Times of India , Thursday, May 19, 2005

Correspondent : CHANDRIKA MAGO

NEW DELHI: India's seriousness in saving its wildlife will be judged internationally by how quickly it can put in place one specialised agency to act against poachers. It promised to do so six years ago, it still hasn't and this has created a situation which criminals are exploiting. This is the message coming out as the CITES tiger enforcement task force meets in New Delhi behind closed doors, bringing together officials from the poacher-active countries of India, Nepal and China to work out a strategy. CITES stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement between 167 countries to ensure the trade in wild animals and plants doesn't threaten their survival. China has been trying to communicate information to India on seizures but there is no one agency here which can act on it, go out and investigate, CITES senior enforcement officer John Seller said on Wednesday. Trying to coordinate with India is almost impossible. Trying to understand the maze of Centre-state relations, Seller knows one thing: If criminals move from one state to another here, there is no specialised agency to target them nationally and it almost seems as if criminals are exploiting this situation. This gains importance at a time when most seizures of wildlife items are centred about this region. Environment ministry has already accepted that its patchy data over the five years from 1999 shows at least 122 tigers poached. Since that assessment, the famous Sariska reserve in Rajasthan seems to have lost all its tigers. "The crisis has been building up," said Seller. Since 2002, major seizures have indicated levels of criminality which wild populations of tigers certainly may not survive. Seller says there is evidence from some parts of India about tiger numbers dropping rapidly. In some cases, seizures are beginning to drop off - a sign that the trade may have come down or, more worryingly, that there may be nothing left to trade. In contrast to India, China - a "very significant" destination - seems to be doing much better, by CITES standards. Certain places in China are a destination for the illegal trade in tiger parts and skins - sometimes for local use, sometimes as a transit point, with tiger skins making their way to West Asia. China has imposed extremely severe penalties in some cases - even the death penalty. CITES' message is clear: If India really wants to save its wildlife, it needs to put in place a "really effective law enforcement focal point". How it does this is for government to decide.

SOURCE : Times of India, Thursday, May 19, 2005