Workshops held on wildlife crime prevention on India-Bhutan border

Guwahati: Over 50 personnel from the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), India’s key border guarding force, deployed on the India-Bhutan border have participated in two back-to-back sensitization workshops focused on wildlife crime prevention.

The workshops that construed a significant step towards strengthening anti-wildlife crime initiatives, were organized by the SSB on October 29 and October 30 at two pivotal Border Outposts (BOPs) – at Phebsu and Mainaguri — along the India-Bhutan frontier, known as hot spots for biodiversity and targeted routes for wildlife trafficking.

The workshops were supported by Aaranyak, a leading research-driven biodiversity conservation organization in India.

The sessions in the workshops saw active engagement between the SSB personnel and experts from Aaranyak’s Legal and Advocacy Division (LAD) including Senior Manager Dr. Jimmy Borah and Senior Project Officer Ms. Ivy Farheen Hussain.

Aaranyak’s resource team presented an in-depth analysis of wildlife crime and its far-reaching implications on biodiversity and national security. The resource persons highlighted that wildlife trafficking not only threatens global biodiversity but also fuels other serious crimes including terrorism, drug trafficking, and arms smuggling. With connections extending to international markets in China and Vietnam, the illicit trade of wildlife products poses a pressing security concern.

Dr. Borah’s presentation underscored the vulnerability of transboundary areas, like the Indo-Bhutan border, in the illicit wildlife trade. He emphasized that these regions, rich in biodiversity but difficult to monitor closely, serve as critical routes for wildlife trafficking networks.

Dr. Borah outlined how sophisticated smuggling operations utilize both surface and air routes to evade security checks, pointing to the need for advanced, coordinated surveillance along key transit points, including airports and known trafficking routes.

Hussain’s session focused on regional wildlife crime dynamics, providing the SSB team with insight into species frequently targeted by poachers in the Manas Transboundary area, such as tigers, rhinos, elephants, pangolins, tokay geckos, Himalayan black bears and barn owls.

She elaborated on the motives and methods of offenders in the region and stressed the importance of rigorous evidence collection and scientific investigation to prosecute wildlife crime cases effectively, along with knowledge of relevant wildlife protection laws.

These workshops mark a critical collaboration between SSB and Aaranyak, reinforcing the need for inter-agency coordination and cross-border collaboration to curb the global menace of wildlife crime, stated a press release.

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