India is set to host South Asian countries’ meet to develop integrated wildlife law enforcement strategy. Senior delegates from various enforcement and intelligence agencies of the eight South Asian countries plus China, Russia, and Myanmar will meet next week to develop a cross cutting operational strategy to curb the growing menace of illegal wildlife trade in the region.
The Integrated Investigative Capacity Development and Operational Planning Meeting in New Delhi will take place from 1-5 July 2013. The event will be led by INTERPOl’s Environmental Crime Programme and the Government of India’s Central Bureau of Investigation, with additional technical support from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), and TRAFFIC.
The experts from WCCB felt it is a critical step to mobilize co-ordinated action against wildlife crime by the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN). Illegal wildlife trade has grown to become the fifth largest illegal global trade after narcotics, counterfeiting, human trafficking and oil trafficking. Besides driving many endangered species towards extinction, illegal wildlife trade strengthens criminal networks, undermines national security, and poses increasing risks to global health.
Since illegal wildlife trade extends beyond national borders, a regional strategy and international co-operation are needed to address its growing influence.
Against this background, this specialized capacity development and operation planning meeting will aim to identify regional priorities in wildlife law enforcement, implement a common approach for regional operations and bridge communication gaps between agencies at the national and regional levels.