Mr Kota Thirupathaiah (Retired APCCF, Telangana Forest Academy), Mr P.K. Jha (PCCF & HOFF, Telangana), Mr Munindra (APCCF - Wildlife, Telangana) with Prakriti Srivastava, WCS-India Country Director and WCS-India team.
Hyderabad: WCS-India has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Telangana Forest Department to conduct capacity building workshops for combatting wildlife trafficking in the State. Together, we hope to further equip the Forest Department and support them in tackling the serious issue of wildlife trafficking. We are eagerly looking forward to improving the conviction rates of wildlife offences in Telangana.
Wildlife trade is the third most rampant illegal trade in the world, only after illegal trade in arms and narcotics. India is a prime source country for wildlife trade, and it is reported that in 2018 alone, 329 leopards and 78 tigers were poached. WCS-India has undertaken a project called Combating Wildlife Trafficking, which aims to facilitate inter-agency collaborations amongst enforcement agencies to combat wildlife trafficking and to conduct capacity building workshops for them.
To this end, we conduct capacity building workshops for various enforcement agencies including the Forest Department, Police, Customs, Directorate of Enforcement, public prosecutors and the judiciary. We are also imparting practical training for investigation and successful prosecution with the aim of improving conviction rates, which would in turn deter illegal wildlife trade.