(IN) TRAFFIC WWF Workshop at Raipur, Chhattisgarh in June, 2009

[Guest guest]

*Dear all,*

 

* Please find attached the press release for the WWF TRAFFIC

workshop held in Raipur in Chhattisgarh recently. This was my first event

attendance since I joined WWF last month and it was a good experience and

also beneficial exposure. Besides attending the workshop, I was also able to

visit the Raipur Zoo. I plan to write a short report on this facility too.

The highlight of the Raipur workshop was the lecture delivered by Ritwick

Dutta, an extraordinary environmental lawyer practising in the Supreme Court

of India. Ritwick took part in several sessions in Raipur and held the

audience captive with his magnetic speeches and his succinct analyses of the

legal scenario concerning wildlife in India. He is undoubtedly one of the

very best speakers I have ever had the privilege of listening to. He is

young, handsome, articulate and does not utter a dull sentence. Besides, he

has the greatest quality of a public speaker, ie., he never resents a

question no matter how awkward or uncomfortable. It was a real educational

experience listening to and interacting with him. He has represented many

crucial wildlife protection cases in India and has taught many forest

department personnel on legal issues surrounding wildlife conservation in

India.*

 

*I look forward to attending the next workshop too.*

 

*Regards,*

 

* *

 

*Yours sincerely,*

 

**

 

*Programme Officer TRAFFIC INDIA WWF*

 

*011- 41504786/43516290.*

 

*TRAFFIC India and WWF in partnership with Chhattisgarh Forest Department

and National Tiger Conservation Authority, conducted a two day training

workshop on wildlife enforcement for forest department officials in

Chhattisgarh. The workshop was held at the Celebration Hotel from 29

to 30thJune, 2009. Over 50 officials of Chhattisgarh Forest Department

have

participated in this two days’ workshop. *

 

**

 

*Mr Vikram Usendi, Hon’ble Minister of Environment & Forest of Chattisgarh,

in his inaugural address expressed his appreciation for TRAFFIC-India and

WWF, for having thought of organizing such a programme on wildlife

conservation. Mr Usendi said “Saving our precious wildlife cannot be

undertaken without the proper knowledge of the legalities and related issues

surrounding wildlife trade in India and abroad. It is also necessary to know

how to detect wildlife crime”. *

 

**

 

*Mr Sergeous Minj Addl. Chief Sec. of the State of Chattisgarh, stated that

wildlife issues are a matter of human interest too with trade being one of

the overriding factors towards pushing wild animal species on the brink of

extinction. “Human population growth has been damaging for wildlife

conservation and it is gratifying to note that the state budget has an

allocation for wildlife preservation.”*

 

**

 

*Mr R.K. Sharma, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Chattisgarh

emphasised on the volume of the international wildlife trade and also the

amount of money involved in it internationally.*

 

*N.K. Bhagat PCCF (Wildlife) Chattisgarh, in his talk emphasized that forest

personnel have to collectively deal with the wildlife crime and have to keep

up the pace with the dynamics of trade. *

 

**

 

*Mr Samir Sinha, Head of TRAFFIC India emphasized that conservation is a war

and the fight is against prevailing attitudes towards wildlife that have not

changed through the passage of time. He explained the importance of CITES

and how the tiger symbolizes the endeavour to save wildlife on a wider

scale. He highlighted the role of TRAFFIC in helping enforcement agencies

towards controlling the illicit wildlife trade in India and South Asia.*

 

**

 

*Mr Shivaji Chauhan Senior Landscape Coordinator for WWF elaborated on the

conservation significance of the Satpuda Maikal landscape.*

 

**

 

*Technical sessions were led by Mr Ritwick Dutta & Mr Saurabh Sharma,

Supreme Court Advocates, Dr. S.P. Goyal Wildlife Forensics expert of the

Wildlife Institute of India and Mr Khalid Pasha of TRAFFIC India who shared

knowledge about various legal and technical issues of wildlife enforcement.

Mr Pasha also demonstrated the usage of metal detectors for detection of

traps in protected areas. Specific legal clauses were analysed for better

understanding of the measures required to save wildlife. In a special

session during this two day workshop Mr S.P. Yadav, Jt. Director National

Tiger Conservation Authority, gave a presentation on “Security of Tiger

Reserves” and discussed various aspects related to strengthening enforcement

in tiger reserves. *

 

**

 

*Resource material to participants have also been provided including a

printed compendium, CD on various related themes and other books, posters

etc. pertaining to wildlife law and enforcement issues. A diglot

(Hindi-English) version of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 has also been

provided to participants for easy and ready reference. During the course of

this workshop, a wildlife forensic sample collection kit developed jointly

by Wildlife Institute of India and TRAFFIC was distributed to the

participants. The customized kit will enable the field staff to collect

samples for forensic analysis as per the prescribed protocols.*

 

*The workshop was widely appreciated by participants who also had a lot of

praise for the customized training material provided to them. The

interactive sessions led to very useful discussions and will hopefully lead

to better implementation of wildlife laws in Chattisgarh. *

 

**

 

*Ms Anita Nandi, CF and Coordinator of Information, mentioned the unique

nature of the resource material given out during the workshop would be of

much use to the field staff in wildlife enforcement efforts. The various

sections dealing with identification of body parts of important species(Big

cats, bears, elephants etc.), case laws and important court judgements along

with the forensic kit material would come in handy for proper implementation

of existing wildlife protection laws.*

 

**

 

*Mr Anil Rai, CF(Administration), emphasized the importance of developing a

robust informer network to properly report cases of wildlife crime. He added

that the workshop would boost such capacity building measures. *

*

 

Ends

 

*

 

*About TRAFFIC-India*

 

**

 

*TRAFFIC is the world’s largest wildlife trade monitoring network and a

joint programme of WWF, the conservation organization and IUCN-the

International Union for Conservation of Nature. It was established in 1976

and since then it has developed a considerable international reputation for

helping to identify and address conservation challenges linked to trade in

wild animals and plants. *

 

*In India, TRAFFIC carries out research and provides analysis, support and

encouragement to efforts aimed at ensuring that wildlife trade is not a

threat to conservation of nature in India. *

 

**

 

*For more information, please visit: **www.traffic.org*<http://www.traffic.org/>

* and **www.wwfindia.org/traffic* <http://www.wwfindia.org/traffic>* or

Contact: Mr. Samir Sinha, or Khalid Pasha or on 011-

41504786/43516290.

*

 

*Note*

 

*Illegal wildlife trade is widespread globally, and is amongst the largest

criminal activities. The most commonly known products in illegal wildlife

trade in India are: Mongoose hair, snakeskin, Rhino horn, Tiger and Leopard

claws, bones, skins, whiskers, Elephant tusks, deer antlers, turtle shells,

musk pods, bear bile, medicinal plants, timber and caged birds such as

parakeets, mynas and munias.*