Imphal: Flagging the ever-increasing graph of wildlife crime especially trafficking in wildlife within India as well at the global level, Manipur High Court Chief Justice P V Sanjay Kumar on Monday underlined sustained collaboration among all the stakeholders including various government agencies and forces in the State and Central level.
Addressing a workshop on “Wildlife crime prevention – challenges, solutions and role of stakeholders” in Imphal, the Chief Justice said in view of the changed scenario, wildlife crime which is the fourth largest illegal trade on the globe, dealing with wildlife crimes requires also probing its link to narco-terrorism and arms smuggling and using of latest scientific mode on investigation DNA tests and wildlife forensics to increase the conviction rate.
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He said it is necessary for holding training sessions, awareness workshops for forest, police, judiciary and other government agencies for effective tackling of wildlife crimes through synergized efforts in India, a country with major biodiversity.
Justice Kumar further said the Northeast as well as the country as a whole stand vulnerable to wildlife crimes because of the presence of porous international borders and rich prevalent biodiversity.
He wished the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 would have provisions to deal with the illegal trade of exotic animals too.
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Other distinguished speakers in the workshop which was organised by Manipur State Legal Services Authority in collaboration with research-based biodiversity conservation organisation Aaranyak (www. aaranyak.org), also agreed to the synergized action on part of multiple agencies as well as the community as a whole to mitigate wildlife crimes.
Justice M V Muralidaran on the High Court called for serious introspection on part of all agencies concerned about low reporting wildlife crime in Manipur and delay in the conviction of guilty.
He said as a global citizen it is the duty of every citizen to strive for the protection of wildlife which is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He further raised an alarm that India has become a source, destination and major trafficking route for illegal wildlife trade.
Justice A Bimol Singh of the High Court said India is the 17th Major biodiverse country in the world with 70 per cent of the planet’s biodiversity though it occupies less than 10 percent of the earth’s surface area.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Conservator of Forest, Manipur, Longjam Joykumar said Manipur having rich biodiversity and being close to the porous international border is vulnerable to wildlife crime and underlined the need for massive awareness among all stakeholders and strict enforcement of the WL (Protection) Act for prevention of such crimes.
The forest official rued delay in court proceedings and low conviction rates in case of wildlife crime cases and observed that usually, the court tends to ignore the provisions for the imprisonment of wildlife criminals who get away with the only imposition of fines.