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(January 31, 2022) Below are some of our comments and suggestions submitted to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change concerning the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which was tabled before the Rajya Sabha recently to amend the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (hereafter referred to as the BDA). These Amendments were introduced 20 years after the law was initially passed in 2002, in response to a long-standing demand from stakeholders to simplify, streamline and reduce compliance burden i...

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(January 31, 2022) Wildlife Conservation Society-India (WCS-India) works towards the conservation of wildlife and wild places through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. WCS-India’s Counter Wildlife Trafficking (CWT) Program aims to assist government agencies by providing access to information, skills, technology, and expert support to tackle wildlife crime in India.  Illegal wildlife trade is recognised as a serious transnational crime with an overall turno...

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(January 27, 2022) Jivan, a six-year-old male leopard that was radio-collared in Mumbai on 24 January 2022, is the latest of four individuals paving the path for understanding human-leopard interactions in the urban landscape.  The leopard was named 'Jivan' to honour the memory of Jivanayakam Cyril Daniel or J. C. Daniel who studied the leopards of Mumbai in the 1970s and 80s. His book titled, 'The Leopard in India', published in 1996, was among the first to collate anecdotes, st...

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(January 24, 2022) Counter Wildlife Trafficking Newsletter December 2021 Wildlife trade trivia     Illegal wildlife trade in December 2021     News scan (December 1 - 31) Big Cats Ten held for poaching leopard in Salekasa, chopping paws | Times of India It’s raining tiger and leopard skins and body parts in the region. In a raid on poachers, the Nagpur forest division officials arrested ten accused from Salekasa under Gondia forest division for h...

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(January 19, 2022) These are our preliminary comments and recommendations on the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 (hereafter referred to as the Draft Amendments) tabled before the Rajya Sabha recently to amend the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 (hereafter referred to as the WLPA).  At the outset, the work that has gone into the Draft Amendments should be appreciated as it has resulted in addressing several concerns of the members of the conservation community in India. The following aspects are...

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(January 06, 2022) We are proud to share that Prema, a resident of the Sollepura Voluntary Relocation Centre, H. D. Kote, has been honoured by yet another award given to farmers! Vijaya Karnataka, a leading Kannada daily, recently chose her as a ‘VK Super Star Raitha 2021’ (which translates to ‘super star farmer’). Here’s a small video that sums up Prema’s journey into farming. Watch video Following is the English translation of the same: 'Prema, a resident of th...

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(December 20, 2021) Counter Wildlife Trafficking Newsletter November 2021 Wildlife trade trivia   Illegal wildlife trade in November 2021   In Focus Click here to view the guide   Superstitious Beliefs – Another Source of Demand in India’s Illegal Wildlife Trade | The Wire Science In India, the demand for animal parts in superstitious rituals fuels poaching and illegal trade, and the illegal availability of these parts sustains the rituals...

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(November 12, 2021) (Text by Sourabha Rao) Prema, a beneficiary of our Livelihood Support programme, is a farmer of relentless dedication. A hardworking woman from a forest community, dwelling in the Sollepura Voluntary Relocation Centre, Prema was honoured with the ‘Best Progressive Farmer, District Level-Mysuru’ Award yesterday at the Krishi Mela by the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru. She was selected for the inauguration of the programme. Prema grows ragi, tomato, beans...

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(November 09, 2021) Counter Wildlife Trafficking Newsletter October 2021 Wildlife trade trivia * Scientific names as mentioned in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972   Illegal wildlife trade in October 2021   News scan (October 1 - 31) Big cats Ensnared big cat dies in Eturunagaram forest, two held | 3 October 2021 A big cat, suspected to be a tiger, was caught in a snare set up by some hunters in the forest area of SS Tadwail Mandall in Mulugu district. The big ...

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(October 06, 2021) Counter Wildlife Trafficking Newsletter  September 2021  Illegal wildlife trade in September 2021  News scan (September 1 - 30)  Big Cats Tigress strangled by poachers in Madhya Pradesh's Bandhavgarh reserve forest | 1 September 2021 A tigress in the Bandhavgarh reserve forest in Madhya Pradesh’s Umaria district, very popular among tourists and locals, was killed by poachers who stuffed her body in a gunny bag and threw it in a well ins...

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