trade issues; the amendment to the Wild Life (Protection), 1972; export and import of wildlife and related offences; wildlife cybercrime; identification of commonly trafficked wildlife species; protocols for handling live animals after seizure; the implication of CITES; challenges related to curbing wildlife crime and other issues.
The training has been organised Countering wildlife trafficking in South Asia – launched last year with funding support from the US Government.
ENDS
For any queries or more information, please contact Dr Merwyn Fernandes at merwyn.fernandes@traffic.org or mfernandes@wwfindia.net or call him at +91 9820347492; or Ms Dilpreet B. Chhabra at dchhabra@wwfindia.net or dilpreet.chhabra@traffic.org or call her +91 9899000472.
To support this objective, TRAFFIC's India Office and WWF-India, in collaboration with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), the Government of India organised a multi-agency training on 24-26 September 2024 at Chennai.
The training was attended by over 20 enforcement officers from state forest departments, DRI, Customs, Police, and Airport Authority of India and focussed on enhancing the knowledge and skills of the enforcement officers.
Shri. A. Udhayan, IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Tamil Nadu Forest Department welcomed the participants and introduced the various issues of wildlife trafficking and illegal wildlife trade. He said, “Wildlife trafficking is not restricted to large animals alone but a whole lot of smaller and lesser known species as well as plants. This affects the long-term conservation of the species and habitats”.
“Trafficking of exotic wildlife species is also a growing concern now as in case of release of exotic wildlife in non-native habitats it can become invasive threatening the native population and habitats”, Shri Udhayan further added. He also gave a detailed overview of the amendment to the Wild Life (Protection), 1972 and its implementation.
Dr Dipankar Ghose, Senior Director, Biodiversity Conservation and Interim Head of TRAFFIC's India Office said, “Wildlife trafficking and illegal wildlife trade can not be dealt with in isolation and requires the support of various enforcement agencies. This is important for securing the natural heritage of our country. Therefore it is crucial to sensitise these agencies about emerging wildlife trade trends and the crucial role they can play in detecting and dettering wildlife trafficking, especially during transit”.
Dr Merwyn Fernandes, Associate Director, TRAFFIC’s India Office said, “This training was carefully designed to incorporate the latest trends and policies to freshen the existing knowledge and skills of the enforcement officials. It also acts as a platform to build new collaborations for protecting wildlife”.
The training was conducted by subject experts from WCCB, Tamil Nadu Forest Department and TRAFFIC’s India office. It focussed on highlighting ongoing wildlife trade issues; the amendment to the Wild Life (Protection), 1972; export and import of wildlife and related offences; wildlife cybercrime; identification of commonly trafficked wildlife species; protocols for handling live animals after seizure; the implication of CITES; challenges related to curbing wildlife crime and other issues.
The training has been organised Countering wildlife trafficking in South Asia – launched last year with funding support from the US Government.
ENDS
For any queries or more information, please contact Dr Merwyn Fernandes at merwyn.fernandes@traffic.org or mfernandes@wwfindia.net or call him at +91 9820347492; or Ms Dilpreet B. Chhabra at dchhabra@wwfindia.net or dilpreet.chhabra@traffic.org or call her +91 9899000472.
