Monday, December 9, 2024
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Legal fraternity has key role in protecting biodiversity: Conservationist

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GUWAHATI: The legal fraternity, right from the Judges in the Supreme Court to law students have a very important role to play in facilitating conservation of biological diversity which holds the key to survival of human race on this planet.

Referring to a recent Supreme Court judgment that observed that ‘conservation of biodiversity is vital for human well-being and health’, noted conservation scientist and the CEO of Aaranyak, Dr Bibhab Kumar Talukdar on Thursday underlined that conservation of biodiversity was a responsibility of every citizen on the earth for the basic reason that this diversity provides us with food, potable water and clean air.

A section of the audience including Law students listening to the lecture of the noted conservationist. ST photo.

Addressing a group of law students at Bishnu Ram Medhi Government Law College here, Dr Talukdar underlined that conservation of wildlife species and their habitat was of prime importance in the greater interest of survival of the man on the earth.

“Students of law who are going to become lawyers, judges and judicial officers in future must understand that crimes that are aimed at causing destruction of bio resources including wildlife are as heinous as crimes like murder of a human life. So, legal fraternity has to understand the importance of the biodiversity to facilitate deterring punishment for crime against biological resources. Conservation of wildlife habitat and wetlands are of prime importance for conservation of flora and fauna,” said Dr Talukdar, who has been the Chair of Asian Rhino Specialist Group of the IUCN since 2008 and Asia Coordinator of International Rhino Foundation since June 2008. He is an Ashoka fellow since 2007 and recipient of IUCN/SSC Chair’s citation in 2008 for leading IUCN/SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group under challenging circumstances.

He said species diversity, genetic diversity (within the species) and eco-system diversity are together referred to biodiversity and underscored that every component of biodiversity was of equal importance.

Referring to the clandestine global trade of wildlife which has posed grave threat to the biodiversity, Dr Talukdar said it is considered the fourth largest illegal trade after trades in narcotics, human trafficking and arms.

He said wildlife hunters were globally interlinked and had assumed alarming proportion with involvement of organised and well-trained gangs armed with sophisticated weapons.
Hunting of wildlife is no longer a crime that can be underrated as it has  far-reaching ramification.

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