The Uttarakhand Forest and Police Departments have received a rare honour for their work in combating wildlife crime. The State figured among the 10 recipients across the world to have received the award given during the 16th Conference of Parties (CoP) of the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in Bangkok.
The prestigious Clark R Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award is given in the memory of the Late Chief of Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Law Enforcement, US. He had set an example with his pioneering operations to unearth illegal wildlife trade.
Presented by the Secretary-General of CITES during meetings of the Conference of the Parties, the shortlisting process was coordinated by the Species Survival Network a global coalition of nearly 100 organisations from more than 30 countries. The aim of CITES is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
“The Uttarakhand Forest and Police departments have undertaken nearly 100 seizures of illegally trafficked wildlife; from April 2010 to August 2012,” says the CITES citation. This is a seizure rate higher than any of their counterparts in other Indian States and have included a variety of species protected by CITES, including Asian elephants, bears, crocodiles, big cats, reptiles and amphibians.
In the vast majority of these cases, the accused were successfully prosecuted and penalised. The collective efforts of these departments have raised the profile of wildlife crime law enforcement that led to an increase in the deterrence of wildlife crimes in Uttarakhand, adds the citation.
Chief Conservator of Forest, Kumaon, Paramjit Singh has played a major role in the State’s fight against the wildlife crime. Director of anti-poaching cell in Uttarakhand from 2003-2011, Singh successfully led a number of raids in the State leading to seizures of wildlife parts.
“We have to constantly reinvent the strategies if the wildlife traders are to be overtaken,” says Singh. He admits that the poachers today are very vigilant, hi-tech with good connectivity and communication skills, so the need of the hour is to keep pace with them. Singh is also the only recipient of Carl Zeiss Roll of Honour for Wildlife conservation in the country.
In Kumaon, he developed the “Kumaon Eagle”, a dreaded anti-poaching squad comprising of specially trained forest guards including two females.
Singh attributes the success story of the state to the cooperation received from the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), the police and other agencies.
The ongoing 12-day 16th CoP of CITES that kicked off in March 3 has declared the day as World Wildlife Day. Elephant ivory trade, rhino poaching, tiger farming in countries as China are amongst the prominent issues being taken up in the global wildlife conference.
