India and US will join hands for wildlife conservation in India. The US-India Wildlife Conservation Cooperation Programme is on the anvil in nine major tiger and other wildlife reserves across the country for conservation of endangered species as tiger, lion, elephant, wolf, olive ridley turtles, amongst others.
Four US-based organisations will soon sign an MoU with the Environment Ministry and Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
US-based companies, signing the pact, include US Fish & Wildlife Service, US National Park Service, US Geological Service, National Wildlife Health Centre and Smithsonian Institution.
The sphere of cooperation between the two countries includes expertise and resources for wildlife forensics, conservation genetics, natural interpretation and conservation areas, besides wildlife health and disease surveillance, while trying to develope WII as an institute of excellence.
According to sources in the Ministry, nine to ten protected areas — like Tadoba, Corbett, Panna, Bandipur, Dudhwa, Gir, Pakke, Hemis and Bhitarkanika — have been selected for setting up state-of-the-art nature interpretation facilities, conservation education, awareness and outreach.
The programme will improve capacities of field directors and provide them with larger exposure through global trainings, workshops, and exchange programmes. It will also stress on facilitating conservation education programmes for school and university students. It will also develop programmes for engaging stakeholders like media, judiciary,public representatives, corporate houses and local communities.
Similarly, approach on wildlife health and emerging diseases programme will enhance capabilities of selected veterinary institutions in the country.
The plan also includes establishment of regional health centre at WII and its ten regional nodes. There will be scientific exchange between US and Indian wildlife scientists with short courses and workshops on health issues, particularly zoological medicine , associated aspects of animal husbandry, nutrition, housing for disease detection and zoo administration.
According to sources, one major advantage for India would be the collaborative forensic programmes to combat wildlife crime. It will include developing standard operating protocols for morphological, chemical and molecular methods to identify wildlife products. Training through courses for law enforcement officers and judiciary will also be conducted to improve conviction rates of wildlife crimes.