The project will support officials in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka and help strengthen SAWEN as the primary regional anti-trafficking organization, she added.
A nine-day workshop is being held for law enforcement officials in India, Bhutan and Nepal to train them in curbing wildlife trafficking in South Asia. The first training-of-trainers (ToT) workshop under this project began on November 21 in Dehradun, Uttarakhand and will culminate on November 29 in New Delhi, officials said.
TRAFFIC India and WWF-India in collaboration with the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN) and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) of the Government of India organized this workshop. The project aims to strengthen and build the capacity of law enforcement agencies in Bhutan, India and Nepal by focusing on strengthening the knowledge and skills of participants in curbing wildlife trafficking in the region, according to a joint statement by the organizers.
Thirty-four officials are participating in the event, ten each from Bhutan, India, Nepal and two each from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The officials are from various law enforcement agencies in their country, including forest and customs departments, police and paramilitary forces, the statement said. Jag Mohan Sharma, IFS, Director, Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, and Virendra Tiwari, IFS, Director, Wildlife Institute of India, inaugurated the workshop.
This nine-day training workshop will be conducted by experts from WCCB, National Crime Bureau, Center for Cell and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Forest Research Institute (FRI), Wildlife Institute of India (WII), among other experts from India. . “This regional workshop has been carefully designed with the evolving scenario of illegal wildlife trade in mind. The training focuses on increasing the interdiction of illegal wildlife trade, building investigative and enforcement capacities to address transboundary issues and strengthening cross-border coordination,” HV Girisha, IFS, Additional Director, WCCB, said.
“As a specialized organization working to reduce crime in India, WCCB will lead the implementation of this regional workshop,” added Girisha. Various sessions planned during the training include an overview of crime and illegal wildlife trade in South Asia, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and its implementation, coordination to combat wildlife crime in Asia, lessons from conservation successes, the role of rangers and investigators, cyber crime and cyber forensics, the statement said.
Workshop participants are also trained to understand how human-wildlife conflict fuels crime and illegal wildlife trade and how to conduct forensic wildlife investigations and live animal seizures, among others, he added. Various other initiatives under this regional project include capacity building for trainers, building national law enforcement capacity, introducing new tools and technologies, and promoting more effective prosecution and court work, the report said.
The project will support officials in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka and help strengthen SAWEN as the primary regional anti-trafficking organization, she added.
