Photos credited to Northeast NOW NEWS
ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE IN INDIA
Wildlife trade poses the second-biggest threat to the survival of species after habitat destruction. India is among the top 20 countries for the illegal wildlife trade and its fast-expanding airport, rail and other transport sector is often used by wildlife traffickers to smuggle high-end, high-value species and products. To check wildlife crime in India, the Government of India mandated Wildlife Crime Control Bureau of India to initiate vigil on wildlife criminals to protect wildlife from illegal wildlife criminals.
COMBATING WILDLIFE CRIME
Our partners in northeast India, Aaranyak (a society for biodiversity conservation), are assisting government agencies in curbing wildlife crime in the region. Aaranyak, in collaboration with Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), is working with agencies like Indian Railways and Airport Authority to highlight how frontline transport agencies can help to curb wildlife crimes and trade in wildlife products.
Last month, Aaranyak organized a day-long workshop in Guwahati for the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel on dealing with wildlife crimes and detecting wildlife products. Dr. Jimmy Borah, senior manager of the Legal and Advocacy Division (LAD) of Aaranyak, presented on how railways can play a critical role in identifying and strengthening key risk points in the supply chain and emphasized the importance of transport sectors in curbing wildlife crimes by intervening in the supply chain of illegal wildlife trade through proper detection.
While our partnership with Aaranyak currently focuses on the prevention of environmental degradation through community collaboration and livelihood enhancement, it is clear that there are many different facets to preserving the distinct wildlife of NE India. Raising the awareness of the illegal wildlife trade with those in charge of transport routes is an important step in tackling this trade and solidifying the efficacy of a future landscape-scale wildlife corridor.
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