‘Tiger poachers will be back as soon as there is a demand’

The Times of India , Friday, July 29, 2016
Correspondent : Vijay Pinjarkar
VaibhavChaturvedi (30), has a masters in environment and been a researcher with the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) & Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF). He worked with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) India on issues related to protection and anti-poaching across MP, Maharashtra andChhattisgarh till 2014.

He left WWF and cofounded Wildlife and Forestry Services which is a business start-up that deals with specialized equipment and services in the wildlife sector. The little-known Chaturvedi played a key role in cracking one of the biggest international tiger poaching rackets in Vidarbha when over 25 tigers were suspected to be poached and forest department officially admitted to poaching of 15. Chaturvedi got crucial tip-offs and then worked closely with the investigators throughout.

On Global Tiger Day, TOI spoke to him about ....

Excerpts from interview ...

You played a key role in trapping Baheliya tiger poachers Mamru and Chika, and others in 2013?

I was one of the members of the team which was working on this case. There were several people who were involved in the entire investigation and operations. It was a team effort.

You were unwilling to be in the limelight in 2013. Is it true?

It's just that certain things have to be done with absolute discretion. Even now as I speak to you, I feel it's more important to see what can be done rather than what happened in 2013.

How and when did all this start?

The first actionable information that we got about this racket was in November 2012. It was the name and mobile number of a suspect Pardhi poacher. We were told that he had three tiger skins and was present close to Jabalpur. When his cell number was located with Jabalpur SP's help, we realized that this suspect was in Paratwada (Amravati). We eventually got names of 3 places where they were operating. This information was shared with Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR). Later, with more information coming, it was clear that it was not just one person but a large gang operating in parts of Maharashtra and MP. On May 29, my team along with a team from Pench searched for suspects near Patgowari near Ramtek but in vain. The details of the gang were shared with all possible agencies from May 26 to June 2. Finally, on June 6, 2013 Chikka and Mamru were nabbed.

Despite arrests, why tiger skins could not be seized?

I got to know about Chikka's arrest a day later which was a little disappointing because with that, the possibilities of recovering skins had become bleak. Nevertheless, there was a good coordination and we became a 'team' thereafter.

You were unsung hero while forest officials hogged all limelight?

I guess it was a team work. People had their set roles and tasks in the entire operation. So at one end, it was due to WWF's remarkable community work of mainstreaming Pardhi tribe which led to the flow of information to us about this racket. You see, it's not the entire community that is engaged in poaching. Several of them want poaching to stop because it brings trouble and a bad name to the entire community. And then at the other end, there were forest officers like Vishal Mali, JitendraRamgaonkar, BH Virsen, Nandkishore Kale and others working under active supervision of APCCF SS Mishra who were executing operations on ground and assisting KartikShukul in prosecution. I was liaising between the two. There were many individuals who helped us at several occasions.

What was the gravity of tiger poaching by Baheliyas till 2013 when the racket was exposed?

Baheliyas have been linked with several poaching cases in the past. As far as this case is concerned, we know that these gangs were operating in Central India since 2012 and went unnoticed for a long time. They must have caused lot of damage before the incident came to light.

How do you evaluate the current situation?

I'm sure the actions taken during the operations in 2013-14 have deterred poachers from entering Maharashtra. The top traders in the country are also very careful and hence things seem to have gone dormant. But this is not something that will last. Most involved in this racket had a history in wildlife crimes and were arrested and prosecuted for tiger poaching and trade in the past too. Since this trade is so lucrative, I don't have the slightest doubt that they will be back in the business as soon as there's a demand from the international market again. People involved in this trade seem to have learnt more lessons and are now more careful. I have been told how discreetly they use their cell phones now. Not much seems to have changed at the enforcement side. But Forest departments talking about access to CDRs and analysis etc in wildlife crime probes is a good is a positive move. It's a powerful tool and should be used to fullest in investigations but this cannot replace the traditional ways of intelligence gathering, the concept which forest departments has to learn from police. Also, there's little that we know about nomadic traditional hunting tribes like Pardhis, Bawariya, Moghiyas etc. The information on different gangs of poachers, traders and their network is scattered. In the absence a proper platform for information sharing, an investigation officer has to reinvent the wheel every time. I feel WCCB must regularly coordinate, compile and share this information.

How many tigers must have been feared poached. There were several instances of abandoned cubs after mothers went missing?

I'm not sure. But if you look at the number of poachers and the area they were operating in, it must have been huge. Also, when they put leg-hold traps in the forest, several leopards and even sloth bears also got trapped. We don't really know how many leopards and bears were also killed this way. This gang was certainly operating across states and number of tigers that were killed outside Maharashtra were never investigated.

Why are BaheliyaPardhis into tiger poaching only? Are they still doing it?

Pardhi is a traditional hunting community that has always been dependent on hunting for livelihood. This was the only skill they knew for ages. With the enactment of Wildlife Protection Act in 1972, hunting of wild animals was declared illegal. In the absence of any rehabilitation efforts, Pardhis were left with no legitimate way to eke out a living. The government has largely neglected them as citizens and has hardly done anything for their social uplift. Most of them lead a life of nomad destitute. While crores are spent on conserving tigers by the government and NGOs, not much has been done to mainstream Pardhis.

What needs to be done to keep them away from tiger poaching?

Enforcement and social uplift of traditional hunting communities. Firstly, government and society has to be equally sensitive about them as they are about the tigers. Concentrated efforts have to be made in order to uplift and mainstream Pardhis thus diverting them from poaching. There were some great initiatives like the bridge school that WWF and forest department started at Panna for Pardhi children. We saw positive changes but these efforts ended abruptly. Along with education, skill development and creating employment opportunities for Pardhi youth is extremely important. I think WWF is still working on it. There have been other exemplary works by NGOs like Tiger Watch with Moghiyas and Wildlife SOS with Kalandars that have shown good results. We need many more initiatives like these. Secondly, on the enforcement front, we need to have a database of members involved in wildlife crime, places they repeatedly use for hunting and hideaways, their network with middlemen and traders etc

Did you face any threats for cracking the huge racket?

No.

Many poachers are still at large. Why?

I feel, the partnership and stakeholdership that was there in the beginning ended eventually. Lot of people who were driving the operation from backstage lost interest as the sense of engagement was lost. People with shared goals must be seen as partners and not just resource.

Are you satisfied with what is being done by the departments to keep poachers away?

Again, I'm not very well informed to comment on this. I hope that the efforts in patrolling and protection must have increased after this big poaching incident happened. We can see that the forest departments in MP and Maharashtra are talking about use of new techniques in investigations and working really hard with prosecution. This is very encouraging but what's still missing, and is most crucial, is engaging with the traditional hunting communities like Pardhis at the social and enforcement front. I mean, you can do all the analysis when you have the actionable intelligence. You need information and can't make bricks without the clay, as they say.

What is your message to authorities, NGOs and political bosses for curbing poaching?

I feel there's a dire need to engage with the traditional hunting communities at both enforcement and social levels. At one end you have to make poaching an expensive proposition for them by not letting them get away with it easily. Sound intelligence gathering can in fact prevent these crimes from occurring at the first place. At social front, government and NGOs must help these people to adapt to mainstream occupations and lead a respectful life.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Tiger-poachers-will-be-back-as-soon-as-there-is-a-demand/articleshow/53441048.cms
 


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